MPH 18: Select communication strategies for different audiences and sectors

Both the lead practice lab in MPH 613 and the audience insights practice lab in MPH 630 emphasized the importance of selecting communication strategies for different audiences and sectors. In the MPH 613 practice lab, we were required to consider the various audiences in HappyTown at risk of lead poisoning. We then had to consider how to best communicate lead poisoning risks to them based on their various attributes. In the MPH 630 practice lab, we were asked to select a public health issue and then a target behavior to promote among a specific audience. We worked through step five of the social marketing framework, which is gaining audience insights. This included considering factors like their potential motivations and perceived barriers to better develop a social marketing campaign to instill behavior change. Both of these practice labs allowed me to see the importance of considering the audience when communicating public health information and how crucial it is for effective communication strategies to be specific and targeted.

MPH 8: Apply awareness of cultural values and practices to the design or implementation of public health policies and programs

The competency of applying cultural values to public health policy or program design was reflected in both the MPH 613 and MPH 630 practice labs. In the MPH 613 lead practice lab, we completed an entire section on the various cultural beliefs present in HappyTown and how those might impact the acceptance of lead risk & prevention communication strategies. In the MPH 630 audience insights practice lab, we had to consider our target audience of adolescents and what their potential motivators, barriers, and perceived benefits may be to adopting the behavior of abstaining from illicit drug use. This included considerations of their cultural values and practices. Each of these practice labs highlighted the influence that culture and personal beliefs can have on an audience’s ability / willingness to accept public health policies and programs. I learned the need for public health practitioners to recognize and accept differing cultural values, and take them into consideration in order to develop effective policies and programs.