Category: We Heart Health Literacy

This week, we’re taking you back to school — or rather, to The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) for a chat with Dr. Mike Mackert. Mike is the director of the Center for Health Communication at UT Austin, where he trains students from a variety of health-related fields in how to be effective communicators. We got to pick his brain on the trends he’s seeing among future health communicators — and what we all can learn from them.

In recent years, the number of students who want to take Mike’s health communication courses has surged. Perhaps more surprisingly, most students who enroll aren’t studying a comms-related field — Mike notes that most of his students are preparing for a career in medicine, public health, or social work. “COVID was this fast-moving, complex, hard-to-crack health comm challenge. It led a lot of students to realize what health communicators have known all along — that the way we talk about health issues matters.”

In Mike’s class, students learn the foundations of successful communication. They also learn to embrace a new way of thinking about how to motivate people to change their (health) behavior. “Many students start the class wanting to ‘educate’ people into doing the right thing,” Mike says. If COVID has taught us anything, it’s that this approach has limitations. “In my course, I try to help students understand what actually motivates behavior change. You have to know your audience, meet them where they are, and understand the role of theory and evidence.” (For a refresher on health comm theories, check out our Useful Theory series!)

Another important skill Mike tries to teach his students is a willingness to critically examine their own ideas — and to pivot if the data ends up pointing in another direction. “It’s important for them to learn to be okay with being wrong and to not get too attached to an idea,” Mike says. “Students might come up with ideas they think are really great — but when we test them with the intended audience, we might find they don’t land as well as we thought.” In other words: he’s teaching students that following the evidence — and the audience’s lead — helps them do better work.

We asked Mike if he’s noticed any trends in how his students approach health comm challenges. He notes that today’s students seem to be much quicker to embrace the idea of audience segmentation — focusing communications on a specific, narrow subset of your audience. “Students really seem to drive a focus on hyper-local, hyper-targeted communication,” Mike says. “They’re willing to accept that doing a great job at reaching one specific audience is often more impactful than trying to reach everyone.”

In his class, students get the opportunity to try out their ideas in real-life scenarios. For example, students designed a campaign to educate their peers about overdose prevention and promote Narcan (a medicine to reverse opioid overdoses) on campus — and implement stages of the campaign over time, from raising awareness to addressing students’ concerns and barriers. Teaching tomorrow’s health professionals about the power of audience-focused messaging — what’s not to ❤️ about that?

But Mike and his team at the Center for Health Communication don’t stop at educating students. To bring their content to a broader professional audience, they’ve created the Health Communication Training Series — a collection of (mostly) free, snack-sized courses on a variety of health-related communication topics. The best part? These courses are open to anyone! And for those looking to take a deeper dive into the health comm issues of the day and network with other like-minded folks, the Center hosts the Health Communication Leadership Institute, a yearly in-person workshop. “This year’s workshop will include a program focused on both leadership development and health communication best practices,” Mike says.

The bottom line: Clear, actionable, and effective health messages are more important than ever. The good news: Institutions like UT Austin’s Center for Health Communication are educating tomorrow’s (and today’s!) health communicators to be ready to take on any challenge!

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Copy/paste to share on social (and tag us!):This week, CommunicateHealth sat down with Dr. Mike Mackert from @UTAustin’s Center for Health Communication to chat about educating tomorrow’s health communicators. Check out this conversation: https://communicatehealth.com/wehearthealthliteracy/voices-from-the-field-mike-mackert-ut-austin/ #HealthLiteracy #HealthComm

Picture this all-too-common scenario: Your doctor orders some routine blood tests at your annual checkup. So, you pop down to the lab, roll up your sleeve, and forget all about it… until a day or so later, when you get an alert from your patient portal. You log in and promptly start to panic. Oh no! Your XYZ is too low! Your ZYX is too high! You are clearly dying!!!

You call up your doctor. Why didn’t they notice at your appointment that you were mere moments from death, as these test results reveal? Pish posh, the doctor says. Tut tut. We don’t worry about XYZ results until it’s much lower than that. And that ZYX test — why that could’ve been thrown off by an overly large breakfast. Everything is completely fine!

Thanks to a 2016 law called the 21st Century Cures Act, patients now have immediate, unfettered access to their own health information. And that can be a good thing! But it also means people can get some pretty alarming info in their inboxes, sometimes before their own doctor has seen it.

