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Name

Professor’s Name

Course

Date

USAGE Survey

The persuasion problem that needs attention.

The persuasion problem that needs attention is the usage of statin by the people of

America. Statin is a type of medicine prescribed to patients with high cholesterol, a major cause

of stroke and heart attack. From the article, USAGE Survey: Taking on America’s Number One

Killer with Makovsky, heart disease is the number killer of adults in the United States. However,

around 75% of patients suffering from the disease in the country cease from taking statins within

a year and before getting cured. Most patients assume that statin is not helpful for their situation,

some complain of the side effects that come with it and a small percentage has a problem with its

high cost. The problem needs attention because, the more the people who stop or switch from

taking statin, the more the deaths in the country. It is important that patients and every other

person understand the health benefits that come with statin as compared to its limitations.

Successful message to accomplish.

The main message I want to accomplish is that high cholesterol patients should cooperate

with their doctors and stick to the medicine prescribed to them. From the article, physicians

believe that most patients do not comply with the instructions that come with statin, thus causing

the side effects. The USAGE survey looked into some steps which can be taken to bridge

unanswered inquiries between clinicians and patients to enhance cholesterol talks and treatment

adherence. I would wish to encourage an open discussion between doctors and high cholesterol
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patients before prescription because it allows the patients to adhere to statin medication and also

helps them to understand the effects of stopping or switching the medication. This is basically

the meaning of the case study USAGE survey, that is, Understanding Statin use in America and

Gaps in Education.

Target audience and its composition.

The targeted audience is the general public comprising of adults over the age of 30

especially those with high cholesterol, physicians who specialize in assisting patients with high

cholesterol management, professional organizations and healthcare providers like primary care

physicians and cardiology nurses. For adults with high cholesterol, the USAGE survey is meant

to educate you on the benefits of statin, how to use it to prevent the side effects and the dangers

of not using the medicine. It is important that you stay educated and up to date on the current

trends in medicine to avoid sticking with outdated medicines which could possibly cause the side

effects or probably not even treat the disease. On the other hand, the physicians are meant to

create new information and techniques based on the USAGE results in order to establish a more

comfortable way to administer the prescription to high cholesterol patients. It is only right for

physicians to advise their patients accordingly and it is their duty to learn and be aware of the

possible problems that come with statin in order to solve them and prescribe quality medication

to the patients. Professional organizations and healthcare providers should liaise with the

physicians to find long lasting solutions for the high cholesterol patients especially in cities and

states where the disease is major problem.

Timeline for action, phases/order of actions, and/or how long the campaign will continue.
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The USAGE survey took place in 2012 and it involved partnerships with other

organizations. The actual timeline of action was 5 months, that is, between June and November

2012.

The USAGE Survey involved seven phases of action starting with invitation of an

autonomous group of experts including heart physicians and other healthcare providers. The

experts were assembled to supervise the method of survey and to evaluate the practical relevance

of boosting high cholesterol patients’ treatment. The second phase was to secure partnerships

with other medical organizations. The major stakeholders in the USAGE survey partnered with

the National Lipid Association (NLA) and other medical groups which were able to conduct an

extensive research on 10,100 high cholesterol patients. Thirdly, the experts were educated on the

findings from USAGE survey which were announced in an annual meeting conducted by NLA

and AHA in 2012.

The next phase was publishing the findings from USAGE survey in the Journal of

Clinical Lipidology. This was conducted by NLA who created a reference package for 12

educational and civic groups to distribute and syndicate data with other stakeholders. The fifth

phase involved creation of a website with shareable resources for the USAGE campaign. For

clinicians interested in presenting USAGE data to colleagues, the website would offer discussion

aids and a PowerPoint presentation. The sixth phase involved empowering patients across the

country through News Media Blitz. The empowering campaign was launched in Blitz and it

featured a popular high cholesterol patient who was an example that living with high cholesterol

did not prevent people from living normal lives, as long as the prescription is followed. Lastly

the USAGE campaign extended their corporation with American Heart Association who

supported their findings.

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The campaign will continue for a period that has not be disclosed in the USAGE website.

This suggests that it may be a life time campaign depending with reports on patients with high

cholesterol and generally increase or decrease of heart conditions.

Where the campaign will occur

The USAGE campaign will take place via their website and through media coverage. As

per a post-campaign study of 2,300 NLA members, 50% of clinicians expect to make

adjustments in their approach based on USAGE data, and 83 percent encourage their clients

to visit www.statinUSAGE.com. From the article above on USAGE survey, the National Library

of Medicine (NLA) and other institutions received more than 5,000 requests for USAGE

resources. During the American Heart Association's national convention, where 16,000 doctors

and cardiologists gather to hear the latest research, a lecture on statin adherence was given.

Family Circle, CNN, Fox and Friends, Hallmark Channel, MedPage Today, SCRIP Intelligence,

Doctor Radio, Prevention.com, and Lifescript all covered USAGE in the news media, reaching

over 921,000,000 patients and 4 million healthcare practitioners. Local interviews were

conducted in over 141 cities, with coverage in 95 percent of the states with the highest

prevalence of heart disease. The article explains that, in 98 percent of the stories, side effects

were cited as the primary reason for discontinuing or switching treatments.

Goal for the campaign and how to measure success.

The main goal of the campaign is to establish the best ways to treat patients with high

cholesterol and therefore reducing the number of people dying from heart diseases. As the

number one killer disease in the country, heart disease has been beyond controllable recently and

the patients are partly to blame. This is because they either ignore the prescriptions from

physicians or switch to other medications. Most of the patients complain of the side effects that
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come with statin, which is the major medicinal treatment to high cholesterol. The best way to

measure the success and achievement of this goal is to compare the rates of people dying from

heart disease between different years. If the goal is achieved, then there should be a lower rate of

deaths from the disease and it will mean that the physicians found the best solution to the

problem.
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Work Cited

USAGE Survey: Taking on America’s Number One Killer with Makovsky. Retrieved from:

https://prcouncil.net/resources/usage-survey-taking-on-americas-number-one-killer-with-

makovsky/