At A Glance

University of Minnesota’s Summer Public Health Institute

The Summer Public Health Institute is held annually by the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.  

This unique program brings together over 40 experts in public health to teach a wide variety of intensive one-week courses on applied public health topics, from Fundamentals of Data Visualization in R (a statistical program) to Principles of Risk Communication.

Both students and working professionals can attend courses. The program advertises that participants can build or expand their professional expertise, learn best practices, broaden career options, network with other professionals, or explore a new area of interest. Courses are intensive, highly interactive and application-based with opportunities for field trips, case studies, hands-on labs, and simulations. Registration for the institute generally opens in early to mid-mid spring. Potential participants are encouraged to explore the course offerings and see if there is a practical skill set they want to hone and bring back to their career.

CAHFS has been involved with the Public Health Institute since its inception in 2002. This year four courses are being taught by CAHFS-affiliated experts.

Inside look at a course

Participants in the Principles of Risk Communication course range from biomedical engineers looking to better communicate their research and outreach to first year MPH students working in toxicology. The course brings together these different backgrounds to collaboratively discuss various strategies and approaches to risk communication in topics from vaccination compliance to natural disasters.

The course is taught by the joint team of Dr. Katherine Waters, a former University of Minnesota veterinary public health resident and faculty member, along with Lillian McDonald and Buddy Ferguson, two experts in media communications with extensive experience in public and private media. Together, the instructors provide a course that not only teaches communication tactics, but also offers insights into media operations and motivations as well as up-to-date public perceptions.

Instructors discussed current trends and methods in social media communications utilized by the Minnesota Department of Health including Facebook and Twitter and ways to target specific audiences on these platforms. McDonald used her career as a journalist to bring the class inside of a news station’s daily planning session to show which stories would be likely chosen as worthy of coverage. Reflected in the varied attendance, the course has real value to anyone looking communicate a message to the public.

Media Tips

Courtesy of the course, these are five practical media communication tips:

• News releases to the public should be written at a sixth-grade reading level, which is approximately the average reading skill.
• People’s attention span for spoken words is approximately 7-9 seconds and for written approximately 30 words. Emphasize key points and keep them brief.
• Stories are often more compelling than facts and statistics in public awareness campaigns.
• In crises, acknowledge the concerns of the target audience and show them that you care about how they are feeling.
• It’s ok to say you don’t know, and it’s generally much better than sounding unsure or being dishonest.

Summer Public Health Institute