For example, imagine that the results in your portal show that you may have cancer or another life-altering illness. And they arrive at 5 p.m. on a Friday, just as the doctor’s office closes. That’s a recipe for one very sleepless weekend. So, how can health communicators help doctors and patients navigate this situation?

Try these tips the next time you create materials about test results.

Explain the reference range. We’ve written before about a better way to communicate positive and negative test results. For results that use a reference (or “normal”) range, explain that labs set the range based on results for a group of healthy people. But they don’t capture the full range of possible results. So, the key thing to remember is that being outside the range doesn’t always mean you’re sick, and being inside the range doesn’t always mean you’re healthy. The best way to understand results is to talk directly with the doctor who ordered the test.

Provide a guide to complicated results. If you’ve ever read a pathology report, perhaps you’ve been offended by a reference to your insides called a “gross description.” Patients might be relieved to know that the pathologist is not, in fact, disgusted by their innards — this just means a general description of the tissue sample before they put it under a microscope. So, when the results go beyond a number on a range, provide a guide to what the results will look like and explain key terms patients need to understand.

Encourage doctors to set clear expectations. Before any blood gets drawn or samples taken, the patient should understand the purpose — and limitations — of the test. Will the result give a clear diagnosis? Is it just the first step to rule something out on the way to an answer? What’s the chance of a false result? How long will the results take, and how will the doctor follow up? This kind of level-setting is especially important when testing for a serious or sensitive illness, like cancer or a sexually transmitted infection.

Share some self-advocacy scripts. Even the best health education materials are no substitute for a clear conversation between doctor and patient. And doctors are often ordering tests in a hurry. So help support patients in getting the information they need by sharing these scripts.

• “Do I need to prepare before the test?” Some tests require fasting for a certain amount of time, but that’s not the only thing that can affect results. Encourage patients to ask if they need to change their routine leading up to the test — and to make sure their doctor knows all the medicines, vitamins, and supplements they’re taking.
• “What’s a normal result for me?” Labs often use different ranges based on things like age, sex, and pregnancy status. But lots of other factors like health conditions, activity level, and even geographic location can affect what’s “normal” for a specific person. So, encourage patients to ask their doctor what’s normal and healthy for them. That way, they’ll know what to expect before they see a result marked too high or too low.
• “When will you contact me about the results?” Doctors can’t always contact patients before results appear online. But patients can make a plan with their doctor for how they prefer to receive the results. For example, a doctor might agree to call or send a message within 2 days after the results arrive. That way, patients can decide if they want to look at the results on their own or wait to speak with their doctor directly.

The bottom line: Test results can be confusing, so explain what to expect from different tests — and encourage doctors and patients to have a conversation before heading off to the lab.

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Copy/paste to share on social (and tag us!): How can we support patients in the era of instant online test results? CommunicateHealth offers some tips: https://communicatehealth.com/wehearthealthliteracy/tips-for-talking-about-test-results #HealthCommunication #HealthLiteracy #HealthComm

It’s National Infant Immunization Week (yay)! To celebrate, we interviewed Dr. Michelle Fiscus, Chief Medical Officer at the Association of Immunization Managers (AIM). Dr. Fiscus helps inform AIM’s products, strategies, and policies to “establish a nation free of vaccine-preventable disease” — and on top of that, she’s a board-certified pediatrician with more than 30 years of experience.

Vaccination — especially childhood vaccination — is one of the greatest success stories of health care and public health. For Dr. Fiscus, it’s easy to see why: “We don’t see families having to have 10 kids anymore because half of them might die from whooping cough and other vaccine-preventable diseases.” Yet, on some level, the massive success of widespread vaccination has allowed vaccine hesitancy to take hold in recent years. “We don’t see the devastating effects of certain diseases anymore,” Dr. Fiscus explains. “Not long before I began my medical training, our emergency rooms were full of children suffering from meningitis as a result of Hib (Haemophilus influenza type b) infection.” Since the Hib vaccine became available in 1985, cases of the disease have dropped by 99 percent in the U.S.. Many other childhood diseases saw similar drops in cases once vaccines became broadly available.

