Communicating Health Equity

From layout to content to mediums of dissemination, communication is an undeniably important aspect of achieving health equity. Minorities and the poor usually require more than just sentences telling them they’re more likely to die from a disease – they require tailored messages that encourage change and a reduction in health disparities. Yesterday, we heard some interventions that worked to reduce disparities (see yesterday’s post on community interventions). These interventions wouldn’t have worked if the population didn’t understand the message.

Cultural sensitivity is equally important in crafting health messages. Different communities require different messaging to spark any change in health behaviors – what works for one community may not work for another, as our speakers today have demonstrated. Something as small as an image or tone has a stronger effect than we think, and with new avenues for dissemination, it is even more important that we as communicators are able to use new media effectively while sticking to the right message and the right audience.

In a little while, we will experience a new medium of conveying health messages to a specific population to motivate change– Hip-Hop. Stay tuned.