Health Communications 101 with Nutrition Communicator, Brett Otis

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In this episode, Sujani sits down with Brett Otis, the Communications Project Manager in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. They discuss Brett’s work at Harvard Chan on “The Nutrition Source” and the responsibilities of those presenting health information to the public. 

You’ll Learn

• Brett’s career path and how he came to work in public health communications 
• What a day as the Communications Project Manager in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan looks like
• What “The Nutrition Source” is and the process of producing this source
• Tips from Brett on how to consume health information from media
• Some lessons that Brett has learned about communicating public health information
• What the biggest challenges for individuals working in public health face when communicating health information
• Brett’s observations about public health communication during COVID-19 and what he has seen working well vs. what could be improved
• Advice from Brett for individuals who might be interested in a similar career

Today’s Guest

Brett O. Otis, ALM, is a Communications Project Manager in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health where he lends strategic support to multiple initiatives, including the department’s primary public-facing website, The Nutrition Source, and annual Healthy Living Guide. He also serves as a key guest lecturer in the MPH course, Nutrition Communication in Practice. Additionally, he is a co-author of Eat Well and Keep Moving (3rd edition, 2016), a school-based nutrition and physical activity program developed for upper-elementary school children. Merging education and training in journalism, health communications, and sustainability, along with professional experience in public health nutrition communications, his work is all about making research accessible and useful to a range of audiences—from policymakers and educators, to the general public. 

Resources

• More info about The Ladder of Abstraction
• Read the Wired article about science literacy
• Frameworks resources
• Access The Nutrition Source and read the article about consuming science in media

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