For many of us, this data tells a clear and compelling story. But vaccine communication and vaccine uptake still face persistent challenges. Dr. Fiscus has 5 actionable strategies to help health communicators move the needle:

• Don’t underestimate the “movable middle.” “Very few people are truly anti-vaccine,” Dr. Fiscus says. “Everyone else is on a spectrum of acceptance.” People have different levels of questions and concerns about vaccination — and when we address the issues they care about, they’re more likely to be receptive. Dr. Fiscus reminds us to focus on common ground and shared purpose, especially when it comes to childhood vaccination. “The vast majority of parents are trying to do what’s in the best interest of their children,” she says. “We are too — we’re just coming at it from different perspectives.”
• Partner with trusted messengers. When people have questions or doubts, trust becomes that much more important. “Make sure that people are getting your messages from someone they can identify with,” Dr. Fiscus says. That might be their doctor, a community or religious leader, or even someone who lives in their area or shares common attributes or interests.
• Use data to draw comparisons. As public health folks, we know vaccines are the best option we have to prevent certain diseases. But we also know that simply presenting the facts — even if we have the data to support them — isn’t enough to change many people’s minds (or behaviors). Instead, put the data in perspective: “Across the lifespan, there’s only a 1 in 150,000 chance that you’ll get killed by lightning — but no one would let their kids play outside in a thunderstorm,” Dr. Fiscus says. “But there’s a 1 in 500 chance that a child with measles will die from the disease. Yet some of us are willing to take that risk. That’s where data can be helpful in pointing out the difference in perceived risk.”
• Tap into the power of storytelling. “Real stories resonate with people who are questioning,” Dr. Fiscus says. “Maybe they’ve heard that someone they know, however far removed, had a bad reaction or developed a health problem after getting a vaccine. That one anecdote might carry more weight than a doctor giving them a statistic.” To match the emotional weight of an anecdote, health communicators need to tell our own stories. “We need to humanize the science,” Dr. Fiscus says. “For example, when I was in practice, I took care of a perfectly healthy 8-year-old who died of complications from the flu. That was a child who lived in my town, a child with a name and a family.”
• Draw parallels to non-vaccine related situations. “A lot of what we’re fighting right now is medical freedom vs. public health. Personal freedom vs. what’s right for your community,” Dr. Fiscus says. COVID-19 showed us that the idea of getting vaccinated to keep others healthy can be a hard sell. To bolster that argument, we can compare vaccines to widely accepted social norms and laws designed to protect everyone. “In reality, there are a lot of things that the government tells people they can’t do. You’re not allowed to drive drunk — because doing so could kill you, but also because it could kill someone else,” Dr. Fiscus points out. “Yet we don’t see a lot of advocacy around removing drunk driving laws.” Drawing these parallels might encourage people to stop and think.

None of these strategies are likely to convince a person with strong anti-vaccine sentiments. But remember, most people are somewhere in the movable middle — and if we can combine effective health messaging with other important strategies, like communicating with empathy, we can make an impact.

But in this destabilizing moment, Dr. Fiscus’ most important message for health communicators might be this one: “Don’t give up. We’re watching in real time as many of the public health advancements we’ve worked for are being dismantled — but remember that this won’t last forever. This period we’re in right now, in the arc of a lifetime, is really just a blip. We will get past it. We need to keep doing the hard work, try different things, and learn as much as we can — so that whenever we find a little crack in the door, we can get in and start to make a difference.”

The bottom line: We’re constantly challenged to build vaccine confidence and counter mis- and disinformation — but by combining effective messaging with empathy, health communicators can help to increase vaccine uptake. And we’re so thankful organizations like AIM are here to help guide us.

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Copy/paste to share on social (and tag us!): This week, CommunicateHealth talked with Dr. Michelle Fiscus at @AIMimmunization about vaccine communication strategies that work. Check out our conversation: https://communicatehealth.com/wehearthealthliteracy/voices-from-the-field-dr-michelle-fiscus-association-of-immunization-managers/ #HealthLiteracy #HealthComm

A few weeks ago, CDC announced plans to study whether vaccines cause autism. This theory isn’t new — in fact, it’s contributed to vaccine hesitancy for decades. Back in the 90s, gastroenterologist Andrew Wakefield published a fundamentally flawed study linking autism to the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. In the decades since, researchers have identified a complex web of potential causes of autism — and hundreds of rigorous studies have shown no link between autism and vaccines. 

Here at We ❤️ Health Literacy HQ, we’ve shared plenty of tips and resources to help health communicators address mis- and disinformation. But during Autism Acceptance and Awareness Month, we want to focus on how this particular myth has harmed autistic people and their families — and what health communicators can do to help.

