National Public Health Information Coalition (NPHIC) -

NPHIC’s Symposium, held in Washington, D.C., this year, was extremely well received by attendees who enjoyed the highly informative sessions on a myriad of public health topics, ranging from crisis and emergency risk communication to immunizations and tribal health, among many others. For the benefit of those who were unable to attend or those who want to relive some of their experience, we offer the following session recordings and presentations:

Berreth Lecturer

David Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACP

Founding Director

Yale University's Prevention Research Center

Dr. Katz is an internationally known expert in nutrition, weight management and chronic disease prevention who this year became the first inductee into the Marketing Disease Prevention in America Hall of Fame. He’s the founding director of Yale University’s Prevention Research Center, editor-in-chief of the journal Childhood Obesity, and president-elect of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. A frequent guest on Good Morning America and Dr. Oz, and often quoted in newspapers and magazines, he’s been tabbed by peers as “the poet laureate of health promotion.”

As Berreth lecturer, Dr. Katz gave a rousing inspiring science-based presentation on the “actual causes of premature death” – poor diet, lack of physical activity and tobacco use -- while attendees ate a lunch prepared from one of his wife’s healthy recipes. When just about everybody’s hand shot up when asked if they’d lost someone close due to preventable disease, Katz remarked: “It’s not about an anonymous public. It’s about us and the people we love.” On diet, he said, “unjunk yourself,” and urged people to pay attention to food labels because “the shorter the ingredient list, the better.” On the lack of physical activity in schools, he remarked, “The remedy for rambunctiousness is recess, not Ritalin.”

“He was one of the best public speakers I have ever heard and was also very persuasive,” remarked one NPHIC member. “Very engaging speaker with great data, mixed with humor and poetry,” said another. “He had it all.”

The Berreth Lecture is in honor of NPHIC’s founder, Donald Berreth, who as the CDC’s public affairs director in 1989 envisioned an organization linking the CDC to state public health communicators.

Watch the Session (Length 1:17:04)

Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) Training 2012 - Day 1

Barbara Reynolds, Ph.D.

Crisis Communications Specialist, Office of the Director

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

This course was taught over two days by CDC CERC expert—and NPHIC Thought Leader—Dr. Barbara Reynolds. The course built on elements of the original CERC curriculum while incorporating social media aspects of the new CERC 2 course. This interactive training included both discussion of the theoretical underpinnings of Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication and an opportunity for participants to apply CERC principles during a scenario based on last year’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster in Japan. CERC’s application to other topical health emergencies also was explored. In addition, Dr. Reynolds led participants through her trademark RiskSmart™ approach to reputation management.

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Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) Training 2012 - Day 2

Barbara Reynolds, Ph.D.

Crisis Communications Specialist, Office of the Director

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Day two of the CERC training led by Dr. Barbara Reynolds.

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The Indication for Syndication. It's All About the Content!

Need accurate, up-to-date health content? Well, attendees learned that Content Syndication was for them!

They learned how to insert CDC, FDA, and NIH web content directly into the look and feel of their websites…FOR FREE! Syndicated content automatically updates on your site when the source is updated, allowing you to focus on other things. You don’t have to be a techie to get started. Before you know it, you will have up-to-the-minute content from these federal web sites in the look and feel of YOUR website but without the doing having to do the research or editing.

If you have more responsibility than you have the staff or time to manage, then you owe it to yourself to learn how to use these Content Syndication tools.

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Watch the Session (Length 00:59:49)

Roll Up Your Sleeves... Roll Out The Message!

This session updated the news, science, materials and resources on influenza – adult, adolescent and childhood vaccine communication. It also will provided an update on an expansion of the NPHIC partnership with the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) and efforts in the year ahead to promote immunization coverage, safety and effectiveness. A myriad of immunization issues were presented/discussed. A soon-to-be-released NPHIC/CDC Immunization Tookkit was previewed. Titled, “Getting Your Vaccine Messages Out—A Toolkit for Local Media Outreach on Childhood immunization,” it will help public health communicators and the immunization community work with local media to deliver accurate information about immunizations. The session also included the Utah Health Department’s media response to a 2011 measles outbreak in the Salt Lake City area, and what’s been done since.

