HERA talk, Brussels

PUBLIC CONFIDENCE: A DETERMINANT IN HEALTH

Ten Reasons not to join the Gardening Club
Franklin Apfel, World Health Communication Associates

I consider public confidence to be a determinant of health. Studies show that people are healthier if they are empowered, in control and confident. This meeting is about how we, as health and risk communicators, can contribute to wellbeing.

My presentation stems from a talk I prepared for my children’s school when I was asked to set up a garden club. My children were dismayed! Not Cool! So I rewrote the talk under the title ‘Ten Reasons not to join the Garden Club’. My intention was to force students to reframe their views so that not joining the Club would be uncool.

Using that model ...

1. Better dead than read Some companies still do not see the value of communications. If you are a communications dinosaur, don’t join the Garden Club!

2. Profits before People Many organisations only accept the need and value of risk communication if it can be tied to overall marketing strategies. Only 5% of consumers trust industry-generated information. If you are into product-tied risk communication, don’t join the Garden Club!

3. Reactive not Proactive Many people still believe risk communication is critical, but only in times of crisis. If you do not want to engage in proactive risk communication, don’t join the Garden Club!

4. Horses for Courses How do we reach out proactively to build consumer confidence? By bringing groups together you can identify and agree ways to deliver trustworthy messages. We can help each other sing louder and in greater harmony. If you want to sing solo, don’t join the Garden Club!

5. Check your Values at the Door What qualities should determine membership of our Club? If you are unwilling to be accountable to your peers for your communication activities, don’t join the Garden Club!

6. Swimming in a Goldfish Bowl Engaging in risk communication opens companies up to more scrutiny. If you’re not into transparency and clarity, don’t join the Garden Club!

7. Walk the Talk Risk communication is not just an external activity, it is also about sharing information with worker health and safety programmes and applying the same standards with your neighbours. If you’re not into applying your own standards at home, don’t join the Garden Club!

8. Reinventing the Wheel We can help each other by sharing experiences. If you are not into documenting, evaluating and sharing your experience, don’t join the Garden Club!

9. OKIYB but NIMBY Particular attention needs to be paid to even access of information. If you’re ‘OK In Your Backyard, but Not In My BackYard’, don’t join the Garden Club!

10. The Antidote ... Risk communication is not a one-off event. It requires ongoing investment in education, health promotion, crisis management and information campaigns. So if you are a knee-jerk, don’t join the Garden Club!

This is a rare opportunity. Applied strategically and sensitively, risk communication should help people deal with uncertainty better and in so doing improve peoples’ health.



Note: This is the transcript of a talk given by WHCA's Managing Director, Franklin Apfel, to the HERA meeting in Brussels, 9 November 2004.