Public Communication
When designing public health communication messages, your ultimate goal is to change behaviors with the information, resulting in healthier lifestyles and improved well-being. Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) works with you to:
- Understand the expected social, behavioral, and health outcomes of your campaign
- Define and understand your target audience
- Research the topics
- Prepare a communications plan
- Develop, test, and deliver the messages and materials
Specific areas of expertise include:
- conducting risk communication and message development training for health, safety, and environmental personnel
- analyzing media reports and other means of communication to identify trends in coverage and misinformation
- moderating, organizing, and developing proceedings for public meetings
- crafting appropriate messages, summaries, and outreach materials for agencies or the general public
Partner with ORAU to execute your next communications effort. Examples of our work include:
Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT). ORAU is partnering with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to establish a national Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) system. It will integrate data about environmental hazards and exposures with data on diseases that may be linked to the environment. The EPHT system will be available to federal, state, and local public health departments.
Discovery Through Hindsight: When Communication Fails. ORAU developed this practical, problem-solving Web-based tool for the CDC. It is directed at helping risk communicators learn how to overcome the three biggest barriers to effective risk communication through the use of scenario-based learning.
Gardening in Lead-Contaminated Soil. Anniston, Ala., is a small community in the northeast region of the state. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has been involved in the Anniston community since the mid-90s due to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and lead contamination of the local environment. One of the chief health concerns in Anniston is the potential exposure of residents to these contaminants through gardening activities. Working with different community groups and organizations, ORAU assisted ATSDR in developing gardening-related educational materials and outreach activities.
More details on these projects can be found on ORAU's Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Web site.
