I spoke at the annual meeting of the Society for Public Health Education, in the plenary on “Media, Information, Science, and Health Literacy”.
“This talk invites health education and health promotion professionals to reflect on their evolving role in the age of digital complexity. As digital spaces increasingly shape how people seek, share, and understand health information, educators must expand their impact beyond individuals and communities. We’ll explore how your work also needs to reach upward to senior leaders and policymakers, across to peers in communication, tech, and healthcare, and downward to support and guide newer professionals entering the field. Drawing on SOPHE competencies, this presentation emphasizes relational communication, trust-building, participatory strategies, and systems thinking as essential tools for navigating information ecosystems that are fragmented, commercialized, and emotionally charged. We’ll look at real-world examples—from reproductive health apps and social media self-diagnosis to AI-generated health content—and consider what it takes to build resilience, credibility, and connection in this new environment. Health educators are not just communicators; we are system influencers in a digital world. “