ABSTRACT

If you want to produce some type of health and safety communication, then this guide is for you. Maybe it’s a newsletter, public service announcement or presentation meant to promote the health of others or reduce their risk of injury. Or maybe you’ll be interviewed for a newspaper article or on a radio or television show. Perhaps you’ll be leading a workshop or discussion, or even providing some testimony for a group of decisionmakers, whether at the local, state or national level. Maybe you just want to write or say something, or prepare some standard or creative approach to help others be healthier or safer in their lives. For any of these situations and more, the insights, strategies and tools in this guide will help you be more effective. This guide is for three audiences: students studying health and safety communication, employees with job responsibility in health and safety communications, and those wanting to health-and-safety-communicate as a community service. Producing and delivering materials addressing traffic safety, stress management, healthy eating and exercise, and related topics requires a sound grasp of health and safety communications. You might think putting together a flier is a simple undertaking. However, much more goes into it if you want to be successful at reaching and influencing your audience. That’s where this guide comes in handy. You are an important source of health and safety communications. You have some degree of knowledge or awareness that you think is important and helpful to share with others. Your success with getting your message across hinges on your understanding of the audience. Specifically, you need to compose your message according to what you want your audience to know, feel and do. Being successful requires sending your message using one or more appropriate channels. You have many approaches from which to choose: fliers and posters, newsletters, workshops, social media, public service announcements and so many more. Ultimately, your efforts should have an impact-that is, influence or persuade recipients to promote personal health and/or reduce their risk of harm and injury. This guide for health and safety communicators explains the “how-to’s” as well as provides actual examples and tips from the field.