Practical Modeling Concepts for Public Health: Communicating recommendations (audio description)

White text against a blue background. Communicating public health recommendations based on modeling and analytics. Practical modeling concepts for public health. Logo CDC. The narrator, a man wearing a mauve shirt and beige pants, stands in front of a blue background and speaks to the camera. In this section, we review best practices for communicating public health recommendations based on modeling and analytics. Many public health practitioners communicate about public health issues on a daily basis A new slide. Text on screen. Title, apply standard communication techniques. Focus on the public health problem. Modeling is just the tool. Distill your message to a single overriding communication objective. The S of single, the O of overriding, the C of communication, and the O of objective are underlined to produce the acronym SOCO. Be clear about what you do and do not know. When communicating about modeling results, be mindful of all of your standard public health communication training, as these approaches are still relevant. Keep the focus on the public health issue that is affecting individuals and communities, not the details of modeling methods. Distill your message into a single overriding communication objective, or SOCO, and state it clearly and often. As with any public health recommendation, be transparent about your level of confidence and when more information might be available. A new slide. Text on screen. Title, add in specific nuances for modeling results. Explain why models were needed. Avoid overly specific results. Note limitations in underlying data. Discuss major modeling assumptions. Identify what might change your assessment. Communicate the specific nuances of modeling results. By definition, modeling outputs, unlike public health surveillance data, are not simply observations and are often more uncertain. Communicating this uncertainty requires particular skills. If sharing specific modeling results, explain why the model was needed. Clarify whether the model supports planning, explores outcomes of potential actions, or addresses data gaps. Explain that we don't know the future and that models rely on past patterns. If those patterns change, uncertainty increases. Because of this uncertainty, avoid overly specific results that imply precision, like there will be 16,473 hospital admissions for respiratory viruses, even if that is what your model output said. Instead, focus on the top-line messages, such as we expect hospital demand to exceed bed capacity. Most of infectious disease models rely on real-world data, which are imperfect. The public understands this, and appropriately acknowledging limitations in the underlying data helps build trust in the modeling output. In addition to potential issues with the underlying data, models themselves make assumptions that impact results. Being open about major modeling assumptions is critical to building trust in the output and providing a frame of reference for updates. For example, we assumed no new virus variant would emerge, or we assumed flu vaccine efficacy would be similar to last year. That enables you to identify what might change your assessment. Some assumptions can be updated as more data become available. Like if a virus variant did emerge, you may wish to update your model and change your assessment. The narrator speaks to the camera. The communication approaches discussed earlier apply across audiences. Elected officials, executive decision-makers, healthcare providers, and the public all want a clear focus on the public health issue, a single overriding message, and an understanding of data limitations and assumptions. A new slide. Text on screen. Title, Consider Your Audience. Your audience will help you shape your modeling question and approach, as well as the way you communicate results. i.e., consider your audience at all phases, not just after you have results. In communicating results, many similar techniques apply across audiences. The level of technical detail may vary, but always maintain a focus on the public health message, distill key findings into a single overriding communication objective, and be clear about assumptions and limitations. Your audience will help you shape your modeling question and how you communicate results. i.e., consider your audience at all phases, not just after you have results. Technical detail may vary, but always maintain a public health focus, present a clear SOCO, and be transparent about assumptions and limitations. A new slide. Title, Tips to Communicate About Model Outputs. The narrator voices a list of do's, don'ts, and examples in a table. Here are some tips to communicate about model outputs. Emphasize the overall public health message instead of modeling methods. For example, we are expecting a severe respiratory viral season. Acknowledge uncertainty with language like, this assessment is based on what we know now and may change as we learn more. Use plain language rather than jargon by saying, to generate these results, we studied past data and current trends. And engage your partners in coordinating messaging. Communicate this by saying, we are working closely with healthcare providers across the state to prepare. Members of the media can be useful partners for communicating with the public. A new slide. Title, Media are Useful Partners for Communicating with the Public. Text on screen. The media can help disseminate information to a broader audience. Apply standard communication techniques and remember your media training. It is important to have a clear message and to stick to that message. Don't get led down a rabbit hole. Be clear about what is important for the public to know and or act upon. What is the, so what? Do not use jargon. In some ways, the media is just another audience. So remember your general communication principles. Have a clear message and stay focused. Be clear about what is important for the public to know or act upon by homing in on the, so what? And as always, do not use jargon. The man speaks to the camera. This training series where we will apply them to an example.