First, there are the writing gigs that one expects from the sciences. Namely, technical writing and grant writing. These are utilized, for the most part, to request funds for a study or an awareness project. As a San Diego Craigslist Technical Writer-Public Health and Safety job description puts it, “This position will support the project with development of issue briefings, fact sheets, and educational materials. This position will also include writing grants for future development/expansion for the project and organization. This position will report directly to the Executive Vice President and will be part of the corporate writing team.” Sound like fun? Of course not. But it is nonetheless a valid option for a writer. Luckily, the prospects for a public health writer don’t end there.
Communications, or as us literary people call it, writing, generally falls into one of two categories: Media Advocacy and Social Marketing. Both have a journalistic slant, both have an agenda, and the assumption is that they both are raising awareness for a greater good. The difference between the two is in the funding. Media advocates often represent grassroots organizations, but corporations and politicians use the model as well. For example, Media Advocates might conveniently run an article about an important issue (say, abortion) in a politician’s platform a week before the election. They will orchestrate a potent message for lobbyists before a pending policy or legislation change. As with most things that attempt to change the public’s mind through media, it can be used for good or for evil. In the 1960s, a decline in breast feeding and a rise in infant malnutrition was noted and found to be connected to an increase in baby formula marketing campaigns. Of these, the most prominent was Nestlé. A televised event was organized by the Infant Formula Coalition Action (INFACT) and with the help of Bill Moyers and a slew of celebrity guests, a world-wide boycott of Nestlé products was set into motion. This is an example of effective Media Advocacy. On the other hand, the principles of Media Advocacy are also responsible for the campaign ads that bombard our television screens with conflicting messages or downright lies. Media Advocacy’s primary tool is time. It’s all about knowing the audience and its short attention span and opportunistically framing a debate in a certain way. It comes down to storytelling—understanding the most engaging way to convey a message. As Charlotte Ryan puts it in her book, Prime Time Activism, “Framing is more than a process of interpreting selected events, it is actually creating events, or signifying, from the vast pool of daily occurrences, what is important.”
Social Marketing is a non-profit entity, thoroughly rooted in raising awareness about health issues. It most commonly appears in the form of Public Service Announcements—the “sexting” of today and the safe sex of yore. But the trouble is that, because the issues don’t have an expiration date like those of Media Advocacy, there is a tendency towards narrow-focus and a holier-than-thou mindset. They forget to factor in the backlashes and consequences of talking about something over and over—namely that no one takes it seriously after a while, and that there are probably more dire problems not getting the coverage they need. In Media Advocacy and Public Health, Lawrence Wallack, et al. write, “In developing countries, social marketing has focused on changing individual health habits rather than on improving environmental conditions such as ensuring clean water supply.” Another example is the anti-tobacco campaign. A great deal of time, energy and funds have gone towards making sure that no one smokes a cigarette within 30 feet of an air vent to an empty basement of an abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere. Hours of air time have filled in commercial slots between advertisements for SUVs, McDonald’s and air travel. The televised irony doesn’t stop there. Take the “Above the Influence” anti-marijuana ad campaign which depicted people so high that they ran over a small child, shot their best friend, and got molested. These events, which are essentially synonomous with alcohol, appear concurrently to the latest rendition of “this Bud’s for you.” However, Social Marketing has its heart in the right place, and the field anxiously awaits the next genius writer to make semi-important issues a big huge deal.
The lines between social marketing and media advocacy are often blurred and it’s easy to start conspiracy theorizing. Why are they so hung up on (insert health hot topic of the month here)? Who gave them the money to do this? What’s this really about? And so on. But maybe if someone was paying you, you’d be willing to turn a blind eye to the more questionable aspects of the fields. The job requires you to have a strong persuasive voice, and to understand the topics. Therefore, an English degree is a great start to launching this type of career. Having a minor in PR or Communications wouldn’t hurt. However, as an English major, it is likely that you lack the strong knowledge base of statistics, science and health care systems that a career in Public Health requires. You might know how to use your words to convince your audience that, for example, Mersault in Albert Camus’ The Stranger shot the guy on the beach because of a terrible migraine. It’s no secret that you can write a mean thesis-driven literary criticism. But, would you be able to successfully argue for or against clinical trials in Africa? Articulate exactly why pesticides are so hazardous? Interpret graphs and charts and explain what they say about infant mortality rates? Probably not. My global health professor referred me to a few of his colleagues who specialize in the Communications aspects of Public Health. I sent them an e-mail asking for a more in-depth explanation of the Social Marketing and Media Advocacy and received a very helpful list of books and a warning that entire Graduate Level courses are dedicated to the specifics of these two areas. I apologized for my ignorantly broad inquiry and felt quite silly. And so you see, to land a job in this field as an English major, you’re probably going to have to go to Grad School.
Rudolf Virchow, a founder of social medicine once said, “Medicine is a social science, and politics nothing but medicine on a grand scale.” Though this remark may seem dismal, it’s true, making it important to have a background in Political Science when entering the field of Public Health. Most available jobs, particularly those for Media Advocacy are located in Washington DC.
For Social Marketing, it is wise to have a degree or training in (surprise!) Marketing . Wallack et. al explains it this way: “It (Social Marketing) takes the planning variables from marketing—product, price, promotion and place—and reinterprets them for health issues.” When applied to Social Marketing, the product is what the consumer needs to believe, price is the amount of lifestyle change needed, promotion is what the consumer will gain from the change, and place refers to the access the behavior changing tools—is there fresh produce available to the targeted socio-economic group?
Above all, you’ll need a Masters of Public Health degree. Field experience must be done in order to complete most programs. This can be anything from working in clinics in Bulgaria to writing grants for case studies. Again, Public Health is broad and encompasses a great many types of tasks. Some people work in hospitals, some for the FDA, some are hired to write freelance op-eds or editorials. Once you have finished your MPH, a good place to start looking for work is with Communication firms that specialize in health. Advocacy Associates, for example, explains itself as, “a boutique advocacy communication firm catering to the association market. We help our clients implement citizen-based approaches to achieving policy change at the local, state, or federal level.” What does this mean? You’ll know after you go to school for Public Health.
Opportunities in the health field run rampant. You probably chose an English degree over medical school because the required math scared you or maybe because the profession seemed too sterile. Well, it’s sterile because at some point someone got the message out that healthcare needs to be clean and free of germs, and I bet that someone was a writer. With a career writing for Public Health, you can get involved in things that always seemed out of your right-minded reach. You can use your words for a healthier or less-corrupt world. With your sparkling English Major abilities, there’s a good chance you’ll make a difference.
--Rosie Mckinlay-Mench
Special thanks to Dr. Richard Lockwood and Dr. Liana Winett of the PSU Community Health program for their patient assistance and insights.
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