Talking Health: A New Way to Communicate about Public Health

The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the need for health professionals to communicate more clearly about what public health is and why it matters. Public health in the United States has been underfunded, undervalued, and misunderstood largely because of the unclear and inconsistent way health leaders talk about it.

Talking Health is intended to help public health and allied professionals communicate about public health more effectively - whether they need to reach policymakers, community partners, the media, or the public. Many people who are trained in medicine or public health have never had to "sell" ideas or policies to uninformed or skeptical partners, but the insights, tools, and resources included in this book can provide a first step toward better communications and stronger partnerships.

This book is based on original research and insights by social scientists and seasoned communications professionals at the FrameWorks Institute and Hattaway Communications. It provides practical tools such as tested messaging and effective metaphors to help professionals avoid messages that backfire, answer challenging questions, reframe public health assumptions, and draw on the power of anecdotes while sharing important data.

Drawing together leading experts across media and public health, Talking Health is a practical and powerful starting point for those ready to change how public health is viewed and valued in our nation.

Mark R. Miller, Vice President of Communications at the de Beaumont Foundation, leads strategic communications to support the foundation's mission, initiatives, and partners, applying his experience in philanthropy, journalism, health care, and government to improve the health of communities and people. In 2018, he won the ACE Award from PR Daily and Ragan Communications as the year's top nonprofit communications professional. Throughout his career, Mark has advanced political, nonprofit, and corporate missions in leadership positions at the Case Foundation, the White House, Children's National Hospital, the National Governors Association, and AmeriCorps. He was also a senior vice president at Powell Tate, the Washington office of global PR agency Weber Shandwick. He combines traditional communications skills with an expertise in digital strategies to create solutions that deliver measurable results and spark social change. His writing has appeared in numerous blogs, websites, and publications, and for several years he was the reggae reporter for The Washington Post. He earned his BA in English and journalism from James Madison University.

Brian C. Castrucci, DrPH, is an epidemiologist, public health practitioner, and president and chief executive officer of the de Beaumont Foundation. Prior to joining de Beaumont, Brian worked for a decade as an applied epidemiologist and held leadership positions in several state and local governmental public health agencies. Applying what he learned in his public health practice, Brian has led the foundation to the forefront of issues such as integrating primary care and public health, assessing the governmental public health workforce, and prioritizing partnerships and policies to solve the nation's most complex health challenges. He is a sought-after resource on public health issues across television, radio, and print media and is an accomplished public health researcher with nearly ninety peer-reviewed scientific publications that have garnered more than 2,700 citations. He has also co-edited five books and written chapters for several others. Brian earned his doctorate in Public Health Leadership from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master of Arts degree in Sociomedical Sciences from Columbia University. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science with the greatest distinction from North Carolina State University.

Rachel Locke, MPH, as a senior program associate at the de Beaumont Foundation, was responsible for assessing the impact of the Foundation's programs and managing grants across the foundation's portfolio. She led programs and projects that focused on public health communications, building local and state governmental public health workforce capacity, and advancing public health policy. Previously she held positions at the Cancer Free Economy Network and the Big Cities Health Coalition and completed the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) Philanthropy Fellowship at the Foundation. Rachel received her MPH in Environmental Health from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, where she completed her Certificate in Toxicology.

Julia Haskins is a communications associate at the de Beaumont Foundation where she develops and implements a wide range of editorial strategies to extend the Foundation's reach, influence, and impact. Julia previously was a staff writer at the Association of American Medical Colleges, where she wrote about trends and research in academic medicine for the association's digital news publication, AAMCNews. She also worked as a reporter for The Nation's Health, the official newspaper of the American Public Health Association, covering public health and member news. She holds a Bachelor of Science in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University.

Grace A. Castillo, MPH, is a public health practitioner and health writer. She is particularly interested in public health infrastructure, science communication, and non-communicable diseases. As a program associate at the de Beaumont Foundation, she focused on project management for book publications. She has also volunteered with the Virginia Medical Reserve Corps. Previously, she worked for the Equity Research and Innovation Center (ERIC) as a student research intern. Grace graduated from the Yale School of Public Health's Chronic Disease Epidemiology Department with a Certificate in Regulatory Affairs. While completing her Master of Public Health, Grace interned with the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, where she worked with the Research Infrastructure team. Grace earned her BA in English from Yale University.