Wakefield’s infamous study was published at a time when autism diagnoses were on the rise, and the idea of an “autism epidemic” took shape. It’s understandable that many people wanted to identify a cause for autism — especially parents and caregivers of autistic children, who faced (and continue to face) many challenges. But the epidemic narrative reinforced stigma and ignored some important facts. As our understanding of autism has grown, diagnostic criteria have evolved, which makes it hard to compare autism rates across time. What is clear is that autistic women, transgender and nonbinary people, and people of color have historically been underdiagnosed, but that diagnostic gap is narrowing as more people get access to autism assessment. And as autistic people from underrepresented communities share their stories, they’re shifting cultural narratives about what autism looks like.

From this perspective, an increase in autism diagnoses is a good thing, because it means more people can access resources, support, and community. But the anti-vaccine movement continues to use autism as a bogeyman to cultivate fear and skepticism. The ableist implication is that it’s better for a child to risk catching a vaccine-preventable, potentially deadly disease than to be autistic.

In addition to promoting vaccine hesitancy, which can lead to devastating consequences like the recent measles outbreaks, this narrative has inspired dangerous pseudoscientific products that claim to treat or cure autism. It also echoes harmful messages many autistic people receive throughout their lives — that their natural ways of thinking, communicating, and moving through the world are undesirable or “less than.”

Looking at the big picture, the conversation about vaccines and autism takes attention away from systemic issues that disproportionately affect autistic people, like housing insecurity, unemployment, and discrimination in health care. And some advocates argue that time and money could be better spent on helping autistic people live healthier lives. By leading with empathy for autistic people and parents and caregivers who are impacted by stigmatizing anti-vaccine messages, health communicators can help change the narrative. Here are a few ways to start:

• Avoid “autism epidemic” messaging. If you’re writing about the prevalence of autism, present the numbers without value judgments.
• Speak up about harmful policy decisions. For example, many autistic people and their families will lose critical support with the elimination of the Administration for Community Living (ACL).
• Take a strengths-based perspective. To counter stigmatizing messages, highlight strengths while acknowledging challenges that autistic people experience.
• Support curiosity. If parents and caregivers have questions about autism and vaccines, encourage them to talk to their child’s doctor. You can also invite them to…
• Learn from autistic adults with different perspectives and experiences — and amplify their work! We ❤️ how organizations like the Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network and Learn Play Thrive center autistic lived experience and expertise.

The bottom line: The discredited idea of a connection between autism and vaccines is making headlines again, but health communicators can help change the narrative.

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Copy/paste to share on social (and tag us!): Challenge stigmatizing messages about autism and #vaccines with tips from CommunicateHealth: https://communicatehealth.com/wehearthealthliteracy/health-comm-for-the-current-moment-changing-the-narrative-about-vaccines-and-autism #HealthComm #HealthCommunication

New health comm resource alert! Our friends at the de Beaumont Foundation recently published Communicating About Public Health, a toolkit to help public health professionals build understanding of the field among the people they serve. We’re proud to share that CommunicateHealth supported this timely project! For today’s edition of Voices From the Field, we chatted with Mark Miller, de Beaumont’s Vice President of Communications, about key takeaways from the toolkit — and how we can apply those lessons to some of the biggest challenges health communicators are facing today.

Quick question: What is public health? If you don’t have an answer on the tip of your tongue, dear reader, you’re not alone. When Mark Miller arrived at the de Beaumont Foundation in 2018, he quickly recognized that public health professionals needed accessible language to explain the work they do. The lack of clear, consistent messaging about public health made it harder for professionals to build understanding, support, and trust with the people they serve. “To trust and support something, you first have to understand what it is,” Mark says. “At the de Beaumont Foundation, a big part of what we do is helping people communicate more effectively about what public health is and why it matters.” And that task has become more complex over the past few years. The field was thrust into the spotlight during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mark notes — and in the aftermath, “many people are starting with not just a lack of understanding, but negative impressions and emotions.”

