211573 Communicating with children as a key public health strategy: Introduction to the session

Monday, November 9, 2009: 8:30 AM

Renata Schiavo, PhD, MA , 1) Strategic Communication Resources 2) New York University, New York, NY
  
Over the past few years, several prominent organizations and public health professionals have been dedicating increasing attention to communicating with children. Children are not only the primary audience of a variety of programs that attempt to address health issues within the pediatric and adolescent settings but they are also key influencers about health and social behaviors within their communities, households, schools, and society at large. Their influence is often exerted across age groups, literacy and socioeconomic levels, cultural and geographical boundaries. This brief introduction will feature key points on the importance of communicating with children as a valuable public health strategy as well as will review sample overall objectives of these kinds of interventions.

Learning Objectives:
At the end of this session, participants will be able to: 1. Discuss the importance of communicating with children as a valuable public health strategy; 2. Identify potential objectives of communication interventions intended for children and adolescents

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Renata Schiavo, Ph.D., M.A. is the Founder and Principal of Strategic Communication ResourcesSM, which focuses only on non-profit health organizations, foundations, associations and other US and international public health organizations. 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. Her work has focused, in addition to others, on the following health areas: oncology/cancer, HIV/AIDS, malaria, leishmaniasis, CNS disorders/mental health, cardiovascular diseases, women’s health, respiratory diseases, obesity, biotechnology, infectious diseases, childhood immunization, adolescent immunization, flu immunization, global handwashing, tuberculosis, kids cancers, Lyme disease, pandemic flu, and primary nocturnal enuresis. Renata is a member of the American Public Health Association (APHA), the National Association of Medical Communicators (NAMC), and the Public Health Association of New York City (PHANYC) . She served as the 2007-2008 Chair of the APHA Health Communication Working Group. She also serves on the APHA Governing Council as a representative of the APHA Public Health Education and Promotion section (PHEHP). She is a member of the advisory 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 peer-reviewed publications. She has extensive experience on the topic of her presentation.
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: Communicating with Children as a Strategy to Build Long-Term Preparedness on Health and Social Issues
See more of: Public Health Education and Health Promotion