Health Communication Basics
Health communication is the study and use of communication strategies to inform and influence decisions and actions to improve health. Health education, health promotion, health marketing, and social marketing are all types of health communication. Common objectives for health communication include:
In this section of the #HealthComm Toolbox, you will find information, tools, and resources for:
- Creating messages and materials to influence knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors around a particular public health issue
- Garnering buy-in and support for health-related initiatives in your community
- Advocating for programs and policies that promote health
- Building awareness of health-related products, services, organizations, and brands
- Building relationships and coordinating with cross-sector stakeholders
In this section of the #HealthComm Toolbox, you will find information, tools, and resources for:
- Creating and implementing health communication and social marketing campaigns
- Writing about public health
- Visualizing data
- Using digital and social media for health communication
- Using branding strategies to promote public health
Resources for Health Communication
These resources will provide the foundational components of health communication, as well as tools and resources to support your efforts:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Gateway to Health Communication & Social Marketing Practice
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Health Communication Playbook: Resources to Help You Create Effective Materials
- The Community Guide - Health Communication and Social Marketing: Campaigns That Include Mass Media and Health-Related Product Distribution
- Community Preventive Services Task Force - The Community Guide
- The Compass - Social and Behavior Change Communication How-To Guides
- Healthy People 2020 - Evidence-Based Resources for Health Communication and Health Information Technology
- Healthy People 2030 - Evidence-Based Resources for Health Communication and Health Information Technology
- National Cancer Institute - Making Health Communication Programs Work (the “Pink Book”)
- National Prevention Information Network - New Methods For Health Strategy Communication
- US Agency for International Development - Health Communication Capacity Collaborative
1. Writing for Public Health
Writing skills are a key part of health communication. Public health writing can include instructional and guidance documents, academic documents, informational documents, organization documents, professional meeting documents, career documents, print media, digital media, social media, outdoor media, or paid media.
Resources for Writing for Public Health
These guides on public health writing will get you started:
- Boston University School of Public Health - Public Health Writing Guide
- Health Writer Hub - Getting Started As A Health Writer Guide
- National Institutes of Health - NIH Style Guide
- Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - ODPHP Content Style Guide
- Population Health Exchange - Public Health Writing Guide
- Vital Strategies - Communicating with Data: A Guide for Writing Public Health Data Reports
- World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization - How to Improve Scientific Writing in Public Health
2. Data Visualization for Health Communication
Effectively translating health-related information and data to meaningfully engage with stakeholders and build cross-sector relationships is another key part of health communication. Data visualization involves using pictures, graphs, and other visual objects and design elements to clearly and efficiently organize and communicate data or information. The goal of data visualization is to make data and information compelling and easy to digest for target audiences. Data visualization can help with explaining difficult concepts and identifying and displaying patterns, trends, and correlations. Common types of data visualization include static and interactive charts, tables, graphs, maps, infographics, and dashboards.
Resources for Data Visualization for Health Communication
These tools and resources will assist you with visualizing your health data and information:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - GIS Resources: Tips for Creating Maps for Public Health
- Elsevier Connect - A 5-step Guide to Data Visualization: How to Display Data in a Meaningful Way – Some Dos and Don’ts
- Health Affairs - Infographics And Public Policy: Using Data Visualization To Convey Complex Information
- HealthDataViz - Data Visualization Best Practices Resource Library: Links to Educational Content By Skill Area, Chart Type, and Healthcare Topic
- HealthDataViz - Tables, Graphs, Dashboards, & Reports: Data Visualization Best Practices
- Hubspot - Data Visualization 101: How to Choose the Right Chart or Graph for Your Data
- Hubspot - The Power of Data Visualization Plus Examples of Good and Bad Visuals
- The Johns Hopkins University - 5 Lessons for Creating Health Care Performance Dashboards
- National Cancer Institute - Making Data Talk: A Workbook
- The Regents of the University of Michigan and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. - Visualizing Health
- SAS - Data Visualization: What It Is and Why It Matters
- Tableau - Data Visualization Beginner's Guide: A Definition, Examples, and Learning Resources
- Tableau - Interactive Government Data Visualizations
- University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill - Guide to Data Visualization
3. Using Digital and Social Media for Health Communication
Digital and social media are key tools for health information dissemination and behavior change communication. Websites, social media platforms, and mobile applications provide potential channels for:
- Engaging with target audiences and stakeholders around public health topics and issues
- Influencing health-related knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and outcomes
- Sharing the latest data, findings, and recommendations from public health research and surveillance
- Circulating information about opportunities for students, professionals, and organizations
- Recruiting and following up with participants for public health research studies
- Providing real-time information and updates during public health conferences, events, and emergencies
- Connecting with cross-sector and other public health professionals and organizations
- Building awareness of and engagement with public health brands and branded campaigns and initiatives
Improve the discoverability and reach of your social media content by incorporating relevant holidays, observances, and hashtags into your marketing and promotion.
