Navigating the Swamp of Environmental Health: Using Evidence to Craft More Effective Communications

  • March 05, 2015
  • 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM
  • Webinar

Navigating the Swamp of Environmental Health:
Using Evidence to Craft More Effective Communications


March 5, 2015

If you can predict, you can prepare. Knowing which persistent patterns of thinking undermine public engagement and support can help environmental health professionals improve the effectiveness of their communications. Successful navigation of this “swamp” of public thinking requires strategic choices about what to say and what to avoid. In this hands-on webinar, we’ll review which media frames dominate public discourse and demonstrate strategies for advancing the most productive of these patterns. In addition, we’ll tour some of the features of our new online communications toolkit, designed to help communicators at all levels build better public engagement and understanding. Participants will gain tips and strategies they can put to use immediately.

This is the first webinar of the three-part series Building Understanding of Environmental Health. 

Click here for more information.

Other dates to continue the series....

April 7, 2015, 12:30–1:45 p.m. 


Framing with Values: Cuing Up Productive Conversations about Environmental Health Work 

Opening communications with a value can orient people’s thinking on the topic, and allow for successful follow up interactions. FrameWorks experimentally tested several values to find which worked best in helping the public to understand what’s at stake in promoting our nation’s environmental health. We will explore:

How choosing the wrong values frame can lead communications astray;

The key findings of this APHA-sponsored research; and

Which value to use to engage people more deeply in your issues.

Come prepared to try your hand at incorporating this evidence-based research into your own communications.


May 5, 2015, 12:30–1:45 p.m. 


The Power of How: Using Tested Metaphors to Build Public Understanding about Environmental Health

Improving the public’s knowledge base is critical to building support for sound policies and regulatory efforts. We’ll work through two empirically developed metaphors that can help environmental health professionals at all levels explain complex environmental health topics to non-experts, members of the media and the public. 

Each has been carefully tested and shown to be effective in building a more expansive understanding of environmental health work and the relationship of built and natural environments to public health outcomes. 

We’ll model how to use these tools and show them in action.

Participants will have the opportunity to practice using these frame elements and get immediate feedback.

 Environmental Health:  It is Everywhere, Everyday!   ~    Non-Profit Organization (501c) Information   ~   

 Please contact akdevereaux@yahoo.com for website assistance           

Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software