Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, epidemiologist and CEO of Your Local Epidemiologist, addresses the intersection between health and politics and provides words of encouragement to her fellow colleagues in public health; Grace Lee, senior analyst for infectious disease infrastructure and policy at ASTHO...
Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, epidemiologist and CEO of Your Local Epidemiologist, addresses the intersection between health and politics and provides words of encouragement to her fellow colleagues in public health; Grace Lee, senior analyst for infectious disease infrastructure and policy at ASTHO, describes a recent ASTHO blog article that dives into how strategic public health messaging can make it more approachable for communities; and a new ASTHO brief dives into how to cultivate a culture of community and belonging in the workplace.
ASTHO Blog: Strategic Public Health Messaging Drives Change
ASTHO Brief: Cultivating a Culture of Community and Belonging in the Workplace
JANSON SILVERS:
This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Wednesday, July 30, 2025. I'm Janson Silvers. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
KATELYN JETELINA:
Storytelling is a huge way to make those invisible things visible, as well as always grounding communication and engagement in centering the patient or centering that person rather than the institution or more of the ivory towers. I think a lot of it's also about meeting people where they are at.
SILVERS:
Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, an epidemiologist and the CEO of the newsletter, Your Local Epidemiologist, recently participated in a speech at the Public Health Communications Collaborative. Jetalina addressed the intersection of public health and politics.
JETELINA:
We have to realize and recognize that achieving public health goals depends on this sustained and constructive engagement between public health and political systems, and so I say, lean into this. Right? Lean into this with our communication. It comes down to the words and the topics we choose to talk about.
SILVERS:
Jetelina tells us that common ground can be powerful.
JETELINA:
The one thing I found with MAHA is that there's a lot of things we're just going to have to agree to disagree on, but there's a lot of things that are inherently public health, too. Nutrition, healthy school lunches, environment, clean air, getting toxics out of water.
SILVERS:
To learn more about Your Local Epidemiologist, you can check out the newsletter by clicking the link in the show notes.
A new ASTHO blog article describes how strategic public health messaging can help drive change by fostering support among communities. ASTHO's Grace Lee explains how it can help make public health more approachable.
GRACE LEE:
Storytelling, especially now, is a really powerful way to connect people and also really shift how they see the world. When we share our real life experiences, especially those around some tough public health issues like STIs and substance use, it can really help reduce stigma and raise awareness and also inspire action.
SILVERS:
To implement these strategies, Lee recommends engaging directly with communities.
LEE:
So, some considerations for folks in the field to keep in mind when utilizing these storytelling methods are to organize some local storytelling events. Creating some online spaces is a great way for people to share and support each other, and also using stories alongside your evidence and facts is really effective in public health campaigns.
SILVERS:
Lee adds that it's important to consider the sensitivity of some public health topics.
LEE:
How we frame the message really matters. So, of course, facts are really important, but also connecting to people's values like health, safety, and community, those can be especially impactful when framing these messages. So, focusing on things like harm reduction and access to care, rather than the punishment that comes from these certain topics really helps reduce the stigma and leads to better outcomes.
SILVERS:
You can read that article online now. We have a link in the show notes.
Also, we talk a lot about workforce support and retention in our daily public health jobs and on this newscast, and you can learn how your team can cultivate a culture of community and belonging in the workplace. Check out a brand new ASTHO brief that dives into the topic. Just use the link in the show notes.
Finally, before we go, Jetelina wanted to provide some words of encouragement for her public health colleagues.
KATELYN JETELINA:
We have to recognize that this is an incredibly dark time. It's a very disorienting time for us in public health. A lot of our colleagues are losing jobs, and it's really hard to find a 'North Star' in this magnetic storm, but the way that I've been going forward is finding those slivers of hope, because there is hope out there. There's a lot of people working and advocating for public health, and to realize that this is a marathon and it's not a sprint, and we cannot have- you know, we've already in public health been through terrible past five years with COVID. And so to really take care of ourselves, first and foremost, because the public does need public health, whether the majority of people see that or not, and we are doing important work, and science matters. And so, really take care of ourselves in this moment.
JANSON SILVERS:
That'll do it for today. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO news and information. I'm Janson Silvers. You're listening to the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great day.
