Gollust Sarah E, Medero Kristina, Nelson Quin Mudry, Ford Ceron, Fowler Erika Franklin, Niederdeppe Jeff, Nagler Rebekah H
University of Minnesota School of Public Health.
Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Minnesota.
Milbank Q. 2025 Jun;103(2):581-637. doi: 10.1111/1468-0009.70022. Epub 2025 May 26.
Policy Points Public health communicators in practice discuss health equity issues in a competitive information environment. Through interviews with 36 communicators from diverse professional perspectives (i.e., journalists, advocates, public health leaders) in 2022-2023, we illuminated key challenges they face and strategies and resources that might mitigate these challenges. Findings can inform communication research priorities and investment in resources to help practitioners communicate about health equity amid a challenging political landscape.
Communicating about health equity is increasingly challenging in light of a changing information environment and the emergence of opposition to equity and equity-related concepts since 2020. Public health communicators often discuss health equity-related concepts, but it is not clear what strategies they use or what resources can support them to overcome challenges they face.
We conducted qualitative interviews (N = 36) with communicators across four professional categories (public health leaders, journalists, thought leaders, and health advocates/organizers) from late 2022 to mid-2023 to discuss the strategies they employ; the challenges or barriers they face related to audiences, their institutions, or the broader communication landscape; and the resources they rely on, including their social networks, toolkits or guides, trainings, and research.
Communicators use a range of strategies to explain health equity, the causes of disparities, and the imperative of solutions; data and stories were common approaches used, although these strategies were not considered a panacea. They also face consistent challenges, such as concerns about audience resistance, lack of public understanding of terminology, and a fragmented communication landscape-and for journalists in particular, institutional barriers and the challenge of identifying diverse sources. Communicators rely on a range of resources, though mainly colleagues and interpersonal support, with the use of research-based resources being relatively uncommon. Although there were commonalities among public health leaders' and advocates' approaches, journalists' concerns and resources were often different.
Communicators could benefit from more research to confirm or offset some of their concerns (such as the potential for resistance from the use of key phrases, like "systemic racism," or unintended consequences of using disparities data); researchers must also disseminate this work to these practitioners, including journalists. Academic researchers, foundations, and nonprofit organizations all can play roles in building infrastructure for resource sharing, research dissemination, and convening communicators to build stronger connections and support.
政策要点 实际工作中的公共卫生传播者在竞争激烈的信息环境中讨论健康公平问题。通过在2022年至2023年期间对36位来自不同专业视角（即记者、倡导者、公共卫生领导者）的传播者进行访谈，我们阐明了他们面临的关键挑战以及可能减轻这些挑战的策略和资源。研究结果可为传播研究重点和资源投入提供参考，以帮助从业者在充满挑战的政治环境中就健康公平问题进行沟通。
鉴于信息环境不断变化以及自2020年以来对公平及与公平相关概念的反对出现，就健康公平进行沟通正变得越来越具有挑战性。公共卫生传播者经常讨论与健康公平相关的概念，但不清楚他们使用何种策略或哪些资源可以支持他们克服所面临的挑战。
我们在2022年末至2023年年中对四个专业类别的传播者（公共卫生领导者、记者、思想领袖和健康倡导者/组织者）进行了定性访谈（N = 36），以讨论他们采用的策略；他们在受众、所在机构或更广泛的传播环境方面面临的挑战或障碍；以及他们所依赖的资源，包括他们的社交网络、工具包或指南、培训和研究。
传播者使用一系列策略来解释健康公平、差距产生的原因以及解决方案的必要性；数据和故事是常用的方法，尽管这些策略并非万灵药。他们还面临持续的挑战，例如担心受众抵触、公众对术语缺乏理解以及传播环境碎片化——尤其是对于记者而言，存在机构障碍以及识别多样化消息来源的挑战。传播者依赖多种资源，不过主要是同事和人际支持，基于研究的资源使用相对较少。虽然公共卫生领导者和倡导者的方法有共同之处，但记者的担忧和资源往往不同。
传播者可受益于更多研究以确认或消除他们的一些担忧（例如使用关键短语如“系统性种族主义”可能引发的抵触情绪，或使用差距数据的意外后果）；研究人员还必须将这项工作传播给这些从业者，包括记者。学术研究人员、基金会和非营利组织都可以在建立资源共享、研究传播的基础设施以及召集传播者建立更紧密联系和提供支持方面发挥作用。
