The Health Sciences Library and Division of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) held a two-day course to investigate how the art of communicating science impacts public engagement with health messages.

Titled ‘Leveraging Science Communication Tools to Craft Effective Health Messages,’ the course was directed by Jamie Gray, associate librarian and director of health sciences library at WCM-Q. The faculty included dean Dr Javaid Sheikh, Dr Maya Adam, director of health media innovation and clinical assistant professor in the department of paediatrics at Stanford School of Medicine, Dr Ross MacDonald, librarian of scholarly communications at WCM-Q, and Sinéad O’Rourke, engagement manager at WCM-Q.
Participants explored the basic principles of science communication, how science and health literacy impacts health behaviours and understanding of scientific evidence, the effects of misinformation and why it can be so tricky to combat, and how to effectively create evidence-informed health messages for different audiences and platforms.
In addition, the course also explored how the scientific process, human cognition, and various social factors contribute to the public’s willingness to engage in scientific discussions.
Dr Adam, said: “Effective health education needs to be accessible across cultures, languages, and education and literacy levels. Storytelling is a universal language that we can use to engage diverse audiences, communicate critical information, and help audiences retain what they have learned.”
Gray, noted: “As the health information ecosystem evolves, it’s imperative that we think about the system holistically. Exploring scholarly, science and health communication as a continuum and how those domains intersect when it comes to our health decision-making is vital to finding the best avenues for empowering individuals and communities in their own wellbeing journeys.”
“As a medical education and research institution, there is an important scientific education element that we must always take into consideration as part of our overall role and responsibility. By effectively raising awareness and understanding of science-related topics, we are able to encourage science literacy and subsequently positively impact health behaviour and engagement on an individual and community level,” remarked Dr Sheikh.