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9/24/2018  |   10:00 AM - 10:30 AM   |  Diamond Ballroom I

CMV Awareness – What are we Really Measuring?

Even though CMV infection in mothers is preventable, most people are not familiar with the virus. Levels of CMV awareness amongst women in the general population range from 9%-20%, globally, as measured by self-reported responses to questionnaires. Some studies have shown a statistically significant increase in women’s awareness with higher levels of education, or work experience in health care. However, most work on CMV knowledge likely overestimates cCMV awareness levels for two main reasons. Firstly, participants often exaggerate responses in self-report studies. Social desirability bias describes the tendency for survey respondents to answer questions in a way that would be viewed favorably by others, such as indicating awareness of a condition for which they actually have no knowledge. Secondly, awareness is a subjective form of knowledge, and can mean different things to different people. For example, a research participant may have heard of CMV, or recognize it from a list of chronic health conditions, yet be unable to identify the detrimental effects of a congenital infection on a newborn, or modes of CMV transmission. In other words, participants may be aware of CMV, but their demonstrated understanding of CMV is inadequate to prevent infection while pregnant. Demonstrated understanding is thus a higher-level, objective form of knowledge. Most previous work on cCMV knowledge describes only awareness levels of cCMV, even though women who reported being aware of CMV could not identify modes of CMV transmission or clinical outcomes of a congenital infection. We present a systematic review of CMV awareness data and suggest a new metric for assessing demonstrated understanding of CMV. It is not enough that women of childbearing age are aware of cCMV; they must also demonstrate understanding of the health risks of cCMV in order for public health interventions to be successful.

  • Discuss CMV awareness studies in US and abroad
  • Define CMV awareness vs demonstrated understanding of CMV
  • Identify how demonstrated understanding of CMV will improve public health outcomes

Presentation:
17739_9716KathleenMuldoon.pdf

Handouts:
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Kathleen Muldoon (Primary Presenter), kmuldo@midwestern.edu;
Kathleen M. Muldoon, Ph.D. is an anthropologist and Professor of Anatomy at Midwestern University, Glendale. Through her experiences with disability, she became interested in science communication, and the effectiveness of professional education on public health knowledge, empathy, and humanity in medicine. She is the proud parent of three children: her middle child has multiple disabilities due to congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV).

      ASHA DISCLOSURE:

Financial - No relevant financial relationship exists.

Nonfinancial - No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.


      AAA DISCLOSURE:

Financial - No relevant financial relationship exists.




Seth Dobson (Co-Presenter,Co-Author), seth.dobson@gmail.com;
Seth Dobson received his PhD in Anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis. He is currently an analytics consultant for a marketing technology firm. He has industry expertise as a data analyst in financial services and telecommunications. Before joining the corporate world, Dr. Dobson was assistant professor of anthropology at Dartmouth College. His academic research focused on primate communication and brain evolution. Dr. Dobson and his wife Dr. Kathleen Muldoon live with their three beautiful children in sunny Phoenix, AZ. His middle son was born with congenital cytomegalovirus and is multiply-disabled as a result.

      ASHA DISCLOSURE:

Financial -

Nonfinancial -


      AAA DISCLOSURE:

Financial - No relevant financial relationship exists.