Our work in communication helps clients reach individuals, communities, and larger networks and populations. We offer comprehensive, evidence-based plans and campaign strategies, tailored to your needs and goals.
SKIP the Salt Campaign
High blood pressure, or hypertension, is often called the silent killer because people suffering from it may not notice any signs or symptoms. After tobacco, CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden has called it the second leading public health priority for intervention. While anyone can develop hypertension, some groups, such as African Americans, are at higher risk.
Aware that high blood pressure was an issue, state and local health planners approached the HCRC about launching a strategic communication campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of hypertension among African American populations living in six zip codes in Greater Kansas City.
Livable Streets
What zip code you live in can determine more about your health outcomes than your income or race. More Missourians have to manage multiple chronic diseases with limited access to easy ways to get active. The Missouri Livable Streets project set out to change that fact among rural audiences by increasing awareness of Complete or Livable Streets design concepts in the Heartland.
Photovoice for Mental Health/Substance Abuse Awareness
Individuals and families who experience mental illness and substance abuse report that getting help can be difficult. Moreover, they also report that staying well is just as hard. Clinical evidence and other research has shown that trauma histories are often at the root of the problem and until these trauma histories are addressed, mental illness and substance abuse are rarely successfully treated. To raise awareness and support an effective treatment, the Mental Health Board of St. Louis and NAMI St. Louis approached the HCRC about using photovoice with clients who have gone through TREM or M-TREM. TREM or M-TREM stands for Trauma Recovery Empowerment Model or Men’s Trauma Recovery and Empowerment Model and has been recognized as an effective treatment modality for adults across ages, genders, races and ethnicities.
Photovoice Missouri
We wanted to see if by working with middle and high school teachers, especially in rural areas, and their students we could give teens a platform to their unique perspecitve to the individuals in their communities and advocate for change.
We thought by giving them cameras and telling them to take photographs and write about the health of their communities, we could provide the tools they would need to accomplish that goal.
Health Literacy Missouri
Understanding insurance forms, doctor’s instructions and government health programs can be difficult regardless of a person’s education. The ability, or lack thereof, to understand this sort of information is what health literacy is about. Back in 2006, when the HCRC began working in health literacy, this concept was unknown by most and misunderstood by many. Our challenge was to raise awareness about health literacy and help turn Health Literacy Missouri (HLM) into a recognized leader in the field in Missouri.
Ozioma
The dangers and risks of cancer to minority populations has been well documented by the national media, federal health agencies and advocacy groups. All too often, however, these stories are about the chances of getting the disease and risk of death without any mention of how to prevent cancer.
Through a collaboration with researchers at the Health Communication Research Lab at Washington University in St. Louis and funding from the National Cancer Institute, the HCRC embarked on the creation of the Ozioma News Service to send positive messages about cancer prevention out to African American newspapers around the country.
C3/SciXchange
Those who work in the sciences have their own language. Whether it is biochemistry, botany, or physics, this language is often specific to that field. Through the C3/SciXchange program, we are teaching undergraduate science students how to be bilingual. That is, teaching them how to communicate those in other fields of science as well as with the public