The Story of Public Health: Finding New Ways to Tell It Well
Abstract
With funding under the program, “Strengthening U.S. Public Health Infrastructure, Workforce and Data Systems,” one public health district’s Office of Growth, Learning and Innovation (GLI) is turning the page and using personal stories to recruit new staff, provide greater client advocacy, showcase proven initiatives and streamline the promotion of public health services.
During staff listening sessions, many employees expressed interest in taking the message of public health beyond the walls of the local agency. While some prefer to focus on recruiting new staff or advocating for current clients to tell their own stories, the appeal of promoting what public health has to offer in communities is a common theme. Realizing the importance of effectively communicating various messages throughout the 16-county service area, the Office of GLI began developing a framework for sharing information.
With the goal of creating a comprehensive toolkit for outreach, development series opportunities made available for staff included Academic Detailing offered by the National Resource Center for Academic Detailing (NaRCAD) and a Personal Storytelling Workshop with The Moth. While both experiences were designed for staff to learn skills for detailing specific topics, practice sharing key messages and study the art of sharing personal stories, the concepts can be applied to a variety of outreach topics.
To further enhance outreach efforts, the position of Access Coordinator was designed in one county as a model for planning and implementing all community outreach events. Upon realizing the benefits of the newly established position, the need for recruiting additional Access Coordinators to support multiples counties is on the horizon.
Whether sharing a day in the life of a public health employee, encouraging peers to craft personal stories or promoting an array of public health services through outreach, the story of public health is worth telling, and one Public Health District is finding new ways to tell it well.
Keywords
Development Series, Health Promotion, Outreach, Storytelling
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The Story of Public Health: Finding New Ways to Tell It Well
With funding under the program, “Strengthening U.S. Public Health Infrastructure, Workforce and Data Systems,” one public health district’s Office of Growth, Learning and Innovation (GLI) is turning the page and using personal stories to recruit new staff, provide greater client advocacy, showcase proven initiatives and streamline the promotion of public health services.
During staff listening sessions, many employees expressed interest in taking the message of public health beyond the walls of the local agency. While some prefer to focus on recruiting new staff or advocating for current clients to tell their own stories, the appeal of promoting what public health has to offer in communities is a common theme. Realizing the importance of effectively communicating various messages throughout the 16-county service area, the Office of GLI began developing a framework for sharing information.
With the goal of creating a comprehensive toolkit for outreach, development series opportunities made available for staff included Academic Detailing offered by the National Resource Center for Academic Detailing (NaRCAD) and a Personal Storytelling Workshop with The Moth. While both experiences were designed for staff to learn skills for detailing specific topics, practice sharing key messages and study the art of sharing personal stories, the concepts can be applied to a variety of outreach topics.
To further enhance outreach efforts, the position of Access Coordinator was designed in one county as a model for planning and implementing all community outreach events. Upon realizing the benefits of the newly established position, the need for recruiting additional Access Coordinators to support multiples counties is on the horizon.
Whether sharing a day in the life of a public health employee, encouraging peers to craft personal stories or promoting an array of public health services through outreach, the story of public health is worth telling, and one Public Health District is finding new ways to tell it well.
