Research shows large and growing disparities between rural and urban communities in their access to quality and consistent health care — especially in treatment for cancer and maternal health. Covering these inequities, as well as solutions to them, comes with challenges.
On Tuesday, May 27, the Institute held an instructional session focused on solutions-journalism approaches to covering rural health issues with Anne Zink, senior fellow at the Yale School of Public Health and former chief medical officer for the state of Alaska.
Here’s her advice:
Build relationships and trust
- Engage multiple stakeholders by considering the five P’s: Providers, patients, policymakers, public, and press.
- Keep communication open. Offer sources the opportunity to clarify or add context after an initial interview.
- Understand that healthcare providers and public health officials may be legally or professionally restricted from discussing certain topics. “When you’re thinking about talking to healthcare providers, just acknowledge that tension that they’re under,” Zink said.
Understand different perspectives
- Seek out local leaders and community members who can provide ground-level insights into healthcare challenges.
- Recognize that communication differs across sectors. Scientific, clinical, and media contexts each have distinct needs. For example, Zink explained, scientists tend to focus on limitations and replicability of data, clinicians balance providing information with guiding patients, and public health officials communicate to entire populations. Understanding these communication styles will help you work more effectively as a journalist.
- Acknowledge and respect local contexts. “If you’re unsure about the data source or who you’re talking about, just go to that community or that data source [directly],” Zink said.
- Learn how communities share information locally. “We would say, ‘What is the most common way that you all share information?’ and it was either Facebook, radio, sometimes TV, and occasionally [amateur] radio,” Zink said.
- Empower experts to speak, as Zink said, by providing a roadmap for them to structure their responses.
- Recognize that people will get their information from somewhere, so be proactive in providing accurate sources to communities. As Zink noted, people are increasingly turning to TikTok and other social media platforms rather than traditional news sources.
Recognize data limitations
- Compare multiple data sources to gain a fuller picture. “It is only telling one bit of the data based on what they saw, or what was observed, or what question was asked,” Zink said.
- Seek context behind the numbers. Statistics alone do not always reflect lived experiences.
- Recognize limitations of national data sets in local contexts and consider cultural and geographical factors that may impact data.
This program was part of the Institute’s inaugural Public Health Reporting Fellowship, funded by the Common Health Coalition. It’s being opened to the public at no cost.
About the Common Health Coalition
The Common Health Coalition: Together for Public Health brings together leading health organizations in pursuit of a reimagined health system: one in which the nation’s health care and public health systems no longer work in parallel, but hand in hand — with better health for all as the common goal.
The Common Health Coalition is hosted by the Institute for Public Health Innovation, a non-profit that builds cross-sector partnerships, promotes health equity, and works to create effective public health systems and policies that foster healthy communities. To sign up for the newsletter or learn more, visit commonhealthcoalition.org and follow on LinkedIn.
About the National Press Club Journalism Institute
The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press, and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy. As the non-profit affiliate of the National Press Club, the Institute powers journalism in the public interest. The Institute depends on grants, foundation funds, and contributions from individuals like you. Your donation today allows the Institute to offer the majority of its programming at no cost.