Last year, the de Beaumont Foundation teamed up with CommunicateHealth to create Communicating About Public Health: A Toolkit for Public Health Professionals. The toolkit builds on years of de Beaumont’s message testing work before and during the pandemic — and it’s grounded in new research that de Beaumont and CommunicateHealth conducted with more than 1,600 U.S. adults in 2024. Communicating About Public Health features messaging to help public health pros address 5 key knowledge gaps or misconceptions about the field. The goal is to build understanding of public health through everyday conversations and written communication. “The toolkit helps professionals connect the dots between issues that they’re dealing with at the moment — like a disease outbreak or a food safety issue — and the broader goal of public health,” Mark explains.

Communicating About Public Health also offers practical strategies to help pros tailor messages for specific audiences. At the beginning of the pandemic, there were a lot of efforts to educate people living in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, Mark says, and the de Beaumont team identified the need to connect with politically conservative audiences, including people living in rural communities. As part of an effort to build confidence in COVID-19 vaccines across the political spectrum, the de Beaumont Foundation collaborated with GOP consultant and pollster Frank Luntz to learn about conservative audiences’ values and beliefs. While presenting this work at a Society for Health Communication event, Mark asked attendees: “When you think about health equity, how many of you think about political affiliation or rural communities?” It’s a thought-provoking question worth revisiting. “In public health, we often talk about meeting people where they are,” Mark says. “That’s critically important, and we need to approach that in an even broader way.”

If there’s one thing we learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s the value of acknowledging uncertainty. During uncertain times, it’s especially important to be upfront about what we don’t know. Mark also encourages health communicators to empathize with people’s genuine curiosity about topics like vaccination. “In our research during the pandemic, an approach that worked well acknowledged the importance of personal choice,” Mark explains. “For example, try using language like: ‘It’s natural for people to have questions. I want to try to answer your questions so you can make the best decision for you and your family.’”

With all the transitions and disruptions we’re experiencing, Mark advises health communicators to get back to basics. “Remember what drew you to this work,” Mark says. “Focus on those important goals — and seek new ways to accomplish them.” In unpredictable times, that’s a lesson all communicators can embrace.

The bottom line: Mark Miller and his team at the de Beaumont Foundation know that building understanding of public health is a key step toward building trust. Check out Communicating About Public Health for messages to help you build understanding of public health in your community!  

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Copy/paste to share on social (and tag us!): This week, CommunicateHealth chatted with Mark Miller at the de Beaumont Foundation about Communicating About Public Health: a helpful new toolkit for #PublicHealth pros. Check out our conversation: https://communicatehealth.com/wehearthealthliteracy/voices-from-the-field-mark-miller-de-beaumont-foundation #HealthLiteracy #HealthComm

Monday is Transgender Day of Visibility — a day when we celebrate the lives and contributions of trans and nonbinary people, amplify their voices, and honor their victories. It’s a day to acknowledge the strength and power of the trans community while also having honest conversations about the factors — like discrimination, stigma, and violence — that have required trans people to develop such resilience and courage. These factors affect health and well-being just as much as medical concerns (for example, trans people have higher rates of conditions like HIV/AIDS and mental illness).

But here’s the problem: We don’t always have the data to fully see the impact of any of these realities. Many public health surveys and studies ask participants to identify either their sex (a biological construct) or their gender (a social construct), but not both. This approach makes it almost impossible to fully understand the experiences of trans and nonbinary people. And when public health data fails to include a population (or when a population is erased from public data sets), that population is left out of research findings, policy decisions, and health care services.

So, what can we as health communicators and researchers do? We can start by doing our best to make sure our trans and nonbinary community members are visible. And although we don’t have all the answers, we do have a few suggestions.

• Use the two-step method to gather sex and gender information on surveys. It asks participants to name both their current gender and their sex assigned at birth. This approach helps make trans and nonbinary people visible in data — and when people are visible, public health programs can better meet their needs.
• Partner with trans people. In short, when trying to learn about a population, team up with them. One term for this is community-based participatory research (CBPR) — it’s a collaborative approach that directly involves communities in study design, data collection, and analysis. (Check out Howard Brown Health’s guide to CBPR for trans and nonbinary health!)
• Partner with community-based organizations that serve trans populations. These organizations bring lived experience, trust, and deep connections that can help ensure research is respectful, relevant, and actionable.
• When trans data is deleted from public data sets, link to new data. It may not always be possible to find a one-to-one replacement, but do your best. For example, U.S. Trans Survey may be an option for some public health-related data, The Trevor Project can provide data related to mental health in LGBTQ+ young people (and segments some data by gender identity), and this survey of trans adults includes categories on discrimination, mental health, and accessing health care. And if the information you’re linking to isn’t the perfect fit for the information that was deleted, consider explaining why. After all, a key part of supporting equity is advocacy — and when we call out attempts to erase the presence of trans people, we continue to advocate for and support trans visibility.
• Prioritize inclusive language. This almost goes without saying — but now more than ever, choose language that reflects trans people’s identities and experiences and conveys respect to everyone. Check out our Inclusive Language Playbook for actionable tips!

