Breaking’s Easier Than Making
Trump’s reckless damage to healthcare, both here and abroad, can never be fully repaired, in part because of the many lives that have, and will be, needlessly lost as a result of his actions.
Read MoreActions Speak...
Actions are a potent form of communication, as demonstrated by the Trump Administration’s defunding of WHO, dismantling of USAID, and decimation of HHS, NIH, CDC, FDA, and more. The result, in all of these cases, is that people will die, and the communication is those taking these actions simply do not care.
Read MoreThe Stunning Hypocrisy and Potentially Dangerous Future of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is widely believed to be in line for a significant health-related position in the new administration, possibly even Secretary of Health and Human Services (HSS). Not only is he uniquely unqualified for such a role, but actions he might take could endanger the health of millions of people both here and abroad.
Read MoreSins of Commission
In 2016, Donald Trump proposed that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. lead a commission on vaccine safety and scientific integrity, a stunningly bad idea that fortunately never came to fruition. In 2024, Trump is proposing an even broader commission while Kennedy wants a whole-sale take over and redirection of the National Institutes of Health. A look what all this communicates.
Read MoreWhat Can a Salvador Dali Painting Tell Us About Health Communications?
The scaffolding technique of communication –building and layering message upon message with the intent of evoking a progression of emotional responses– is highly effective and examples of this can be found everywhere, including, of course, relating to matters of health.
Read MoreHow Good are COVID Test Instructions?
COVID is still with us and we’re still testing, so how good are the instructions that come with those tests?
Read MoreUnimaginable Tragedy – Uncommon Opportunity
Though the circumstances are tragic, when the war ends Ukraine will have a unique opportunity to totally reimagine its healthcare infrastructure and delivery systems. This article suggests some ideas of what that might entail.
Read MoreWhat Color is Your COVID?
What color you believe COVID is depends on where you live and what you know. For some people, perception is reality, but for some companies, leveraging that perception with an intent to deceive or defraud is illegal.
Read MoreA New Prescription for Patient Information
The Prescribing Information and Patient Information sheet that accompanies prescription drugs is so poorly designed that it's unlikely many people read it. A few simple changes might make it more readable and ultimately more useful, too.
Read MoreSticker Shock!
DC’s COVID vaccination sticker is a missed opportunity for public health communication. These communications are like a coral reef; accreted bit by tiny bit they can become something functional, effective, and beautiful. So pay close attention to the small stuff.
Read MoreFour Suggestions to Rehabilitate the CDC’s Reputation →
As the CDC’s new director, Rochelle Walensky will have an enormous job fighting the COVID epidemic.
A different –but intricately related– job will be restoring CDC’s scientific independence and public standing.
Here are four suggestions to help rehabilitate the agency’s image and reputation.
Read MoreRebuilding Far Beyond Just Public Health
In the US, the COVID-19 crisis has shown that we need to rebuild not just public health and medicine, but the larger social fabric of which they’re a part. The scope of such an undertaking is enormous and the complexity increased by the many interconnections among institutions, attitudes, laws, and practices. Here’s an idea of how to think about this challenge.
Read MoreEvery Health Professional Now Has a Second Job
Amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, debunking conspiracy theories and teaching us all to think more critically has become a 2nd job for all health professionals. Here are 6 yardsticks we can all use to parse the lies and find the truth.
Read MoreThree Truths About Trust
Here are three essential truths about trust and some thoughts on what they mean for public health.
Communication is the most important component of trust.
The erosion of trust hampers all communication.
Trust is easily broken, but difficult to build or sustain.
A Formula for Effective ( health ) Communications
A formula design can symbolically display the components of an effective communications campaigns and how they interrelate. This might be useful for teaching, guiding clients, and focusing your communications team.
Read MoreDon't say Anti-Vax – It's Logically Wrong and Rhetorically Misleading
The efficacy and safety of vaccines are facts. It makes no sense to be pro- or anti- a fact (—would anyone ever say they were pro- or anti- gravity?—), so it makes no sense to be anti-vax. And too often, the use of anti-vax compels the media to give it equal attention to a corresponding pro. Except that it isn’t equal and so shouldn’t be afforded that attention.
Read MoreExplain the Chain
Whether in words or diagrams explaining a chain of determinants or consequences can be a powerful way to communicate. You not only bolster your argument but you also arm your reader to do likewise as they then explain it to others.
Read MoreUpdate to The Plan
The task of cataloging and unwinding all of the deliberate or misguided Trump Administration changes to the nation’s healthcare system could be aided by the 2016 Presidential Transition Briefing Books as well as the Cabinet Exit Memos. They provide a detailed picture of agencies and departments at the end of the Obama Administration.
Read MoreHelp Write the Plan to Restore America's Public Health System and its Leadership in Global Health in 2020
Beginning today and over the next two years, we should collectively assemble a comprehensive plan for the next American administration to restore the country’s public health system and its role in global health leadership. We should be creating the ‘Health Recovery Plan’ now rather than wait for a hectic transition period in 2020/2021.
Read MoreWhat Can Advertising Teach Patient Education?
To enhance the effectiveness of patient education and counseling, practitioners might adopt some of the techniques of advertising. These include frequent repetition of key messages, emphasizing benefits not just procedures, and associating success with persons well known and respected by the patient (a form of indirect endorsement).
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