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Translating the Public Health Action Plan
Into Action
Guidance for Task Groups
Task 1: Effective Communication
Effective Communication
Action: Establish a media task force.
Task: Develop a long-term information strategy.
Outcome, April 2005: Presentation of a comprehensive
communications plan.
Rationale
To implement the Action Plan
by addressing communications approaches that will
provide information and education to the public, health
professionals, and policy makers about heart disease and stroke. Such
improvements are needed to address heart disease and stroke prevention—its urgency, its promise, and the cost of failing to take needed
action now.
What Success Will Look Like
A communication proposal will include a review of the
major current communication strategies at the national level for
preventing heart disease, stroke, atherosclerosis, and hypertension,
including risk factor prevention, detection and control; preliminary
identification of the principal messages needed (e.g., those emphasizing
investment in prevention, desired action at personal, health
professional, and policy levels, etc.); and a recommended long–term
information strategy for creating and disseminating these and
subsequently developed messages. This proposal should anticipate, but is
not yet expected to address, the other priority action steps in
effective communications: creating a social marketing strategy,
gaining consensus on key messages across state and national levels, and
sharing information about effective materials and campaigns. Finally,
strategies for implementing and estimating resource requirements
(e.g., budget, personnel, and training) should be addressed.
This Task in the Larger Picture
This specific task in the broader context of effective
communication is shown in the attached summary. The many potential
links of this task with the other themes of the Action Plan
are illustrated by the following:
- Strategic leadership, partnerships, and organization:
Improved communication strategies can make leadership more compelling,
partnerships more concretely focused on marketing strategies, and
organizations more accountable for effective target audience messages.
- Taking action: Policies and program priorities can be
defined better when effective marketing
strategies target policy makers. Effective
communications can set
objectives for Healthy People 2020 by putting heart disease and
stroke in the forefront as a priority.
- Strengthening capacity: A more effective communication
strategy will support public health agencies and their partners in
building public health infrastructure and help them develop
and maintain strong communications.
- Evaluating impact: Using age–specific incidence and quality of life data for
each major stratum of the population can aid greatly in communicating
the importance, urgency, and potential measurable impact of heart
disease and stroke prevention.
- Advancing knowledge: As
program evaluation and policy development is implemented, its results
can be translated into public information and policy
more quickly with effective communication strategies.
- Engaging in regional and global partnerships: Sharing
effective communication strategies to regional and global partners
will support efforts in heart disease and stroke prevention
everywhere. Common communications systems will facilitate
collaboration and communication among regional or global partners.
Approach to the Task
While the approach to be taken should be determined by
the leaders and members of the task group, the following suggested
10–step list may be helpful:
- Define the scope of activity to be pursued through April 2005,
within the overall statement of the task, above.
- Prepare a preliminary outline of the anticipated report.
- Identify the main source materials that will support the group's
work.
- Take account of related work by others, whether completed or in
progress.
- Consider whether expertise or consultation beyond the task group
will be needed, whether within the National Forum or beyond, and
arrange to obtain the needed input.
- Divide responsibilities for work components among all
members of the group.
- Use CDC support staff to assist in logistics and
communications.
- Maintain frequent contact with the group and monitor progress,
including a cumulative record of meetings and accomplishments.
- Draft the task group report.
- Present the report to the 3rd National Forum, April 2005.
CDC Support Staff Contact Information
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and
Health Promotion
Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention
4770 Buford Highway NE, MS K-47
Atlanta, GA 30341
Tele: 770–488–5504
Fax: 770–488–8151
Email:
ccdinfo@cdc.gov
Web site: http://www.cdc.gov/hdsp/
The Context of the Concrete Tasks
Task 1: Effective Communication
Action: Establish a media task force.
Task: Develop a long–term information strategy.
Expected Outcome: A comprehensive communication
plan.
The above task is 1 of 8 concrete tasks for the National Forum to
implement during the current year. This task emerged from 1 of 4
priority action steps in effective communication designated by Working
Group 4 in January 2004. These 4 action steps are to
- Establish a media task force to assess requirements and set the
agenda for a long–term national strategy conveying the
urgency and feasibility of CVH prevention by reaching the public, health
professionals, policy makers, and other key stakeholders.
- Create a social marketing strategy to identify audiences, craft
clear and compelling messages, and determine the most effective media
channels.
- Gain consensus across state and national levels on consistent
media messages that will create public demand for heart–healthy
options.
- Share information, research, and experience about effective
educational materials and campaigns.
Task 1 and its related priority action steps were developed from the
following recommendation in the full Action Plan:
"The urgency and promise of preventing heart disease and stroke and
their precursors (i.e., atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, and
their risk factors and determinants) must be communicated effectively
by the public health community through a new long–term strategy of
public information and education. This new strategy must engage
national, state, and local policy makers and other stakeholders."
The background of this task can be found in A Public Health Action
Plan to Prevent Heart Disease and Stroke in
Section 3. Recommendations,
and Section 4. Implementation:
Mobilizing for Action.
|Go to Task 2
Date last reviewed:
05/12/2006
Content source: Division for Heart Disease and Stroke
Prevention,
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and
Health Promotion |
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