Health and Safety Communication

A Practical Guide Forward

David S. Anderson, Richard E. Miller

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781317236849
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Médecine
• Subtopic: Premiers soins et sécurité

Health and Safety Communication: A Practical Guide Forward is an easy introduction to the principles and practice of health and safety communications, providing all you need to know to design and implement communications efforts on a wide range of health and safety topics and issues. Whether you're a student grappling with a health communications course or a professional wishing to learn how to communicate health and safety messages effectively to a range of audiences using a variety of communications media, Health and Safety Communication is all you'll need.

This book incorporates two broad sections: the grounding and the applications. The model articulates a planning approach for designing, implementing and reviewing a range of communications approaches. The applications segment specifies numerous approaches, including workshops, print materials, campaigns, the media, public speaking and social media that can be used to convey what the health and safety specialist wants the audience to "know, feel and do" as a result of engagement with the communications approach. Health and Safety Communication blends sound foundations with practical strategies for health and safety communication so that messages can be communicated more effectively; after all, for changes to occur, the message must be received and respected.

Unique features of this book include a wide range of approaches and strategies, with numerous examples and tips provided throughout. "Messages from the field" incorporate examples and samples from over 30 individuals and organizations, offering their insights and suggestions. The applied approach of this definitive guide is designed to enhance the competence and confidence of those currently in health or safety arenas, as well as those seeking to incorporate health or safety messages in other settings such as businesses or communities.

Part I
Health and safety communications model

1
Health and safety communications

You as the communicator

If you want to produce some type of health and safety communication, then this guide is for you. Maybe it’s a newsletter, public service announcement or presentation meant to promote the health of others or reduce their risk of injury. Or maybe you’ll be interviewed for a newspaper article or on a radio or television show. Perhaps you’ll be leading a workshop or discussion, or even providing some testimony for a group of decision-makers, whether at the local, state or national level. Maybe you just want to write or say something, or prepare some standard or creative approach to help others be healthier or safer in their lives. For any of these situations and more, the insights, strategies and tools in this guide will help you be more effective.

This guide is for three audiences: students studying health and safety communication, employees with job responsibility in health and safety communications, and those wanting to health-and-safety-communicate as a community service. Producing and delivering materials addressing traffic safety, stress management, healthy eating and exercise, and related topics requires a sound grasp of health and safety communications. You might think putting together a flier is a simple undertaking. However, much more goes into it if you want to be successful at reaching and influencing your audience. That’s where this guide comes in handy.

You are an important source of health and safety communications. You have some degree of knowledge or awareness that you think is important and helpful to share with others. Your success with getting your message across hinges on your understanding of the audience. Specifically, you need to compose your message according to what you want your audience to know, feel and do. Being successful requires sending your message using one or more appropriate channels. You have many approaches from which to choose: fliers and posters, newsletters, workshops, social media, public service announcements and so many more. Ultimately, your efforts should have an impact—that is, influence or persuade recipients to promote personal health and/or reduce their risk of harm and injury. This guide for health and safety communicators explains the “how-to’s” as well as provides actual examples and tips from the field.

Communication and messages

Communication involves messages. A message is information sent from a source to an audience. The source, like you, originates the message. The message needs to be encoded. That is, the information has to be organized in a manner understandable by the intended audience. This is accomplished through composition in which the message is designed with certain structure, content and style. In order for the message to be sent successfully from the source to the audience its composition is based on strategy, a plan of action to create change. The message channel is the route of delivery (i.e., medium or approach). The audience is the receiver and decoder of the message. And, message impact is the degree of influence and persuasion experienced by the receiving audience. These are the basic components of communication and messages (see Figure 1.1).

Communication and its components have synonyms that will be used throughout this guide. The term health and safety communications also goes by: effort, initiative, production or program. The component, source, is also referred to as the communicator. Composition of the message involves knowing the intended audience and constructing the aim and goals of the communication effort. The aim is to influence and/or persuade whereas the goal is the desired change in the intended audience. Strategy will be substituted with know-feel-do at times. Think of it as a plan for changing the behavior of the audience. The channel is the route of message delivery. It requires selecting an appropriate approach (e.g., workshop, speech, billboard or public service announcement) and using it as the vehicle for implementing the strategy. The audience decoding the message can be recipients, receivers or targets. The influence or persuasiveness of the message on the audience is considered the impact; these are the results, and represent what is different with the audience as a result of your communication efforts.

Types of communication

One evident type of communication is directed at the masses. Mass media are used to disseminate messages widely, rapidly and continuously to a target group or audience. The aim or goal is to arouse intended meanings in large and diverse audiences and to influence them in a variety of ways.¹ You are likely familiar with mass communication. Think of it as a prepared and distributed brochure or as a displayed poster with an intended audience of more than 20 individuals. As a larger-scale example, perhaps you may have received Amber Alerts or Silver Alerts through your cell phone. Those, indeed, are safety mass communication efforts. Mass communication of health and safety messages is conveyed through public service announcements, whether on the radio, television, newspapers, billboard or through other channels. You see it in internet advertisements as well as with social media. Health and safety communications can be paid advertising or they can be incorporated within the day-to-day affairs of those involved with the media. Mass communication relies on larger-audience workshops and training. Webinars, podcasts, blogs and tweets can transmit interviews, discussions, speeches and flash mob talks to the masses. Health and Safety Communication: A Practical Guide Forward centers primarily on mass communication.

