Welcome to HOAC’s online learning collaborative, home to dozens of essential resources selected to help health officers, health executives and their staff better communicate public health issues and more effectively promote health equity.
We welcome your contributions! Please e-mail Kat DeBurgh at contact@yourhoac.org if you would like to add a resource to this web page for all to share.
External Links
Website: The California Endowment’s Work on Healthy Communities
Training: The California Endowment’s Learning Opportunities
Resource: The California Endowment’s Digital Library
Video: A Tale of Two Zip Codes (The California Endowment and George Takei)
Online Course: NACCHO’s Roots of Health Inequity
Resource: NACCHO’s Strategic Messaging Guide
Resource: CDC Success Stories online tool
Resource: The Health Equity Guide from the Human Impact Partners
Materials
PowerPoint: Promoting the Health of the Public Using an Equity Frame
PowerPoint: Mastering the Tools of the Trade
PowerPoint: Using Your Authority to Improve the Health of the Public
PowerPoint: Talking About Science to Lay Audiences
Worksheet: Communications Planning
Worksheet: The Public Relations Toolbox
Video: Interview with Governor Demonstrating Strong Messaging
Models from other jurisdictions
Public Health Communication Awardees
Best Collaboration Between/Among Local Health Departments: Rx Drug Safety Placer and Nevada County, Placer and Nevada Counties – A joint effort to address an epidemic of opioid abuse and overdose
Most Innovative Campaign in a Large Jurisdiction: Choose Health LA Moms, Los Angeles County – A text message and online program to help new moms to lose weight
Most Innovative Campaign in a Medium Jurisdiction: Vibe Solano, Solano County – A website and related media and social media campaigns to better engage in dialogs with community
Most Innovative Campaign in a Small Jurisdiction: Health Through My Eyes, El Dorado County – A photovoice project encouraging youth to use photography to capture what they believe contributes to good and poor health
Most Innovative Campaign in a Very Small Jurisdiction: healthyselfieTC, Tuolumne County – A communications campaign to improve local health department and community member interaction with the goal of changing the conversation about health in our community from a negative focus to positive health movements within our neighborhoods and linking residents to local social and health resources
Most Impactful Campaign in a Large Jurisdiction: Love Your Heart, San Diego County – An annual, one-day event during which the County of San Diego and its partners provide free blood pressure screenings to the public at select sites throughout the San Diego region
Most Impactful Campaign in a Medium Jurisdiction: Gonorrhea Community Outreach, Butte County – A campaign to raise awareness about STDs and reduce the amount of cases in the county
Most Impactful Campaign in a Small Jurisdiction: Friends Don’t Give Friends the Measles, Shasta County – A campaign to appeal to parents’ sense of community responsibility, encouraging them to do their part to contribute to “community immunity”
Most Impactful Campaign in a Very Small Jurisdiction: Paseo de Mariposa, Mariposa County – An event and related communications campaign to encourage physical activity in all ages: a Caterpillar Crawl for children under 5 years old, a 5k Family fun run/walk and a 12K trail run
Honorable Mentions
Best Use of Youth Voice: STD ET2, Solano County – A project to reduce the transmission, morbidity and mortality of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and improve the health of youths, especially among the African American community, in the city of Vallejo through focused education and improved screening, testing and treatment practices
Best Use of Digital Media: Eat. Play. Breathe. Orange County – A highly interactive locally-focused website providing free tips and resources supporting eating healthfully, being physically active, and living smoke-free
Other Excellent Examples of Communications Work in Local Health Departments
Being Healthy Teen Wheel, San Diego County – A culturally and linguistically appropriate tool that increased preconception health awareness and education among adolescent girls 11-18 years of age, addressed health literacy, empowered girls to be more involved in caring for their health, and improve or change behavior
Protect Your Pets, Vaccinate Them Against Rabies, San Mateo County – Increasing rabies vaccination and licensing rates in San Mateo County, and once people vaccinate their pets, shifting from historical “it’s the law!” messaging to focus instead on the impact of rabies and lost pets on pets, their owners, and the community as a whole
It’s Up To US, San Diego County – A countywide media campaign designed to empower San Diegans to talk openly about mental illness, recognize symptoms, utilize local resources and seek help
Be the One, San Mateo County – A campaign to break down stigma and encourage people with mental illness to get help
Well Dorado, El Dorado County – A living dashboard of indicators that informs community health needs assessments and contains a large database of promising practices that can drive evidence-based community programs
Go Before You Show, Solano County – An ongoing multilingual, multimedia outreach campaign at the community level to motivate women to seek early prenatal care and provide information about how to access care and insurance coverage.
See, Stop, Prevent Elder Abuse, San Mateo County – A campaign to raise awareness about the prevalence of elder and dependent adult abuse and foster a sense of shared responsibility to act if something appears wrong
20,000 San Mateo County Kids Thank Local Parents for Vaccinating, San Mateo County – Campaign to reduce the number of personal belief exemptions (PBEs) and increase the overall vaccination rate of San Mateo County children
Building Resilient Communities, San Diego County – A project to improve communication with non-English speaking communities during emergencies
San Diego County Prescription Drug Abuse Task Force (PDATF), San Diego County – A program to address prescription drug related deaths and general medication misuse in San Diego County
Know the Facts: The Risks of Prescription Narcotics and their Use in Marin County, Marin County – An initiative to mobilize the community to prevent prescription drug abuse and misuse
Mother’s Strong: Embracing Motherhood, Butte County – A campaign to enhance education and awareness about the prevalence of Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders, as well as direct medical providers, families and community members towards local resources
OutsideIn SLO: We Take Health and Climate Change Personally, San Luis Obispo County – A pilot project designed to highlight the co-benefits between climate change mitigation and health promotion, focusing on key strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions that also have a beneficial effect on health and quality of life
Travelling Blue Dot, Yolo County – A stakeholder engagement project to address maternal mental health
Alpine County Public Health Briefs, Alpine County – This ongoing campaign highlights a current public health issue monthly or in a timely manner coinciding with news of a major public health threat
We welcome your contribution! Please e-mail Kat DeBurgh at contact@yourhoac.org if you’d like to add something to this list of resources.