Public Health System Transformation Update Newsletter
September 2024 | View all system transformation newsletters

New communications toolkit: Inspire your partners to support and strengthen public health 

It’s no secret we struggle to communicate about public health.

Public health experts, elected officials, and community members work together to help Minnesotans and their communities to be their healthiest, but we struggle to explain that work in ways that are clear and relatable, that people outside public health can understand and get behind.

Communicating about our work—what public health is and the value it provides to our communities—is an important part of growing support for public health among the public and decision-makers.

If people don’t know how public health helps them get ahead in life or how it helps their community to thrive, they’re less likely to speak up when public health funding is threatened or defend public health work when it’s portrayed negatively.

The Joint Leadership Team worked with Hattaway Communications, a nationally-renowned, independent communications firm, to develop a toolkit for Minnesota that can help you talk about your work in ways that are centered in shared values, foster connection, and open the door for conversation.

• The methods in this toolkit are for everyone, not just communications staff—in fact, they can help leaders and staff who don’t have communications staff on hand.
• These techniques can help you avoid using jargon when describing your work or focusing on minutiae that won’t resonate with your listener.
• The toolkit helps you consider who you’re talking to, the hopes and values that drive them, the goals they’re working toward, and how your public health work can help them get there.

When you can show someone that your work plays an important role in fulfilling their dreams, they can, in turn, understand why it’s important to support public health.

So far, through training and workshops, nearly 350 people working in Minnesota’s public health system have learned about the toolkit and workshopped messaging tailored to their needs. You may have encountered a toolkit training at the August/September LPHA general membership meetings, a community of practice, or an MDH Café Connect session. SCHSAC members will dig into the toolkit at their retreat in October, and MDH staff can anticipate more training later this year. Staff supporting the Joint Leadership team will keep building workshops and training opportunities in the coming months.

Do you want to feel confident growing support for your work by connecting it to your listener’s hopes and dreams? Check out the toolkit, and look for a training or workshop in your neck of the woods: www.health.state.mn.us/phmessagetoolkit

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