Tag: effective communication

Communicate More Effectively: Psychological Principles to Change Behavior and Improve Outcomes

Course Objective

  • Describe what behavioral economics is, with examples of behavioral economics in action
  • Understand how to create messaging for disseminating public health data and information using behavioral economics principles
  • List and explain some key biases related to communicating information to influence behavior and improve health
  • Discuss some ethical considerations around the use of behavioral economics in communication

Date: June 30th, 2022

Presenter:
Suzanne Kirkendall, MPH
CEO, BVA Nudge Consulting North America


This course empowers public health professionals to communicate more effectively with the public. To do so, learners will discover the basics of behavioral economics, key psychological principles that are important in communications, and the five-step process for how to apply these principles to their communications ethically and effectively. This is illustrated with a case study on how these new skills could be applied to a real-life situation.

Learners will be able to:

  1. Describe what behavioral economics is, with examples of behavioral economics in action
  2. Understand how to create messaging for disseminating public health data and information using behavioral economics principles
  3. List and explain some key biases related to communicating information to influence behavior and improve health
  4. Discuss some ethical considerations around the use of behavioral economics in communication
Confronting Barriers to Vaccine Acceptance: The Role of Effective Communication

Course Objective

  • Discuss root causes of vaccine hesitancy and inequities among different groups
  • Describe the role of effective communication in promoting vaccine acceptance
  • Identify promising equity- and community-driven strategies to address barriers to vaccine acceptance during COVID-19 and beyond
  • Discuss examples, case studies, and action steps to strengthen local communication systems and promote vaccine acceptance

Date: April 5th, 2022

Subject Matter Expert:
Renata Schiavo, PhD, MA, CCL
Senior Lecturer, Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
Founder and Board President, Health Equity Initiative
Principal, Strategies for Equity and Communication Impact (SECI) 


This course developed by the Region 2 Public Health Training Center (PHTC) focuses on the role of effective communication in confronting barriers to vaccine acceptance. It discusses root causes of vaccine hesitancy and inequities among different groups and describes the role of effective communication in addressing such root causes, including a focus on equity- and community-driven strategies during COVID-19 and beyond. It also provides an overview of examples, case studies, best practices, and action steps to strengthen local communication systems and promote vaccine acceptance among a variety of groups.

Participants will learn how to:

  1. Discuss root causes of vaccine hesitancy and inequities among different groups
  2. Describe the role of effective communication in promoting vaccine acceptance
  3. Identify promising equity- and community-driven strategies to address barriers to vaccine acceptance during COVID-19 and beyond
  4. Discuss examples, case studies, and action steps to strengthen local communication systems and promote vaccine acceptance
Region 2 Public Health Training Center