This blog post is written by 2013 Smith/Patterson Fellow Ian Branam.
I can tell you every single statistic pertaining to secondhand smoke, the number of health care dollars smoking-related illnesses cost Missouri every year, and the number of teens that become daily smokers every year.
How many fewer nonsmokers would die of secondhand smoke if all Missouri workplaces were smokefree? Answer: 4,000. I learned all of this while developing content for a social media campaign to encourage business owners, policymakers, and parents in Missouri to support smokefree air policies in restaurants and bars.
Although quick facts like these offer a surface-level view of what I’ve learned this summer, they don’t even begin to measure the knowledge and experience I’ve gained from this fellowship.
As a science journalism student, I’m used to writing about complex topics in the fewest words possible. I’m accustomed to gathering the facts and presenting them so that they’re accessible and relevant for all audiences.
As a fellow, I was able to practice all of those skills, but also take the extra step of framing these messages for a particular audience and channel.
Highlighting the dangers of secondhand smoke is effective, but if the target audience is parents, emphasizing how vulnerable children are to secondhand smoke will have a much greater emotional impact. I also learned how to frame messages in social media to open the door for engagement and conversation.
This fellowship gave me hands-on experience developing the strategy and content for a health communication campaign, which will prove invaluable as I pursue a career in health communication.
Every day was a learning experience as I was constantly trying to develop a new graphic to relay an interest statistic about smokefree air or diving into a new study to find supporting evidence for smokefree policies or trying to reframe a tweet or post to engage more with the target audiences. Although the campaign is just beginning, I was able to get a taste of what kinds of messages worked for our target audiences, and what types of messages weren’t as effective.
In short, I learned a great deal about communicating strategically and earned a better understanding of public health policy and how it affects society. Before this fellowship, I had heard of smokefree air laws, but I had no idea what kind of impact they could have on the health of smokers and nonsmokers.