189278 Looking at Health Communication as a Key Strategic Approach: Implications for Oral Health

Wednesday, October 29, 2008: 10:30 AM

Renata Schiavo, PhD, MA , 1) Strategic Communication Resources; 2) New York University, New York, NY
As highlighted by WHO, “the majority of oral diseases is related to life-styles and reducing these mostly chronic diseases relies much on changing behavior." (Petersen and Kwan, 2004) In the United States, oral diseases are affecting primarily the most vulnerable populations, including children from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, racial and minority groups and the elderly. Health communication interventions are well positioned to help address key issues in oral health and oral disease prevention, including health disparities, access to care, the prevalence of high-sugar diets in many segments of the population, and the impact of alcohol and tobacco consumption on many oral diseases. In fact, health communication has been used to address a variety of health issues both in the U.S. and internationally and is increasingly recognized as a key strategic approach to promote health and social behavior change and ultimately contribute to improving public health outcomes as well as help address health disparities. This presentation will focus on key principles, theoretical assumptions, action areas and core approaches of health communication. It will also review their potential implications for communication interventions that may seek to address key issues and challenges in oral health.

Learning Objectives:
At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to: Identify key principles, action areas and strategic approaches of health communication and their potential implications for oral health List examples of key challenges and audience-specific obstacles to behavior change on oral disease prevention that need to be considered in developing health communications interventions

Keywords: Health Communications, Oral Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Renata Schiavo, Ph.D., M.A. is a senior health communications consultant and the Founder and Principal of Strategic Communication ResourcesSM, which provides strategic health communications counseling, training, program evaluation and strategic planning counseling only to non-profit health organizations and foundations. She is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Public Health at New York University, Steinhardt School, Department of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health, where she is on the faculty of the Community Public Health and Global Public Health M.P.H. programs (Courses: Health Communication: Theory and Practice; Cross-Cultural Health Communications). Renata has over 18 years of international healthcare experience, which includes the US, and several countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. She has had the opportunity to work on staff or as a consultant for non-profit organizations, corporations, communications agencies, universities, research laboratories and governments. Her communication work has focused, in addition to others, on the following health areas: oncology/cancer, HIV/AIDS, malaria, leishmaniasis, CNS disorders, cardiovascular diseases, women’s health, respiratory diseases, obesity, biotechnology, infectious diseases, childhood immunization, adolescent immunization, flu immunization, global handwashing, kids cancers, Lyme disease and primary nocturnal enuresis. Renata’s fields of expertise include: strategic planning, strategic behavior communications, marketing communications, health communication training, patient and professional communications, constituency relations, social marketing, public relations, media advocacy, audience/market research, pre-testing/field studies, internet-based communications, corporate communications, branding, cross-cultural health communications, reaching vulnerable populations, and strategic partnerships. Renata is a member of the American Public Health Association (APHA), the National Association of Medical Communicators (NAMC), the Public Health Association of New York City (PHANYC) and the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE). She serves as the 2007-2008 Chair of the APHA Health Communication Working Group (HCWG), as well as on the APHA Governing Council as a representative of the APHA Public Health Education and Promotion section (PHEHP). She is a member of the supervising editorial board of Cases in Public Health Communication and Marketing, an on-line peer-reviewed journal. Renata has also contributed with articles and opinions to the Communication Initiative (CI) and is a member of the COMBI (Communication for Behavioral Impact) Global Technical Network (GTN), which is maintained by the World Health Organization (WHO). She is the author of a book on Health Communication: From Theory to Practice (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, April 2007)and other publications in the field of health communication.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Oral Health Communications for Behavior and Social Change
See more of: Oral Health