Figure 1.1 Communication and messages

More venues and opportunities for applying health and safety communication skills are coming, particularly with the fast-changing nature of technology in today’s society. The skill-building in this guide is foundational in nature and covers much of the state of the art for addressing health and safety topics and exploring related issues. Effective health and safety communication relies on the passion and creativity of the source—that’s you! The other type of communication is interpersonal communication during which messages are conveyed between persons to inform, instruct or persuade. Usually, a source generates the message to be conveyed to either another individual or a small group of individuals (20 people or less), all of whom represent the audience. An example of this communication is between a health professional and his/her patient or client. There is usually a two-way dynamic in interpersonal communication. The person receiving the message (audience) can process its meaning (decode) and, in turn, generate a responsive message back to the original source. During this reciprocity of messaging, professional and personal health information is shared, matters are discussed, instructions are provided and intended action is expressed. An important feature to interpersonal communication is the range of non-verbal cues. That includes impressions or feelings given to a person or small group through the use of facial expressions, body movements and other gestures.

One example of interpersonal communication is found with the interactions with a health professional, sometimes called “bedside manner.” For a patient, it could appear as attentive eye-contact and cooperative body positioning. Another example is found with the delivery of workshops or speeches, and the ways in which the presenter relates to the audience. Appropriate interpersonal communication is a vital factor for effective message delivery, and for the audience feeling a sense of connection with the presenter.

While this guide has a primary emphasis on mass communication, the elements of interpersonal communication are integral for professionals as they incorporate approaches such as patient education, in-service training and public responses.

Health and safety communications

Health and safety are dynamic states of living involving degrees of personal risk, functionality and satisfaction. Stating the obvious, health is central to your life and to the lives of those around you. Without health, life’s challenges severely compromise well-being. With health, you can live a more rewarding and fulfilling life. Similarly, safety is vital to your continued survival and well-being; living unsafely is a leading cause of death, injury and debilitation.

You face health- and safety-related tasks and challenges daily:

• eating breakfast (whether you choose to and what you eat);
• washing your hands regularly;
• wearing safety belts as driver or passenger;
• working out on most days;
• drinking plenty of water daily;
• watching where you walk and properly crossing at traffic intersections;
• wearing protective gear or clothing, depending on the situation and weather;
• getting your food from sanitary locations.

Performing these tasks and facing challenges tend to become second nature with little consideration of the health and safety risks associated with not doing them. Have you ever observed a distracted pedestrian texting on a mobile device while wearing ear buds? Other issues may not be seen as vital, such as the importance of drinking plenty of water or flossing teeth. And still, other challenges may have not been contemplated by you or others, such as making responsible alcohol drinking decisions or protecting your hearing from loud noise. Whatever the situation, engaging in more healthful and safe practices can do a lot to enhance the quality and length of your life; and helping others be more healthy and safe can do the same for their lives.

Is living healthily and safely a cure-all? Absolutely not. Are there guarantees that engaging in healthy and safe behaviors will be successful? No. Even if an individual follows all the guidance and lives life with all the health principles that can be found, no guarantees exist that his/her life will be extremely long. A good example of this is the past exercise enthusiast Jim Fixx, author of best-selling books on running and fitness, who died of a heart attack at the age of 52.² Genetic predisposition, a congenitally enlarged heart, and being a former smoker who was obese prior to beginning his running routine, eventually caught up with him. The point is that Fixx’s healthy behavior change did not prevent him from having a heart attack, but it may have contributed to his living nine years longer than his father.

Many diseases exist today without clear causal factors, and situations may emerge that result in a shortened or compromised life. In addition, as science continues with new discoveries, perspectives may shift about how to best live one’s life. The advice received from the scientific and medical community continues to evolve, so it is important to stay as current as possible. For instance, it was once considered unhealthy to eat eggs due to the risk of high serum cholesterol, but more current nutritional researchers are encouraging reconsideration since they view eggs as a whole food, with positive contribution to a healthy diet.³ Through the process of maximizing the inclusion of health considerations, one’s chances of living longer, and living a life with increased quality, are enhanced. Another example is hand positioning on the automobile steering wheel; gone are the days of “10 and 2” because now traffic safety specialists recommend “8 and 4.”⁴

Health and safety communication is conveying messages that raise awareness about health- and safety-related topics and encourage the audience to explore related issues. The messages are aimed at influencing or persuading recipients to develop knowledge, attitudes and skills to address these issues. This guide prepares you as an effective health and safety communicator. Designing a poster, composing a brochure, contributing to a newsletter, ...