The bottom line: When trans people are left out of data, they’re left out of health care — and that perpetuates and deepens disparities. Inclusive approaches to collecting gender information and population research are vital to honoring the experiences and addressing the needs of trans people.  

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Copy/paste to share on social (and tag us!): Celebrate Transgender Day of Visibility with these tips about inclusive data: https://communicatehealth.com/wehearthealthliteracy/on-transgender-day-of-visibility-lets-talk-about-inclusive-data-in-public-health/

Here at We ❤️ Health Literacy HQ, we’ve spent the past decade listening to Veterans and designing mental health information based on their feedback. Along the way, we’ve learned about challenges that many Veterans face as they transition from military service to civilian life. We’re concerned that recent federal funding cuts and diminishing support for Veterans’ health research, mental health care, and other vital services could make it more difficult for Veterans to manage these challenges.

For example, some Veterans experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), develop chronic pain, or lose mobility because of events that happened during their service. Social determinants of health also play a key role in Veterans’ health outcomes. As Veterans readjust to civilian life, many struggle to find work, contributing to financial instability and housing insecurity. If a Veteran can’t afford basic needs like safe housing, getting regular medical care becomes that much harder.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides health care to thousands of Veterans every year — but the system can be confusing to navigate. Understanding eligibility rules and accessing care can be overwhelming, especially for Veterans with complex health needs. In this enlightening article, Veteran Jenn Kerfoot describes the transition from military to civilian life as “a leap into the unknown” — especially when it comes to health care. Jenn says it best: “In the military, every aspect of your health care is meticulously managed for you. Terms like coverage, eligibility, copayments, and scheduling complexities are foreign languages. But upon being discharged, a Veteran is in uncharted waters, navigating a sea of administrative tasks that are as crucial as they are bewildering.”

As health communicators, we have an opportunity to help Veterans navigate the complex health care system by making health information clear, accessible, and actionable. When you’re designing health info for Veterans, keep these tips in mind: 

• Co-design with Veterans. Focus groups, in-depth interviews, and usability testing are just a few ways to involve Veterans in the process of creating communication materials. Even if you’re developing materials for a broader audience, including Veterans in formative research and testing is a great way to make sure your materials reflect Veterans’ perspectives. (Want to brush up on your moderation skils? Check out these simple tips.)
• Partner with organizations that serve Veterans, like American Veterans (AMVets) or Disabled American Veterans (DAV).Teaming up with organizations that serve your audience can amplify your reach and reinforce the credibility of your materials.
• Prioritize accessibility. Of course, it’s always important to make communication materials accessible, but we’re including this special shoutout because Veterans are more likely to be living with a disability. According to the U.S. Census, about a third of Veterans have a disability related to their military service. So when you’re designing for Veterans, be sure to follow accessibility best practices like including alt text, building in plenty of white space, and using high color contrast.
• Highlight crisis resources. Help Veterans access mental health support when they need it most. Direct readers to resources like the Veterans Crisis Line, which offers free, 24/7 support by phone, text message, and online chat.
• Share peer support resources. We’re proud to support AboutFace, a VA website where Veterans can learn about PTSD from others who’ve been there. Veterans can also access peer support services through VA. And organizations like the Wounded Warrior Project and National Association of Minority Veterans (NAMVETS) can help Veterans connect with others who share similar experiences.

The bottom line: Veterans may face increasing barriers to health care, but health communicators can help by making Veterans’ health information clear, accessible, and actionable. 

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Copy/paste to share on social (and tag us!): Help #Veterans access care by making health information clear, actionable, and accessible. Check out these tips from CommunicateHealth: https://communicatehealth.com/wehearthealthliteracy/health-comm-for-the-current-moment-serving-those-who-served/ #HealthComm #HealthCommunication

Here at We ♥️ Health Literacy HQ, we’re always looking for ways to actively counter stigma when we’re writing about highly stigmatized topics. Stigma and discrimination against already-marginalized groups of people are especially widespread right now — but the substance of it isn’t new. People living with HIV have been fighting harmful stereotypes and discrimination since the AIDS epidemic began in the early ’80s. That’s almost 45 years!

