4.++Media+Depictions

=Movie: Lorenzo's Oil=

====The search for medical information is commonly depicted in media such as movies and television. The movie **Lorenzo's Oil** (1992) depicts the desperate search for medical information by two parents, Augusto and Michaela Odone. When their son Lorenzo is diagnosed with a rare disease, they are given no hope from medical professionals because so little is known about the disease. The Odones begin an exhaustive process of learning all they can about the disease and the biological processes of the human body.====

The Odones sought information from a variety of sources (see diagram below). Some of these were formal (doctors visits) and some were informal (discussions with other parents).
====The Theory of **Information Grounds by Karen Pettigrew** was reviewed in Week 6. The support group of parents and families of children effected by the disease ADL is a good example of an Information Ground. Many support groups of this type are run very informally and allow the "spontaneous and serendipitous sharing of information" (Fisher text, 185).====

//What happened after the scenes depicted in the movie? Click here//
//__Lorenzo's Oil__ was filmed in 1992. How does today's technology change the Odone's search in 2010? Imagine what it will be in 2030... //
 * //Here's something interesting to think about. The Odones were educated parents with access to some of the finest medical information available. Yet they consistently ignored the conventional medical information available about their son's condition, and in so doing found the path to new information. It wasn't that they had an issue with health literacy - they simply ignored information they couldn't accept.// //Is this a good model for information search?// ||

//This concludes our presentation. If you would like more information, we offer a brief Theory Review in Part 5. Note this is in no way a comprehensive review, but a summary of additional theories we have found to be useful in looking at medical or health information.//