Effective Strategies for Communicating
Public Health Findings with the Media
and Policymakers
October 25, 2012
1:00-2:30 PM ET
Harold Cox, Boston University
Emily Holubowich, CRD Associates
Kristin Rosengren, AcademyHealth
AcademyHealth: Improving
Health & Health Care
AcademyHealth is a leading national organization serving the fields of health services
and policy research and the professionals who produce and use this important work.
Together with our members, we offer programs and services that support the
development and use of rigorous, relevant and timely evidence to:
1.
2.
3.
Increase the quality, accessibility and value
of health care,
Reduce disparities, and
Improve health.
A trusted broker of information, AcademyHealth
brings stakeholders together to address the current
and future needs of an evolving health system,
inform health policy, and translate evidence into action.
Get Involved

Join one of AcademyHealth’s Interest Groups
– Translation and Communications IG
– Advocacy IG
– Public Health Systems Research IG
• PHSR is a field of study that examines the
organization, financing, and delivery of public health
services within communities, and the impact of those
services on population health outcomes.

Visit
www.AcademyHealth.org/InterestGroups
Be Active
Visit http://my.AcademyHealth.org
 Follow @PHSR_AH
 Live Tweet today #PHTalks
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Objectives
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Provide a basic understanding of:
– Why – you can and should become more
involved in health policy and politics
– How – to communicate with media and
policymakers
• Who – to target
• What – types of messages work
• When and Where – to reach out (tips and vehicles)
Today’s speakers
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Kristin Rosengren (Director of
Communications, AcademyHealth) media and message
Emily Holubowich (Senior Vice
President, CRD Associates) –
advocacy, outreach and
communication with policymakers
Harold Cox (Associate Dean for
Public Health Practice, Boston
University) – first-person account and
experience
Live Tweet
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Live Tweet today #PHTalks
Background
WHY COMMUNICATIONS AND
ADVOCACY?
Beware “Bench to Bookshelf”
Research that isn’t identified and understood,
isn’t used
 Research that isn’t used, isn’t valued
 Research that isn’t valued isn’t funded
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A small problem
Source: Suleski, J. and M. Ibaraki, Scientists are talking, but mostly to each other: a quantitative analysis of research
represented in mass media, Public Understanding of Science, Jan 2010
Challenge: Good evidence can be
hard to find
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Academic incentives often provide minimal support
for translation
Dissemination approaches don’t typically focus on
policy audiences
Decision makers and media have:
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Competing priorities
Varying levels of training/expertise
Many issues and influencers vying for their attention
Need for more/better evidence
Challenge: Politics, hierarchy and
authority
More than one in five of Minnesota’s local
public health directors (21 percent) lacks the
authority to initiate communication with locally
elected officials
Gearin, K, et al, Measuring the Authority of Local Public Health Directors in the Context of
Organizational Structure: An Exploratory, Multimodal Approach, Journal of Public Health
Management & Practice. 18(6):545-550,
November/December 2012.
Advocacy Is Your Right
Right to petition government is one of five
freedoms guaranteed through Constitution
 You do not forgo rights because you work for
the public sector, receive public funding
 Talking to policymakers does not make you a
“lobbyist”
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Advocacy ≠ Not Lobbying
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Advocacy: any activity to influence policy
– Talking about a policy problem
– Seeking change to address it
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Lobbying has strict legal, IRS definitions
– Asking policymakers to act on specific legislation
– Asking others to ask the same
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Lobbying doesn’t make you a lobbyist
A Little about Strategy and Goals
WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO
ACCOMPLISH?
Strategy: What do you want to do
and how will you do it?
What are you trying to accomplish?
 Who are you trying to reach?
 What messages are likely to work?
 When and where will you engage & followup?
 With what materials, tools?
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Who do you need to reach?
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Who are the decision makers who can use your research?
– Policymakers on committees of jurisdiction
– State Medicaid directors
– Local officials
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Who influences the decision makers? Audiences can be
broad:
– Constituents/general public
– Staff
– Media
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Who else? Business leaders, health care providers?
Do your research
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What do your target audiences care about; what do
they need to do their jobs?
What level of influence do they have?
Who do they trust?
What have they done lately?
Know your audience:
Policymakers
Jack of all trades, inundated with info,
accountable to constituents, influenced by
many
 Influence is situational
 Beliefs often trump policy
 People first, politicians second
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Know your audience: Media
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An audience and a vehicle
Specialists, not typically scientists (but can be!)
Appreciate experts who can break down the
idea or issue
Often under intense time pressure (currency bias)
Managing journalistic ideals and business realities
Individuals, not stereotypes
Challenge: Influencers Seek
Reinforcing Opinions
Source: Gardner, W. What can academics learn from think tanks. From the Blog: “Something Not Unlike Research”
http://notunlikeresearch.typepad.com/something-not-unlike-rese/2011/09/what-can-academics-learn-from-thinktanks.html
Challenge: Evidence Can Polarize
Source: Abromowitz, A. The Disappearing Center. Yale University Press
Crafting messages that work
Simple/clear
 Unexpected
 Concrete
 Credible
 Emotional
 Stories
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From: “Made to Stick” by Chip and Dan Heath
Example: Keeping it simple and the “curse
of knowledge"
Before
“Social Determinants of Health”
After
“Health starts where we work, play and
live.”
From Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
“A New Way to Talk about Social Determinants of Health”
Some good resources on
messaging
A new way to talk about the social
determinants of health (RWJF)
 Made to Stick (Dan and Chip Heath)
 Words that Work (Luntz)
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Making contact
DETERMINING WHEN, AND HOW,
TO ENGAGE
Do your research
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What is the issue?
Where is this issue is in the policy process ?
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In legislation
In drafting phase
In discussions
Not even on the radar
What has been written about this already, by whom,
and how recently?
Know when and where to engage
Gladiatorial
Transitional
Spectator
Policy: Many Ways to Engage
Involvement
Activities
Spectator
•Educate your friends, family; encourage action
•Subscribe to elected officials’ listserves
•“Friend” & “Tweet” your elected officials
•Publish editorial in local paper
•Post YouTube video and share with elected officials
Transitional
•Send a letter to elected officials
•Attend town halls and ask questions
•Contact congressional staff via phone, e-mail
•Make personal call to elected officials
•Meet with elected officials/staff (in DC or back home)
Gladiatorial
•Make political contributions; attend/host local fundraisers
•Volunteer for campaign
•Run for elected office
Media: Many Ways to Engage
Involvement
Activities
Spectator
•Read and follow the media who cover issues you research
•Subscribe to RSS feed, Twitter, FB of relevant media
•Retweet (RT) their work and share links via FB
•Blog and tweet on your own
Transitional
•Respond to tweets and blogs with helpful links and resources
•Write a letter to the editor
•Share information of relevance via email
Gladiatorial
•Write and pitch an op-ed
•Editorial meetings, briefings & other events
•Write and place your own article
•Create a You Tube Video
Policymakers: Reputation Matters
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Providing credible, reliable information is most
important determinant for gaining access (45
percent)
– Lobby reputation, PAC support less important (only 2 percent)
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Staff rate “academic or issue experts” among most
valuable source of information (39 percent)
– Congressional Research Service ranks highest (55 percent)
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Majority of staff see bias in media
Media: Looking for Storytellers
Reputation
 Responsiveness
 Clarity
 Insight
 Information
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When You Connect…
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Be flexible and focused!
– Time and location subject to change
– Build rapport, demonstrate understanding of their
interests
– Get down to business quickly
– Stay on message
– Don’t be afraid to say, “I don’t know”
– Be polite and respectful
Prepare for Interruptions
Practice a 1-minute, 3-minute and 5-minute
version of your story
 Use flags and bridges to stay on track
 Prepare for potential minefields
 Never repeat negative language
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The Inverted Pyramid
Headline (aka – the message)
Lead
Detail
Example
A note about materials
Visual
 Compelling
 Appropriate levels of detail
 Call to action
 Contact information
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Use Compelling Images
Use Appropriate
Level of Detail
Personalize,
if possible
Close strong: stay in touch
For Media and Policymakers
 Follow-up on specific action requests
 Share pertinent information on a regular basis
 Continue to make specific requests
 Remember: trusting relationships built over time
Up Next:
DR. HAROLD COX
Reasons to talk to policymakers and the
media
• Inform about a new development / trend
• Help manage bad situation
• Continue funding a project
• Advocate for legislation / city ordinance
Policy Increments
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1975
1984
1986
1987
1995
1999
2001
• Cambridge Alone
• The whole state
• Surrounding
communities
The Regional Approach
• Wrote standard policy banning smoking
• Identified 9 communities surrounding Cambridge
• Held meetings with health directors and tobacco
advocates
What Happened
• Coalition Grew -- 9 to 19 members
• Boston’s Mayor endorsed the campaign
• Somerville says “yes”
if Cambridge will
Cambridge
• 4 Councilors FOR
• 4 Councilors AGAINST
• 1 Councilor UNDECIDED
Let the games begin
• Telephone campaign
• E-mail campaign
• Ordinance Committee Meetings
• Strategy Meetings
June 9, 2003
Information to Communicate
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health risks
specific actions to take
why important now
technical issues
address oppositions’ concerns
Know your policymaker
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Don’t be intimated
Make the issue local and relevant
Develop ongoing relationship
Don’t burn bridges
You are the expert!
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Know your issue
Know the 2 main points
No jargon
Leave data charts at home
Tell personal story
Repeat the 2 main points
ABOVE ALL
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Be clear
Be brief
Be persuasive
Be timely
Be prepared
Finally: Repeat 2 main points
Submitting Questions
To submit a question:
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Click in the Q&A box
on the left side of your
screen
Type your question
into the dialog box and
click the Send button
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ategiesforphsrcommunication
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www.academyhealth.org/phsr