So, what can we as health communicators do to take a stand against stigma while still communicating important messages to help keep our audiences safe and healthy? We’ve got a few ideas for you:

• Focus on behaviors, not identities. Consider a sentence like, ”Gay men are at higher risk for HIV.” Without context, this statement doesn’t capture the whole picture. Many gay men aren’t at risk for HIV at all, and many other people are at risk. So be sure to explain the behaviors that raise people’s risk (like having condomless sex with someone who doesn’t know their HIV status or sharing equipment for injecting drugs) — and leave identity out of the equation.
• Clearly explain the steps people can take to keep HIV from spreading. For example, people who don’t have HIV but have sexual partners who do can take PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) or use condoms. And taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) can help people with HIV stay healthy and avoid giving HIV to anyone else. More knowledge = healthier people and less stigma — so tell your audiences what they can do to stay safe and healthy.
• Use positive framing. No doubt about it, HIV is a serious condition. But these days, it’s very possible to live a long, healthy life with HIV — and to keep the disease from spreading (see above). Tell your audiences so! This kind of positive framing not only empowers people with HIV but also helps everyone recognize that people with HIV are just… people, going about their lives like anyone else.
• Use language thoughtfully. As always, choosing words that help people feel seen and accepted goes a long way toward countering stigma and stereotypes. This can include using people-first language (think “people with HIV” rather than “HIV patients”), taking care to get people’s pronouns right, and avoiding terms like “clean” to describe HIV test results. Pay attention to the terms that folks with HIV and the organizations that serve them are using — and, of course, test your materials with your audience whenever you can!
• Choose images carefully. Just like the words we use, images can help us counter stigma. But they can also perpetuate it. Be mindful of this when you’re choosing images for your HIV materials. While choosing a specific group of people as your priority audience is a good idea, keep in mind that if you’re only showing a specific group (say, gay men) or a specific subset of that group (like gay men of only 1 race, skin tone, age, or body type) in your HIV materials, the final result might accidentally reinforce stereotypes about who gets HIV.

The bottom line: Anti-HIV stigma is widespread and harmful. Making intentional choices about terminology, framing, images, and more in your HIV communications can help counter that stigma and empower your audiences.

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Copy/paste to share on social (and tag us!): Get out in front of harmful anti-HIV stigma and stereotypes with CommunicateHealth’s HIV communication tips: https://communicatehealth.com/wehearthealthliteracy/health-comm-for-the-current-moment-countering-hiv-stigma/ #HealthComm #HealthCommunication

Learning from your audience is a key step for creating materials that help your audience feel seen and accepted. Ideally, every health communicator would have access to a legion of expert researchers to conduct research sessions — but we know that’s not always the case. Time and budget constraints mean that formal research isn’t always on the table. And even when research is an option, it’s often health communicators (not specialized research professionals) in the room asking the questions.

But never fear, dear reader! Today, we’re bringing you some practical tips for moderating a research session — be it a focus group, in-depth interview, or usability testing — to help you make the most of the time you have with your audience and get useful insights that can inform your content.

Try these tips for moderating a successful research session:

