Washington (H24N). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the finalists for its first ever "Sentinel for Health Award for Daytime Drama," and all the shows are on ABC.

"Port Charles," "All My Children," "One Life to Life" and "General Hospital" were all cited for their exemplary storylines that "inform, educate, and motivate viewers to make choices for healthier and safer lives."

The award was created because the CDC discovered through its 1999 Healthstyles Survey that many people who view soap operas on a regular basis (at least twice a week) are in groups at high risk for a variety of preventable diseases. Forty-eight percent of the regular viewers surveyed said they had learned about a disease or how to prevent it from a soap opera, and 34 percent had taken some sort of action as a result. Thirty-eight percent said they would like to see more such storylines on daytime television.

Unlike primetime series, which must encapsulate an issue in an hour or two, daytime dramas take place in "real time" and can follow a story for weeks, months or years. They have the opportunity to present large quantities of important information in small doses viewers can assimilate. All of ABC’s shows had the actors involved in their healthcare storylines tell the audience how to contact appropriate organizations for more information in 30-second spots after the main program was over.

Sallie Schoneboom, a spokesperson for ABC, said that the network "had pioneered social awareness from the beginning. If we can inform while entertaining, we perform a service for our audiences. It started with Agnes Nixon, who was the industry leader in bringing important health issues into daytime storylines."

Nixon, who wrote to the specifications of commercial sponsors at the beginning of her career, was given the show "One Life to Live" for her own in 1968, and was told to develop it any way she liked. What she liked, it turns out, was making the show a mirror of society with an honest but positive approach to social problems. The show premiered in July of 1968, and the first issues tackled were bored housewives addicted to mood-altering drugs and teen pregnancy.

The show also brought the first minority actors to daytime television and allowed them to be culture-specific. Carla Grey, one of the original African-American characters, was light-skinned and trying to "pass," and the present storyline’s Hispanic characters speak Spanish to each other on the show. Nixon has recently become the overall story consultant for ABC daytime.

"One Life to Live" was the winner of the CDC award for "Viki’s Breast Cancer," which followed the show’s main character from her constantly put-off routine mammogram through mastectomy, chemotherapy and public disclosure of her illness. The show brought the author of "First You Cry," a ground-breaking personal story of breast cancer survival published in the 1980s, on for a cameo a few weeks ago. The storyline will continue in the future.

"Port Charles," ABC’s newest offering, was nominated for "Matt Walks," the story of a wheelchair-bound doctor who walks again with the help of a device called Parastep-One, a set of electrode-equipped braces connected to a computer that stimulate nerves and muscles and reproduce normal walking patterns. The actor, Mitch Longley, also uses a wheelchair and was one of the original members of the cast. He was specifically included to correct misperceptions about his disability. Like his character, Dr. Matt Harman, Longley was born able-bodied and suffered spinal trauma that paralyzed him from the waist down (Longley was in a car accident; his character was shot). Longley also uses the Parastep-One, and was able to bring his life onto the show.

"All My Children" ran a storyline on the long-term traumatic effects of drunk driving accidents where a character (Brooke English), who lost her daughter to a drunk driver on the show 10 years ago, relived that experience when a new character (Arlene) was arrested for drunk driving. "General Hospital" was nominated for pediatric AIDS awareness when a high school-age character named Emily Quartermain produced a video about children with AIDS for a school project and showed her video at the show’s annual Nurse’s Ball.

The CDC plans to present the Sentinel awards annually to encourage other daytime drama networks to promote healthy living on their shows.

NEWS AND TRENDS | CAREER CENTER | EDUCATION
Home | Resources
Site Index | Contact Us | FAQs | Subscribe | Advertise