We're eager for this year's gathering of the American Public Health Association, which is just around the corner! Hear from our researchers Kim Garcia and Sarah Perez-Sanz during the following sessions:

Session: PS2006.0
Friday, Oct. 22, 8:30-10:00 a.m. MT

Safe, stable housing is essential for health. However, unless advocates are equipped to communicate with journalists about housing as a public health issue, it will be difficult for policymakers and the public to understand how these issues intersect, and to see why housing policy is foundational to building and maintaining community health.

Do current news narratives about housing and health elevate the role of structural racism? Identify solutions? Discuss health equity? To find out, we evaluated how media narratives about a range of housing issues have shifted during the pandemic. We also compared coverage from around the country. Our analysis provides guidance for advocates to help them communicate more effectively with journalists (to illustrate that housing is a public health issue) and policymakers (to motivate them to make decisions that prioritize health and decrease inequities). Learn more & access the recording.

Poster, 506327, virtual
Session PS2081.0
Friday, Oct. 22, 1:00-2:30 p.m. MT

The global COVID-19 pandemic has spurred a surge in food insecurity and catalyzed changes to programs that expanded access to food assistance all across the country. What opportunities could these program changes present for permanently leveraging shifts in public narrative and opinion to support equity and health for everyone?

We analyzed news coverage to assess how national food programs and food aid recipients were portrayed before and during the pandemic. We examined whose voices were present or absent in coverage and looked at how journalists characterized responsibility for alleviating hunger. Our assessment suggests questions that can help advocates working to shape an ongoing news narrative that makes the case for government action to support families with young children, even in the absence of a global pandemic. Learn more & access the recording.


We hope you can tune in!