Becoming Better Messengers: New Communication Frameworks for Public Health, Equity & Social Justice in a Polarized Political Environment

Public health advocacy during this pandemic has required making law & policy changes in a highly-charged environment where aspects of public health have now become politicized.  Navigating public health communication through this political lens requires our public health workforce to look deeper for new ways to resonate with both the public and a variety of diverse policy-makers.

The Covid-19 pandemic is still top of the mind for citizens, public health, health care and policy makers alike, but people who hold different political perspectives view the pandemic differently. In this challenging time, public health professionals need to effectively communicate with each other, elected officials and the public from both sides of the political divide and across cultures in order to find common ground in working toward health equity in our public health responses.

This session will build upon the framework of Moral Foundations Theory to provide guidance by examining the relationship between our political views and the intuitive values with which we all resonate. We can become better advocates by understanding which foundational moral values resonate with us and why it is important to recognize, appreciate, and learn to speak to other people's values in the communities we serve.

With the help of a diverse and experienced panel we will actively engage session participants in a deeper conversation about the challenges now being faced and will provide new frameworks to move forward during these unprecedented events.