• Break the ice. Spend a few minutes at the start of the session chatting with participants before diving into your research questions — for example, ask about their hometown or a favorite activity. This gives people time to “warm up” and get comfortable talking with you.
• Set expectations. Explain the purpose of your research and let participants know what to expect. Let them know how long you’ll be talking, what you’ll do with the information they share, and who will have access to it. If you’re going to be recording any part of the session, be sure to get participants’ consent — and give them a chance to ask any questions they may have before you get started.
• Create a discussion guide. A discussion guide is a tool that you can use to stay on track during your session. It’s not a script — but it can help you remember what you want to ask and give the session structure. Write out your questions, group them by topic, and note how much time you want to spend on each section. Consider highlighting your must-ask questions in case you’re short on time toward the end. And keep in mind that you can always adjust questions on the fly based on what’s happening in the conversation!
• Ask open-ended questions. How you ask a question can be just as important as what you ask about. To get the most from your participants, ask questions they can’t answer with a simple “yes” or “no.” For example, instead of asking “Do you exercise every day?” try “How often are you active?” or “Tell me about your physical activity routine.” Avoid asking leading questions that only leave people with 2 options to choose from, like “which is more helpful for keeping track of your medicine doses — a smartphone app or a paper schedule?” An open-ended way to ask that question might be: “How do you keep track of your medicine doses?”
• Be an active listener. Listen closely to your participants’ responses. This not only shows respect for your participant and helps you build trust — it also helps you fully engage with the new information you’re learning. When you’re using active listening skills, you’re in a better position to ask thoughtful follow-up questions or know when to probe for more information.
• Treat sessions like a normal conversation. Using a conversational tone can help your participants relax and be comfortable while they’re sharing their experiences — and keep the session from feeling like a “test.” Even so, some participants may ask if they’re answering your questions or doing tasks “correctly.” If that happens, try saying “there’s not a right or wrong way to answer — I’m here to learn about what you think.” Keep in mind that conducting research can mean talking to folks about sensitive or deeply personal subjects. It’s okay to acknowledge your participants’ emotions and show empathy
• Set yourself up for success. Planning ahead can make a big difference. If you can, ask a friend or colleague to do a “dry run” of your session before you meet with real participants. A dry run is an opportunity to check any technology you plan to use and make sure you have enough time to get through everything. And it’s a great way to get initial feedback on the tone and clarity of your questions!

The bottom line: Audience research is key to creating materials that resonate — and as health communicators, we sometimes have to put on our researcher hats to get it done. Following best practices can help you host successful research sessions and get the most from your audiences.

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Copy/paste to share on social (and tag us!):Conducting research is a key way #HealthCommunicators can create materials that resonate with our audiences. This week, CommunicateHealth shares tips for moderating a research session: https://communicatehealth.com/wehearthealthliteracy/moderating-research-sessions #HealthCommunication #HealthLiteracy #HealthComm

If you’re a parent or caregiver of young kids (or just a person who enjoys well-made, educational public television), you might have come across PBS’s new addition to their children’s programming: Carl the Collector.

Carl’s a young boy/racoon who, as the show’s name implies, likes to collect things: from everyday things like rocks and sticks you might find on any playroom’s windowsill, to more whimsical items like fake mustaches. For Carl, his collections are more than just the product of a backyard excursion. Carl’s autistic, which makes him one of the few neurodivergent characters to have a lead role in popular TV.

Carl the Collector strikes a delicate balance between autism-driven stories and stories about everyday experiences that all kids can relate to — and the show strikes that balance exceptionally well. “Carl the Collector spotlights neurodivergent characters while exploring and celebrating the entire spectrum of humanity,” says Creator and Executive Producer Zachariah OHora. “[Their world] is designed to be a place where all viewers will see themselves or someone they know in it. We hope Carl and his friends will encourage empathy and understanding, and ultimately show that everyone benefits when we recognize and embrace our differences.” 

What we ❤️ most about Carl the Collector is that it’s a perfect example of how to center the lived experience of audience members when communicating about a health topic — and how this approach can make a great material even stronger. From the show’s creator, to its director, to other members of the production team, many of the people in charge of bringing Carl and his friends to life are either autistic themselves or have close relationships with people on the spectrum. Carl and his friend Lotta, the other autistic cast member, are voiced not by professional actors, but by kids who are neurodivergent (check out this article for more details about how the show’s produced). Lotta also highlights the experiences of autistic girls, who are often overlooked and underrepresented in media.

This commitment to reflecting Carl and Lotta’s everyday challenges, joys, and passionate interests makes Carl the Collector feel authentic in a way few TV shows do. But just like in real life, autism is only one part of their story. Carl and his friends explore, go on adventures, argue sometimes, and get into trouble — but most importantly, they learn how to work together to solve problems while respecting each other’s unique personalities. And that’s a lesson we all — adults, kids, and racoons — can embrace.

The bottom line: Carl the Collector brings us important lessons about autism in the best way possible — with sensitivity, humor, and taught by an adorable racoon in an argyle sweater.

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Copy/paste to share on social (and tag us!): If there’s ever a time to spotlight diversity — and authentic autism representation — it is now. Check out CommunicateHealth’s take on @PBS’s adorable new show, Carl the Collector, featuring one of very few neurodivergent main characters in children’s TV: https://communicatehealth.com/wehearthealthliteracy/tv-club-carl-the-collector/