Numbers Games & the Media

[KF Etzold <etzold@xxxxxxxxxx>]

I have seen the arguments relating to the numbers of PWP's in the US and also
the world. As I see it, there are two reasons why people want those numbers.
One is solidarity, because people have a social need to affiliate, to be part
of a group, for instance as we are in this forum. The second is essentially a
political argument. We need to know how many there are because that number is
then used to allocate societal resources  to the particular disease or problem.
So the argument goes: if we have x percent of the population we deserve x
percent of the research budget. But in fact one does not have to know the total
number but only ratios, that is taking say 1Million people and asking: how many
are PWP's (this is the same problem which is now being discussed in congress
about how to take the Census). Sampling is an accurate technique, if used
properly, which is of course also true of straight counting). There are errors
associated with sampling but with sufficiently large number the errors are
small enough to allow a fair allocation of resources. The principal argument
here is: we do not need to know the totals but a reasonable, but accurate
estimate if we are concerned about funding.

Another issue is Public relations and accuracy in the media. One has to
remember that the commercial media are in the business of making money. So, the
emphasis is on short attention getters, interspersed with commercials. On the
other hand National Public Radio and Public Television is  more devoted to more
extensive and accurate coverage.  Therefore, we should try to get our news from
them and perhaps quality papers like the NY Times. So, this is a not so well
disguised pitch to support Public Radio and Television and to encourage them to
publicize the issues relating to Parkinsons Disease.