The Let’s Talk Public Health #HealthComm Toolbox shares FREE resources and tools that public health students, professionals, agencies, associations, nonprofits, schools of public health, and other health-related service providers, organizations and brands can use for their health communication efforts.

Health Communication

​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:
  • 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​
Resources for Health Communication
These resources will provide the foundational components of health communication, as well as tools and resources to support your efforts:

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:

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:​
  • ​​Informing and engaging target audiences and stakeholders around public health 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.
Resources for Using Digital and Social Media for Health Communication
​These tools and resources will get you started with using digital and social media to public health communication and marketing: 

Data Visualization for 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.

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:

Advocacy for Public Health

Advocacy for public health includes representing, speaking for, or elevating the voices of people affected by public health issues; facilitating communication between those affected and policymakers; and organizing or supporting coalitions and other initiatives around public health issues. Whether it’s writing letters, sending emails, or meeting with the media, policymakers, or stakeholders of an industry or community, advocacy for public health plays an important role in advancing public health goals.
Resources for Advocacy for Public Health
These guides and toolkits can inform your public health advocacy efforts: 

Combatting Health Misinformation

Health misinformation includes rumors, myths, conspiracy theories, and other unproven claims regarding health-related data or information that are false or misleading. Health misinformation continues to be a widespread problem online, and can create confusion and cause people to make decisions that are detrimental to their health.
Resources for Combatting Health Misinformation
​These resources will help with identifying and reporting health misinformation:

Cross-Sector Communication for Public Health

Cross-sector communication is a must for public health professionals and organizations, because the social determinants of health span several non-health sectors, including: 
  • Housing, community planning
  • Transportation, motor vehicle supervision, and highway safety
  • Climate, energy, conservation, and environment
  • Human and social services 
  • Public safety, law enforcement, and corrections
  • Business and economic development
  • Faith-based, charitable, civic and professional organizations
  • Education systems
  • Parks and recreation
  • Courts and judiciary systems
  • Public works and infrastructure
  • Agriculture and food safety
Resources for Cross-Sector Communication for Public Health
These tools and resources will help you in your efforts to communicate and coordinate with representatives from public, nonprofit, and private entities across sectors.

Accessibility in Health Communication

Accessibility includes making health information, advice and guidance easy to understand and act on, as well as ensuring that communication channels are intuitive and easy for target audiences to use. You cannot achieve your health communication goals, if the health messages, materials, information or data you’re disseminating are not accessible to your audience.

Accessibility Compliance Standards and Guidelines in Health Communication

The most common accessibility compliance standards and guidelines include the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (508), and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Complying with these standards and guidelines ensures that health information and communication channels, materials, and content (i.e., website, social media, videos, PDFs, word documents, etc.) are accessible to people with disabilities.
Resources for Accessibility Compliance Standards and Guidelines in Health Communication
These tools and resources will help you to understand the various standards and guidelines, as well as how to implement them in your health communication:

Health Literacy

Healthy People 2030 defines personal health literacy as “the degree to which individuals have the ability to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others,” and organizational health literacy as “the degree to which organizations equitably enable individuals to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others.” People need information they can understand and use to make the best decisions for their health. Health messages, materials, information or data that are too technical or complex for target audiences to understand and use can negatively impact health status, behaviors, outcomes, and costs.
Resources for Health Literacy
​These resources will help you with your efforts to improve and expand both personal and organizational health literacy.

Plain Language for Health Communication

Plain language is language that is clear and easy to understand. According to the Plain Language Action and Information Network, a material or message is plain language if “your audience can find what they need, understand what they find the first time they read or hear it, and use what they find to meet their needs.” Using plain language is a key strategy for promoting health literacy.
Resources for Plain Language for Health Communication
​These tools and resources will help you in your efforts to communicate health messages, information or data in plain language.

Readability in Health Communication

Readability is a term used to describe how easily target audiences can read and understand an individual or organization’s writing. Factors that impact readability include the complexity of writing (i.e., sentence length, syllable density, etc.), word familiarity, and the legibility of handwriting, typeface, and font. Conducting public health writing and creating health communication messages and materials for high readability is also a key strategy for promoting health literacy.
Resources for Readability in Health Communication
​These tools and resources will help you in your efforts to assess and improve the readability of your health communication materials.

Cultural and Linguistic Competence in Health Communication

Cultural and linguistic competence is the ability to respect, understand, and respond to the language preferences and cultural beliefs and practices of target audiences. Public health professionals must tailor health information, advice and guidance to recognize and account for diversity in culture and language within target audiences. This makes health messages, information and data more accessible; improves the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of health communication; and increases the likelihood of positive behavior change and health outcomes. Additionally, public health organizations must create and integrate attitudes, values, and principles that promote equity, diversity, inclusion, and cultural sensitivity, respect, and knowledge into their organizational standards, policies, and practices.
Resources for Cultural and Linguistic Competence in Health Communication
​These tools and resources will help you in your efforts to build cultural and linguistic competence: