preview

Health Communications Specialists

Decent Essays

In today’s multifaceted and elaborate society, public health specialists must balance creativity with analysis. Health communications professionals lead impactful initiatives designed to reduce harmful behavior among the most at-risk populations in the United States.

Health campaigns target the reasons why individuals follow specific detrimental patterns. However, delivering public health message is not enough. Health communications specialists plan public campaigns based on audience size and issue severity. [1] When creating campaigns, the specialists must consider additional factors, such as:

• Community influences
• Employment statuses
• Familial connections
• Genetic makeups
• Individual habits
• Living conditions
• Social networks …show more content…

One initiative, Partnering and Communication Together to Act Against AIDS (PACT), facilitates a partnership network for national organizations that advocate for healthy habits among same-sex male companions in the United States. Among children born with AIDS, 91-percent receive HIV exposure from perinatal transmission. Currently the transmission rate lingers at 25-percent. If all expectant mothers who test positive for AIDS received antiviral treatment, the rate would drop to one-percent. Another campaign aptly named “One Test. Two Lives” initiative, sponsored by the CDC, encourages pregnant women to undergo early pregnancy HIV testing and provides obstetricians with the HIV testing tools. In addition to reducing the spread of AIDS, the program also encourages maternal health. The program also distributes literature that encourages early pregnancy HIV …show more content…

In 1924, six cardiologists joined forces to launch a heart disease research collaborative. That has since evolved into a 22 and a half million member volunteer organization. Already emboldened by participation from thousands of cardiology specialists, the group reorganized as a volunteer association in 1948.

The American Heart Association grew into a nationally visible information source in the 1980’s. At this time, significant cash infusions from various benefactors allowed the group to initiate new research and wellness campaigns targeting women and minority populations. Today, the American Heart Association supports public wellness with several initiatives. One initiative, Go Red for Women, educates consumers on the over half a million annual mortality rate among women due to heart disease, a fact that many women overlooked when the program launched. Another campaign, called Healthy For Good, teaches consumers how to slowly incorporate healthy living into their lifestyles. Yet another initiative, EmPOWERED To Serve (ETS), promotes healthy life styles in minority

Get Access