Part A - The Deficit Model of Science Communication
The deficit model of science communication predicts that the public lacks an
understanding of basic scientific knowledge. If the public was provided with accurate
information about scientific subjects, it would be easier to understand and accept them. This
model is valid in that it explains why the public tends to misunderstand scientific information. It
explains why people tend to be influenced by the information they are provided, whether or not
they fully grasp the concept.
This model is valid because it relies on the idea that the public relies heavily on what
information they acquire from researchers. The flow of information goes from the researcher, to
the published paper to the public. Unfortunately this is where science communication ends and
doesn’t take into account other factors such as social constructs, cultural beliefs or the media’s
perception of science communication. Personal emotions, thoughts, values, experiences and
behaviour need to be considered when communicating science to the public. They need to be
able to engage with science in a way that values how they think and perceive scientific topics.
In Canda specifically, there is a lot of diversity within cultures and societies and so
science communication from researchers and scientists needs to be able to account for all those
differences to better relay their message to the public. Overall, the deficit model of science
communication is a very limited viewpoint of it’s progress in the community.
Part B - ‘How I advocate the importance of vaccines to by Black family’ - Dr. Fletcher-Beals
Dr. Fletcher-Beals mentions how his family is considered a minority and how many
Black communities and other minorities have a very long standing, deeprooted mistrust of the
medical and scientific community (Beals, 2021, p.2). He talks about how this is the result of a
long history of scientific experiments being conducted on minority communities. For example,
Beals talks about the 40-year experiment conducted by the US Public Health Service on Black
men with syphilis, and how it resulted in hundreds of deaths and women and children also
contracting the disease (Beals, 2021, p.2).
Recognizing
historical
oppressions,
discrimination
and inequities
allows Dr.
Fletcher-Beals to effectively apply inclusive science communication to his article. He
acknowledges the different experiences of marganalized communities and their status in the
world. He explains how the history of oppression and discrimination is the reason for many
minor communities. Through real-life scenarios, he explains the situation in a way that everyone
can completely understand the information being presented to them.
When answering questions put forth by his family about the pfizer vaccine, he realizes
that he can use proper scientific communication to be able to help ease these concerns. He
provides proper information about COVID-19 vaccines and how they were developed so quickly
to put his familys’ minds at ease about getting vaccinated. Dr. Fletcher-Beals respects these
questions and answers them in a way that rejects the deficit model of science communication. He
explains that the vaccine was created so quickly because scientists used already existing
technologies to aid their research (Beals, 2021, p.4). He also mentions how there was so much
funding being channelled into institutions and companies to aid their research towards a vaccine.
Overall, Dr. Fletcher-Beals uses inclusive science communication to effectively
communicate to the public on how his discussion was successful in convincing his family to get
vaccinated. He also sends a message to other scientists and health professionals to be more
inclusive in science communication.
References
Fletcher-Beals, T. (2021, March 8). How I advocate the importance of vaccines to my
black
family.
Nature
News.
Retrieved
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00480-7
January
2023,
from