publications

BMSG's issue series

Reframing housing as a health issue in Napa County, California

Thursday, June 14, 2018

Together with community residents, elected officials, industry leaders, and community-based organizations, the Public Health Division of Napa County’s Health and Human Services Agency is working to make housing more affordable for everyone in the county and to reframe housing as a health issue — not just for individuals, but for the entire community. This case study explores how they are using a combination of community engagement, policy change, and strategic communication to push forward innovative solutions to the area’s housing crisis.

Trauma, resilience, and #blacklivesmatter: How do racism and trauma intersect in social media conversations?

Friday, June 01, 2018

Despite the greater burden of traumatic experiences carried by communities of color, communicating about childhood trauma and its connections with race and racism can be challenging. In this report, we present the findings from our analysis of how these conversations intersect on social media and consider the implications for communicating about the intersections of trauma, racism, and racial justice.

From farm to every fork: Rewriting the narrative on urban agriculture in Sacramento

Monday, May 07, 2018

Advocates and residents in Sacramento are using a combination of policy change, community power-building, and strategic communication to make it easier for people to take part in urban farming. This case study explores their tactics for strengthening access to healthy food, highlights victories and challenges, and shares lessons learned.

Lori Dorfman speaking at Turning the Tide conference

Turning the tide: New directions in health communication

Friday, April 27, 2018

As part of strategic messaging panel for the annual Turning the Tide conference at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, BMSG Director Lori Dorfman discusses the role that environments play in driving health outcomes and how media coverage can influence the policy decisions that create those environments. Studying the news, she explains, can help advocates better anticipate opposition arguments and work with journalists to shape coverage in ways that advance health solutions. Dorfman also highlights basic concepts in framing, addresses ways that the backdrop of individualism in the United States creates obstacles to effective health communication, and gives examples of successful public health campaigns.

Reimagining public space to benefit health and foster community: A case study of Salinas’ annual Ciclovía

Thursday, March 29, 2018

Each year, public health advocates and youth organizers in Salinas, California, close traffic to a mile-and-a-half-stretch of one of the city’s busiest streets, transforming it into a community event filled with physical activity and fun. Known as Ciclovía, the event serves a bigger purpose: to reduce violence, forge community bonds, and promote health equity. To understand how organizers are advancing those goals, this case study explores the origins of Ciclovía, its successes and setbacks, next steps and lessons learned.

Taxes and health equity — letter to the editor tips

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Letters to the editor can signal community interest about a particular public health issue and send a message to policymakers. But what makes for a compelling letter, and how can advocates increase their chances of getting published? To support public health advocates in writing effective letters on the importance of how taxes can advance health and equity, BMSG and Public Health Awakened created this resource.

thumbnail image of book cover showing hands in a circle

Using media advocacy to influence policy

Wednesday, January 03, 2018

Media advocacy is one of the few public health education tools we have that allows us to work “upstream” to address the conditions and inequities that harm the public’s health. Media advocacy, used as a tool to accelerate and amplify community organizing and policy advocacy, can direct the public and policymaker attention to the policies that can reshape our social and physical environments so public health concerns can be effectively addressed. This chapter, from “Community and Public Health Education Methods: A Practical Guide,” teaches students to think strategically about working with the news media to advance public health policy.

 

Issue 24: Adverse childhood experiences in the news: Successes and opportunities in coverage of childhood trauma

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are a critical public health issue with implications for every sector of society, but communicating about them can be challenging. In this news analysis, we explore whether advocates have been able to successfully explain the implications of childhood trauma, including how solutions appear in news coverage and whether the link between children’s environments and the trauma they experience is visible.

Health equity & junk food marketing: Talking about targeting kids of color

Friday, November 17, 2017

When advocates communicate about junk food marketing, do they talk about health equity? In this framing brief, we describe findings from a content analysis of materials on food marketing, show why children of color should be at the forefront of our conversations about and actions to reduce target marketing, and suggest how we all can get better at discussing this critical public health and social justice issue.

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