Center for Health Communication - UT Austin

Thank you to our sponsors for making the 12th annual Health Communication Leadership Institute possible, Texas Department of State Health Services and Whole Communities—Whole Health!

This event by health communicators for health communicators continues to build a special community of trust that allows participants to learn best practices from peers and lean on each other for growth.

Feeling FOMO? Sign up for our e-mail newsletter to make sure you don't miss the opportunity to come find your people here in 2027: https://rebrand.us10.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=4758325b7e18630b120ff4ce8&id=d35953f009

We closed with a keynote conversation featuring Emily Ramshaw, Co-founder and CEO of The 19th News. Journalism and public health face similar challenges, and we found many parallels given the nonprofit newsroom’s relentless dedication to audience needs assessment and mission of delivering the information people need to make decisions on a daily basis.

Her top tips for attendees:
✅ Words matter. Empathy, grace, and accessible language are key to inviting people in.
✅ Building personal relationships with journalists and giving them feedback are the best ways to ensure the full picture is being reported.
✅ Narrative change and media literacy take time. A steadfast commitment to accuracy and values is key when there aren’t a lot of quick wins along the way.

Check out our free “Dealing with Conflicting Health Information” course to learn more about having gentle and effective conversations on complex health topics: https://hcts.uthealthcommtraining.org/courses/hctsdealing-with-conflicting-health-information

“The well-being of your workforce is infrastructure. If you ignore well-being in the workforce, you pay for that in other places.”

In health care, where outcomes carry especially high stakes, workforce well-being isn’t optional. Bryan Sexton, Ph.D., Duke Health Chief Wellness Officer and Duke University School of Medicine psychometrician, shared decades of research findings with .

Data shows several factors are interconnected at the individual and system levels:
⚖️ Work-life balance is a strong predictor of future well-being. However, “work-life climate” is a more accurate term because group norms have such a strong effect.
📈 Emotional exhaustion has a social contagion effect that works both ways, meaning we can lift each other up too.
✅ When it comes to restoring positive emotions, frequency matters more than magnitude. Plus, bite-size interventions are best for overwhelmed employees.

Continue learning with our free courses featuring Dr. Sexton’s work, including “Strategies to Support Team Well-Being" and “Finding Meaning in Work” taught by Dell Medical School - UT Austin experts: https://hcts.uthealthcommtraining.org/

We’ve always defined health communication as both an art and a science. As a physician and illustrator, Dr. Grace Farris shared her expertise and passion for graphic medicine with attendees. She challenged the notion that people in health and science often think they’re “not really an artist”, , even though modern tools have made it easier than ever to create .

Visuals can transcend literacy and vision challenges and have proven to be especially effective in reducing stigma and facilitating informed consent. How can your team use illustrations to improve comprehension?

Moody College of Communication - UT Austin Dell Medical School - UT Austin

The 12th annual Health Communication Leadership Institute (HCLI) has officially kicked off! We had a great time welcoming attendees to The University of Texas at Austin with a networking reception at Moody College of Communication - UT Austin last night, and Day 1 is already off to an exciting start.

During the “Improv for Health Communication: Establishing a Growth Mindset” session, Cynthia Oelker from Merlin Works helped attendees warm up with interactive activities, make friends with failure, and set intentions for the rest of the event.

Stay tuned for highlights from our lineup of speakers and join the conversation using . Learn more about the event: https://healthcomm.utexas.edu/education/hcli

Whether you are a consumer, creator, or both, the media buzz around big happenings can be overwhelming. As North America prepares for the World Cup, learn more about effective communication around health and safety risks with the free, 1-hour courses we developed with Texas Epidemic Public Health Institute, including "Pandemic Preparedness Communication" and "Dealing with Conflicting Health Information": https://rebrand.ly/hcts_tephi

The concept of the “Turn To” campaign conveys the idea of turning to healthy coping strategies (eg, family, friends, and activities) during difficult times, especially given the increased loneliness and isolation many are experiencing compared to pre-pandemic levels.

One of the largest public health interventions in Texas, it demonstrates a promising approach for fostering social connection through more open conversations about mental health challenges. Read our latest publication "Exposure to and Impact of a Mass Media Campaign Promoting Healthy Coping Strategies With Mental Health Challenges" in the American Journal of Health Promotion: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/08901171261452422

Congrats to Dr. Sophia Dove! While working on her Ph.D. at Moody College of Communication - UT Austin she has also been such a great contributor to our team for almost 4 years now.

We've been lucky to benefit from her theoretical perspective and hands-on approach to research across a variety of projects focused on cancer prevention, student health, and infectious disease communication. Her rigor and empathy translates to materials people want and need to make decisions about their health 🤘 🧡

📣 LAST CALL: Registration for 2026 closes on May 29.

✨ Our team is excited to host colleagues from around the world in Austin on June 10-12. Don't miss your chance to join us at the 12th annual Health Communication Leadership Institute! ✨

➡️ https://uthealthcomm.org/education/hcli