Created for Turning Point by the Sutton Group, December 2001
1. Don't speak "public health," speak English.
Imagine you are having dinner with your aunt and explaining to her what you do. Would you use workplace jargon? Would she know what you meant by terms like "infrastructure development," "community linkages" and "surveillance capacity?"
Speak in understandable, vivid terms, whether your audience is a policymaker, Chamber of Commerce president or a friend.
Consider some of the statements heard at a recent conference and how they might be put more clearly:
"There is a need for workforce development and preparedness initiatives throughout the United States" would be better put as "We need trained, quick response teams to protect our nation's health."
"We need to address the social determinants of health in order to alleviate the problem of health disparities," would sound more compelling as "We need to tackle the root causes of our health problems, such as lack of insurance or bad air, to ensure everyone has an equal chance of enjoying good health."
1. Don't speak "public health," speak English.
Imagine you are having dinner with your aunt and explaining to her what you do. Would you use workplace jargon? Would she know what you meant by terms like "infrastructure development," "community linkages" and "surveillance capacity?"
Speak in understandable, vivid terms, whether your audience is a policymaker, Chamber of Commerce president or a friend.
Consider some of the statements heard at a recent conference and how they might be put more clearly:
"There is a need for workforce development and preparedness initiatives throughout the United States" would be better put as "We need trained, quick response teams to protect our nation's health."
"We need to address the social determinants of health in order to alleviate the problem of health disparities," would sound more compelling as "We need to tackle the root causes of our health problems, such as lack of insurance or bad air, to ensure everyone has an equal chance of enjoying good health."
2. Know what you want people to do and ask them to do it.
Every conversation about public health, with a variety of people and organizations, presents an opportunity to press your agenda.
Consider what actions you want your audience to take. This is different from wanting your audience to understand public health, or to think it's important. What do you want people to do? What is needed? What will they get for their support?
This requires setting priorities. What are the top things you need to strengthen our state's public health infrastructure? Better email, telephone or computer systems so hospitals, health departments and others can communicate quickly? Training? What kind and why? Who is the person who can make this happen?
When you speak with a policymaker, advocate or even a senior official in your own department, keep these priorities in mind and express them clearly.
3. Make your case with your audience in mind.
Rather than telling people that public health is important and deserves to be funded, show them how it relates to their life and what they care about. When you ask for something, explain why it would benefit your audience.
Virginia's public health professionals enlisted businesses as advocates by conveying public health's benefits to them: a healthy labor pool, less absenteeism and lower insurance costs. The result was state backing for public health initiatives. Remind businesses they are on the front lines of many emergency health situations, and public health is there to support them.
If you are working to enlist hospitals in your efforts, talk about how public health and prevention efforts reduce the number of emergency room visits and the toll of chronic disease.
4. Show, don't tell.
Rather than telling people about public health, calculate and show what it means in practice.
For example, if people in your community care about security, think about positioning public health as a way to protect their health and well-being from harm, whether that harm comes from bioterrorism, disease, or pollution. Use examples to show how public health people protect citizens every day.
Putting costs or dollar amounts to situations can help. The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials surveyed state health departments to show they expect to spend a budget-busting average of $1-5 million over the next three months responding to possible anthrax threats. This is more effective then telling policymakers that bioterrorism concerns are draining resources. It shows it, and it shows it dramatically.
Another example: rather than telling people that they should pay more attention to health disparities, show what this means in terms they care about. Minnesota calculated that if all babies died at the rate of American Indian infants, 600 children more—12 a week and 3,000 over five years—would be lost. The thought of thousands of children dying in infancy mobilizes policymakers to act.
5. Use the magic of stories, examples and analogies.
Public health, infrastructure and surveillance are concepts that most people don't understand. Examples or analogies are communications techniques that can bring these terms to life and illustrate their importance.
For example, think of how your work has affected people in your state or region. Describe the human face of public health. What does it look like? Did public health efforts protect thousands of children from life-threatening diseases through vaccinations? Did surveillance allow you to catch an outbreak of Hepatitis A early and prevent an epidemic? Are your citizens fitter and more long-lived than those in other states?
New York has used an excellent analogy for public health and why it requires more resources: public health as a silent insurance policy. We have not been paying into our policy regularly, yet now we want to cash it in because we need it to safeguard our health. Explain that if we want protection, we need to pay back into this policy by investing in public health. Then say exactly what investments are needed.
Another analogy used by a Virginia Turning Point member helps address the recent paradox of public health messages—that people should not panic because bioterrorism is unlikely to touch them, but that at the same time, the system is unprepared to cope if it occurs. The analogy was airport security. Was there airport security before September 11th? Yes. Is airport security prepared to deal with many problems? Yes. But given new realities and eventualities, it now needs to be upgraded. Similarly, the public health system has a level of preparedness, but we would be wise to invest the money to increase that preparedness.
6. Connect with current events.
Ask yourself how public health relates to what people in your community are talking about today. Then make that connection for them.
This does not mean you are changing your agenda each time the political winds change direction. It means you know how your work relates to events and issues affecting your community now. Try to think of issues that seize people's attention as openings for, not distractions from, your agenda and programs.
When the Genesee County, MI police were flooded with calls about suspected anthrax powder, they didn't know how to handle the material. The county health department immediately put together training for the police, and soon had postal workers and others asking for similar help. The local newspaper praised the public health department in an editorial. Now public health has the county's support, as well as new relationships to aid in many kinds of future initiatives.
7. Talk about the results, not the process.
A lot of important work is accomplished through workshops, meetings, partnerships and planning sessions. In fact, this process is probably central to your job. Unfortunately, it does not sound so exciting to the outside world.
When you talk about your successes or your plans, talk about the destination, not the journey. Which is more interesting—the wonderful place where you arrived (or are headed), or the 14-hour bus ride to get there? Rather than talking about a coalition formed between public health departments and hospital, describe the resulting daily bulletins between these groups that alerted them to unusual illness patterns. Did you set up a "workforce development center?" Rather than discussing that process, describe who has been trained and what they've done for real people.
8. Use your partners to advance your agenda.
You may not be in a position to speak out about public health, but what about your allies? In fact, they may be better positioned to sell your agenda. You have probably invested a lot of time and effort in forging relationships beyond the health department. When you need advocacy, those relationships prove invaluable.
Who in your coalitions or communities has influence on people key to advancing public health priorities? Do you have a partner in the business community who can testify before the state legislature for a key law? Will a hospital association director or doctor discuss public health issues before the public?
9. Use your interest groups.
Have you heard of the National Public Health Information Coalition? It has a database of every state's public health information officer. NACCHO has position papers for policymakers on key public health issues. ASTHO has a special bioterrorism task force setting up communications strategies. Look up your professional organization online or call them—they are in the business of helping you spread the message.
10. Avoid the lectures—people might listen.
Lastly, there is a saying in social marketing: swallow your cause. As a public health professional, you are committed to a good cause, and it is tempting to tell people that cause is important and expect that will change things. But you will be more effective if you can swallow that message and instead show people how your work relates to their concerns.This is not selling out—it is reaching out. If you can communicate effectively, their understanding—and appreciation—will follow.
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