Additional Resources

Communication

• CDC’s Gateway to Health Communication is a hub for a variety of communication resources and guidance.
• CDC’s Health Equity Guiding Principles for Inclusive Communication details equity-related principles and terminology considerations.
• CDC’s Plain Language Materials & Resources is helpful for translating technical information into plain language.
• CDC’s Clear Communication Index helps communicators develop and assess communication materials.

• FrameWorks Institute provides useful resources and toolkits (Public Health Informatics, Community Health) for communicating social issues in a way that builds public support for change.
• PATH’s Gender Equity in Programming Glossary helps clarify commonly used gender-related terms.
• The Joint Commission’s guide for Advancing Effective Communication, Cultural Competence, and Patient- and Family-Centered Care includes guidance that could be tailored for LGBTQI+ communities around the world.

Community Engagement

• ATSDR’s Principles of Community Engagement (also available in Spanish) outlines the foundations of community engagement that are critical across public health, including communication.
• Consider adapting the community engagement approach proposed by Earle-Richardson et. al (2021) for collecting continuous community feedback.
• WHO’s guide for Community Engagement and the United Nations’ Community Engagement Guidelines on Peace-building and Sustaining Peace provide additional principles and recommendations with global context.

Social Drivers/Determinants of Health

• Tools and frameworks. See CDC’s tools for putting social drivers/determinants of health into action and learn about WHO’s conceptual framework for action on the social determinants of health. Read the National Academy of Sciences’ report on community-driven pathways to health equity.
• Human rights. Learn more about the connections between medicine, public health, ethics, and human rights. Also learn how violations of human rights can impact health.
• Corruption. See WHO’s report to learn about the indicators and effects of corruption on health and strategies to prevent corruption in health systems.
• Racism and colorism. Understand how racism impacts health. Learn about the social construction of race and why the American Medical Association recognizes race as a social, not biological, construct. Also learn about the difference between racism and colorism and how colorism also perpetuates inequity.
• Health literacy. Learn more about health literacy as a social driver of health.
• Ability and ableism. See WHO’s fact sheet on some of the health inequities experienced by people with disabilities and the United Nations’ report on the impact of ableism in medical and scientific practice. CDC’s Disability & Health Resources for Facilitating Inclusion and Overcoming Barriers includes various resources helpful to creating and using inclusion strategies that prioritize the health, well-being, and participation of people with disabilities.
• Ageism. Explore WHO’s Global Report on Ageism to learn the impacts of ageism and strategies to reduce ageism.