Hollywood, Health & Society, a partnership of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the USC Annenberg School’s Norman Lear Center today announced the winners of the eighth annual Sentinel for Health Awards. The storylines tackled prominent medical issues, such as cancer, HIV-infection in the workplace, parent-teen communication about sex, postpartum depression, and availability of organs for transplantation. The awards were presented at an evening ceremony held at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Wednesday night in North Hollywood.
“Television writers and producers are in a unique position both to entertain and to inform viewers,” said Martin Kaplan, director of the Norman Lear Center and holder of the Norman Lear Chair in Entertainment, Media and Society. “The Sentinel for Health Awards are a chance to shine a spotlight on master storytellers who use their power not only to make hits, but also to educate audiences about crucial issues.”
The NBC primetime drama Friday Night Lights received first place in the primetime drama category for “I Think We Should Have Sex,” a storyline about the critical parent-child interaction when a teenager is thinking about having sex; NBC’s Law & Order took home second place honors for a storyline on veterans’ mental health and third place honors in the same category went to CBS’s CSI: NY for a storyline about HIV.
The ABC soap opera General Hospital took first place in daytime drama for a storyline about a possible HIV infection from a needle stick. The ABC drama Grey’s Anatomy took first place for primetime minor storyline on breast cancer with “Oh, the Guilt,” and NBC’s Scrubs took first place in primetime comedy for a storyline about postpartum depression.
TeleFutura took home its first Sentinel Award, in the Spanish-language telenovela category, for “Con Dominio Total.” The storyline from Así es la Vida discussed issues of safe sex among a wide variety of characters.
The Sentinel for Health Awards recognize exemplary achievements of television storylines that inform, educate and motivate viewers to make choices for healthier and safer lives. First-round judging was conducted by more than 100 topic experts who evaluated accuracy of health depictions. Twenty expert panels participated in this activity at the CDC and NCI. The sixteen finalists were then evaluated at USC by an expert panel representing entertainment, academic and public health organizations. Second-round judges scored finalists on entertainment value and potential benefit to the viewing audience.
