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Our seasoned professionals and award-winning solutions have helped secure national and global health since 1946.

ORAU blends communication, marketing, preparedness, technical training and research skills to develop solutions that inform the public and equip health professionals to respond to the most pressing public health challenges.

Our experienced professionals and award-winning solutions have helped secure national and global health since 1946. We specialize in developing and facilitating training solutions to protect the health and safety of workers and consumers across the globe. Our evidence-based solutions are tailored to help federal and state agencies, preparedness professionals, and local communities prepare for, respond to and recover from all types of public health and healthcare emergencies.

Industries we serve

  • Federal government agencies
  • Healthcare organizations
  • Public health agencies
  • Businesses
  • Non-profit organizations
  • Community-based organizations and clubs
  • Academia
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    Health Communication & Marketing

    ORAU develops measureable health communication interventions to effectively reach high-risk audiences in an effort to prevent or mitigate critical health concerns. Our experts employ proven marketing strategies and innovative technologies to disseminate tailored disease prevention messages and materials.

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    eLearning & Training Development

    ORAU training specialists and instructional designers can transform your traditional classroom training to online learning via custom websites or a learning management system. Trainings are customized to effectively meet the needs of specialized audiences.

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    Research & Evaluation

    ORAU conducts formative research, evaluation and in-depth analyses to fully define health and safety challenges and inform the development of effective strategies and programs to overcome these challenges.

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    Technology Support

    From healthcare professional training to consumer and environmental health education, ORAU specializes in creating customized health and preparedness training solutions to protect the well-being of employees and the public worldwide. Through web-based and live classroom courses, ORAU trains more than 25,000 health, safety and emergency preparedness professionals annually.

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Key customers

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
  • National Library of Medicine
  • U.S. Department of Energy
  • U.S. Food and Drug Administration
  • Veterans Health Administration
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  • U.S. Food and Drug Administration
  • U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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    Perspective: Ending the stigma of addiction through the power of words

    ORAU researchers are helping journalists and other media members understand how the power of words can help reduce the stigma of opioid use disorder, which is caused by underlying, and usually incorrect, beliefs about addiction and recovery.

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    Opioid abuse crisis in Appalachia

    Since 2016, ORAU has traveled to six Appalachian states training over 30 anti-drug coalitions, not-for-profit organizations, local health departments, emergency responders and law enforcement agencies through an Opioid Prevention Social Media Training and Technical Assistance Program. The program trains local organizations to more effectively use social media to communicate with the public about opioid misuse and abuse.

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    Could immersive virtual reality provide a path to increased flu vaccination rates?

    Imagine you are in a restaurant enjoying a quiet dinner with friends when someone sneezes, spreading the influenza virus to the people around him. That’s the beginning of an immersive virtual reality simulation that shows how flu spreads and impacts the health of other people. Researchers at ORAU and the University of Georgia hope such simulations will encourage more people to get a flu vaccine.

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    Is social media helping or hindering vaccination rates?

    A team from ORAU and the University of Georgia is characterizing the digital channels, principal arguments and communication message tactics used by pro-vaccine and anti-vaccine advocates across social media for three different types of vaccines. Funded by ORAU's ODRD program, this project is examines message tactics and other components that can be used as part of a digital strategy to improve vaccine messaging on social media in an effort to increase vaccination rates.

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    NLM and ORAU partner in developing eLearning courses

    ORAU partnered with the Specialized Information Services (SIS) Division of the National Library of Medicine with developing a plan for the seamless transition from traditional, in-person instruction to web-based, self-paced training. ORAU assisted with staff training on best practices in eLearning and instructional design, specifically on the topics of training material development, test item construction and organization of large-scale, multicourse trainings.

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    Triage tools help mitigate medical surge during an influenza pandemic

    The Pandemic Influenza Triage Tools are a toolkit for healthcare professionals and community healthcare leaders and decision makers to manage influenza-like illness (ILI) and medical surge during a pandemic. 

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Awards & recognition

  • 2016 - NAGC Blue Pencil & Gold Screen Award -“TravWell” Mobile Application
  • 2015 - Digital Health Awards - “Medical Selfie” Ad for Young Ashkenazi Jewish Women
  • 2015 - Digital Health Awards - Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign (KnowBRCA)
  • 2015 - PRSA Volunteer Chapter Award of Excellence - KnowBRCA
  • 2015 - NAGC Blue Pencil & Gold Screen Award - Travelers’ Health “Can I Eat This?” Mobile Application
  • 2014 - ClearMark Award of Distinction - NCIRD’s “Know How to Use Your Asthma Inhaler”

View the Health Education & Communication Fact Sheet

ORAU’s seasoned professionals and award-winning solutions have helped secure national and global health since 1946 by getting the right public health message to the right audience. Our key customers include a variety of leading public health organizations, such as the CDC, FDA, EPA and the Appalachian Regional Commission. Whether delivering HPV messaging to physicians and parents across the U.S., preventing transmission of Ebola in Africa, or addressing the opioid crisis in Appalachia, we help our customers navigate complex health issues and motivate behavior change.

Download the ORAU Health Education & Communication Fact Sheet. 

Our Experts

Freddy Gray

Freddy Gray, M.P.H.

Expertise: Public health and healthcare preparedness, medical countermeasures, team dynamics, strategic planning

Gray has more than 25 years of experience managing and supervising public health and healthcare system preparedness and response programs involving medical countermeasures to help mitigate the surge of patients due to a public health emergency.

Certification: Master Certified Health Education Specialist

Jennifer Reynolds

Jennifer Reynolds, M.P.H.

Expertise: Health communication, social marketing, social media, behavioral science research

Reynolds has more than 15 years of experience managing research, health communication, and social marketing projects for local, state, and federal entities and nonprofit agencies

Publications: 

Certification: Certified Health Education Specialist, ThinkTank Certified Facilitator, Certificate of Proficiency in Qualitative Research

Tony Hupp

Tony Hupp, M.S.

Expertise: More than 16 years of experience in management, design and development of curriculum, and instruction in adult education and distance-learning programs.

Certifications: ThinkTank Session Leader Training Course Certification

Contact us

For information about ORAU’s health communication, preparedness and response solutions, contact Freddy Gray, director, Health Communication and Preparedness programs, at 865.576.0029 or freddy.gray@orau.org.