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Social Media and Public Health Emergencies. Is there an APP for That?

In recent public health emergencies, the public and public health officials have turned to social media to receive and deliver up-to-the-minute updates on emerging situations. Social media holds potential for improving communication in
emergencies. It also has some limitations. Panelists discussed their experiences in using social media during public health emergencies and shared lessons learned. Panelists also discussed new and emerging technologies and how public health officials might be able to use them. Participants were encouraged to share their experiences and asked the panelists how to address specific challenges they have encountered in using social media during emergencies.

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Injury Prevention 2.0 - Videos, Twitter & Facebook, Oh My!

The CDC’s Injury Center marked its 20th year in 2012, and this session was focused on the anniversay theme "Celebrating the Past, Protecting the Future." Attendees learned about the following:

• Seeing My World through a Safer Lens Video Contest
• Social Media Activities at the CDC Injury Center
• Ready-to-go list of Tweets on the Center’s four focus areas, Motor Vehicle-related Injuries, Violence Against Children and Youth, Prescription Painkiller Overdose, and Traumatic Brain Injury

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Through the Healing Door: Success Stories from Indian Country

One need not cross the U.S. border to find Nations living in poverty, struggling with high rates of disease, and facing enormous challenges in responding to emergencies. American Indians and Alaska Natives often live in geographically isolated areas and suffer disproportionately high rates of diabetes, tuberculosis, unintentional injuries, some cancers, and suicide. Five presenters, all of them new NPHIC tribal members, focused on steps they and/or others are taking to address these challenges. Rhonda LeValdo and Stacy Braiuca discussed a growing group of Native peoples who are sharing stories about their journeys to wellness. She and others have launched the Wellbound Storytellers blog as the community outreach branch of a planned Native health media alliance. Michael Bradley, Dave Nez and Michael Allison discussed the challenges they face preparing for and responding to emergencies in Alaska for natives there and on the Navajo Nation in the southwest U.S.

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Watch the Session (Length 01:11:39)

Hidden Populations - Health, Help and Hope

During NPHIC’s post H1N1 after action dialogue, members spoke of the difficulties their agencies encountered when trying to communicate with vulnerable populations. Outreach to migrant farmworker and homeless populations were among those difficult-to-reach groups. The nomadic nature of these two groups presents a unique set of challenges for public health communicators. Migrant farmworkers and people living in shelters or on the street are naturally wary of government. Trust is a critical factor in any effort to reach these vulnerable groups. Panelists discussed best practices that begin with establishing routine working relationships with groups who serve these two distinct populations.

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Watch the Session (Length 00:47:21)

Communicate, Disseminate: Get Your Priorities Straight

Wouldn’t it be nice if we used our communication skills to meet every important public health challenge? The reality is that time and resource limitations force us to set priorities, and tackle the issues that pose the biggest health threat to the residents of our cities, counties, states and nation. This panel presentation featured a thoughtful discussion among nationally-recognized public health communication experts—members of NPHIC’s Thought Leaders Advisory Council. They addressed these questions: Should our public health communication priorities be based on broad concepts such as health promotion? Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication? Lessons learned from health communications research? Social media applications? Minority Health? Or should we focus on specific disease conditions and lifestyle choices, and the toll they can take on health and wellness? It was a timely and spirited discussion of health communication priorities for the near and long term and what they could mean to you.

Watch the Session (Length 01:00:20)

Cancer Cluster Communication Toolkit

What will become the first Cancer Cluster Communications Toolkit for public health communicators was previewed, and in the panel presentation, speakers discussed their experiences with cancer clusters, key elements of the toolkit and how it might be used by public health communicators when concerns about a potential cancer cluster arise in a community.

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Whooping Cough - Communicating When Every Minute Counts

Whooping cough is back with a vengeance. The nation has had the largest number of cases in years, and your community could be next. Yet many people don’t know the disease is around and are confused about vaccine. This panel of local, state, and federal public health communicators discussed their experiences communicating this complicated issue, working with schools, and getting the public to take action.

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