Workshop: An Interdisciplinary Conference on Using Social Science to Improve Health Outcomes

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

General Summary The proposed conference will bring together social scientists who specialize in the analysis of human communication and decision-making from the fields of health communication and the social sciences. Health information is often conveyed in tense, conflict-laden environments. People may be anxious about long-term illness or the prospect of death, or may question the motives of health practitioners. Social scientists who study communication, learning, and decision making in political environments have documented learning outcomes in similar environments. Social scientists have studied many situations where receivers of information use a cognitive process distorted by their prior beliefs or attitudes to distort, frame, or interpret new information to suit their perceived needs. Yet, few public health or medical communicators are aware of this knowledge base and almost none integrate it into their communication strategies. Also problematic is the fact that journalists and political advocates, interested in advancing their own agendas, present themselves as knowing as much or more than trained researchers about critical topics such as vaccination. This complicates the processing of new information for many audience members. The conference will focus on how to improve communication of critical medical and public health information to non-academic audiences, bringing together experts on science communication, scholars working to improve public health messaging, and social scientists who study the psychological foundations of how people learn. Technical Summary Our conference will both leverage what health scientists know and also assist them in their work through their interactions with leading social scientists. Bringing the social sciences into conversations about medicine and public health may be critical to improving the nation's health and reducing strains on its health care system. Public health researchers who specialize in research about mass health behavior and communicating findings to non-scientific audiences have experiences that they can share with social scientists, including discussions to do two things: change mass attitudes about health-related behaviors, and improve the means by which health practitioners communicate with patients. This proposed workshop focuses on how to improve communication of critical medical and public health information to non-academic audiences, bringing together experts on science communication, scholars working to improve public health messaging, and social scientists who focus on the psychological foundations of how people learn. The PIs invite 25-30 people to participate actively in the conference. The workshop includes eight sessions with two presenters and a keynote address. Session topics include communication of science findings, challenges in improving public health, scientific communication in decision making, what information elicits trust across and between groups of people, social scientific literacy, and improving public health and social science processes.