This application addresses broad Challenge Area (12) Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education (STEM) and specific Challenge Topic, 12-OD-103: Informal Science Education. The Hastings Center (the nation's first and foremost bioethics research organization) and WGBH (PBS's leading producer of programming) have partnered to research whether a multi-platform media project can increase people's knowledge of the ethical implications of biotechnology's growing potential to alter lives and complicate healthcare decisions plus affect their awareness of and engagement in the ethical issues the project raises. To this end, the high-profile public television series, with its companion website and educational outreach activities, will be used as the cornerstone around which the evaluation will take place. The evaluation will engage participants'understanding of these important issues and assess their knowledge of bioethics, emerging biotechnology, and how they grapple with unprecedented choices that influence how they have and raise children, how they live as adults, and how they make end-of-life decisions. Our primary research question is: To what extent does a multi-platformed media initiative affect people's perceptions on a scale measuring three variables: increased awareness, understanding, and changed behavior around the most common, yet complex, bioethical issues of our time? This study will track series viewing and engagement with online content to evaluate these variables. Through this project, The Hastings Center and WGBH will assess public media's cross-platform effectiveness in communicating bioethics issues. The results will inform bothThe Hastings Center's approach to disseminating its research and WGBH's ongoing efforts to bring high-quality, cutting-edge health and science information to the public. The title for the proposed project is: Designing Life: Stories from the Bioethical Frontier. Laurie Donnelly, Executive Producer of WGBH's Lifestyles unit, will serve as the Principal Investigator for this project. Thomas Murray (President, The Hastings Center), Mary Crowley (Director of Public Affairs and Communications, The Hastings Center), and Jon Palfreman (Series Producer, Designing Life) will serve as Key Personnel on this project. The overarching goals of the Designing Life initiative are to produce an engaging and intellectually project initiative that generates a national public conversation about bioethical issues.
The specific aims of this project are to use this initiative to address the primary research question, as stated above. Together, WGBH and The Hastings Center will: ? evaluate to what extent Designing Life affects impact, awareness, and understanding of the many complex bioethical issues that face all individuals, day to day;? measure quantitative and qualitative data on the impact of both the broadcast and website housed at PBS.org by using pre- and post- online and focus group surveys to evaluate viewer engagement and knowledge of the broadcast, the website, and the combined impact these different platforms may have;? create a framework to leverage local public television stations and outreach partners to assess the impact of Designing Life;and ? distribute a Research Report on the impact of Designing Life. Public Health Relevance: The Hastings Center (the nation's first and foremost bioethics research organization) and WGBH (PBS's leading producer of programming) have partnered to research whether a multi- platform media project can increase people's knowledge of the bioethical implications of biotechnology's growing potential to alter lives and complicate healthcare decisions plus affect their awareness of and engagement in the ethical issues it raises. To this end, the project will be used to evaluate a high-profile public television series with a companion website and educational outreach activities that will focus on bioethics, emerging biotechnology, and how Americans grapple with unprecedented choices that can influence how they have and raise children, how they live as adults, and their end-of-life decisions. Through this project, The Hastings Center and WGBH will assess public media's cross-platform effectiveness in communicating bioethics issues and publish the findings in a Research Report. The results will also inform both The Hastings Center's approach to disseminating its research and WGBH's ongoing efforts to bring high-quality, cutting-edge health and science information to the public.
The Hastings Center (the nation's first and foremost bioethics research organization) and WGBH (PBS's leading producer of programming) have partnered to research whether a multi- platform media project can increase people's knowledge of the bioethical implications of biotechnology's growing potential to alter lives and complicate healthcare decisions plus affect their awareness of and engagement in the ethical issues it raises. To this end, the project will be used to evaluate a high-profile public television series with a companion website and educational outreach activities that will focus on bioethics, emerging biotechnology, and how Americans grapple with unprecedented choices that can influence how they have and raise children, how they live as adults, and their end-of-life decisions. Through this project, The Hastings Center and WGBH will assess public media's cross-platform effectiveness in communicating bioethics issues and publish the findings in a Research Report. The results will also inform both The Hastings Center's approach to disseminating its research and WGBH's ongoing efforts to bring high-quality, cutting-edge health and science information to the public.