- Calendars - Let’s Talk Public Health The Complete List of Observances for Public Health Communication and Marketing, Social Sprout Hashtag Holiday Strategy and Calendar, Hubspot Social Media Holiday Calendar, National Day Calendar, U.S. National Health Observances
- Hashtags - Hashtagify, RiteTag, All Hashtag, Biotica Healthcare and Medical Hashtags, Symplur Healthcare Hashtags Project
Resources for Using Digital and Social Media for Health Communication
These tools and resources will get you started with using digital and social media for public health communication and marketing:
- CARE USA - Using Social Media to Drive Public Health Outcomes Social and Behavior Change Communication Lessons Learned
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - The Health Communicator’s Social Media Toolkit
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - What is Health Marketing?
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Writing for Social Media
- Community Preventive Services Task Force - What Works: Health Communication and Health Information Technology
- de Beaumont Foundation - Comms Crash Course: Using Social Media for Public Health Communications webinar
- Deloitte - The future of public health campaigns: Digital strategies for amplifying influence and effectiveness
- Digital Communications Division, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services - Building & Managing Websites
- Digital Communications Division, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services - Digital Communications
- Hootsuite - How to Use Social Media in Healthcare: A Guide for Health Professionals
- John Snow, Inc. - 5 tips for Working with Micro-influencers to Boost your Public Health Campaigns
- Journal of Public Health Management and Practice - Social Media in Public Health: Strategies to Distill, Package, and Disseminate Public Health Research
- Let’s Talk Public Health - Digital Media Trends for #HealthComm
- National Association of County and City Health Officials - Social Media Toolkit A Primer for Local Health Department PIOs and Communications Professionals
- Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services - HIPAA & Health Apps
- Social Sprout - Social Media and Healthcare: How to Prioritize What Patients Need
- Society for Health Communication - The Power of Paid Media to Help Change Health Behaviors
- Substance Use and Mental Health Services Administration - Digital Media Best Practices
- Technology Transformation Services, U.S. General Services Administration - Digital.gov Guides and Resources
- University of Michigan School of Public Health - Social Media Guide for Online Networking
- University of North Dakota Center for Rural Health - Rural Health Communication Toolkit
4. Branding for Public Health
Branding is a key strategy for raising public health awareness and establishing positive associations with public health behaviors, products, services, campaigns, programs, people, and organizations.
Resources for Branding for Public Health
These resources have additional information on branding for public health professionals and organizations:
- The Compass - How to Create a Brand Strategy Part 1: Using Audience Insight to Drive Your Brand
- de Beaumont Foundation - Personal Branding for Public Health Professionals: Advancing Your Career, Your Organization, and Public Health
- de Beaumont Foundation - Personal Branding for Public Health Professionals: It’s Health Promotion, Not Just Self-Promotion
- Let's Talk Public Health - Meet Me at the Intersection of Branding & Poetry - 12 Resources for Public Health Organizations
- National Association of County and City Health Officials - Branding Your Local Health Department: The Process
- National Association of County and City Health Officials - Marketing and Communication resources for community health assessments
- National Association of County and City Health Officials - Promoting the Local Public Health Identity: A Guide for Local Health Department
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