Select Lessons Learned from Message Testing and Audience Research
(Research Conducted 2012-2014)
General Considerations:
Messaging Insight
Notes/Additional Information
Example
The phrases “community health” and “policy, systems, and
environmental improvements” were not understood by many people.
When the phrase “community health”
was tested participants often
associated it with free or low-cost
clinics and health departments in poor
and typically minority neighborhoods.
The Division of
Community Health (DCH)
strengthens health efforts
in towns, cities, counties,
and tribal areas
throughout the nation to
help communities prevent
disease and promote
healthy living.
Make healthy living easier
where people live, work,
learn, and play.
Recommendation: Expand upon community health to clearly define
community health as something much broader.
Often people interpreted “environmental change” as relating to the
natural environment such as air quality, recycling, and “going green”
efforts. Very few perceived the term as changing the built
environment of an area by making sidewalks and bike paths available.
Recommendation: Consider the phrase “making healthy living easier
where people live, work, learn, and play” to explain the types of
improvements you are trying to make.
The phrase “making the healthy choice the easy choice” led to
concerns from certain segments of the population about government
influence over personal choices and government overreach.
Recommendation: Use caution when considering the word “choice.”
“Making healthy living easier where
people live, work, learn, and play”
resonated positively with people across
the country. It was seen as having an
inclusive tone and research participants
like the breadth and specificity of the
phrase as a whole.
With some respondents, the word
choice led them to think about
individual behavior changes rather than
broader, community-level changes.
Keep the focus on the broader changes
being implemented.
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Messaging Insight
Notes/Additional Information
Recommendation: Provide specific examples of the work you are
doing.
“Health disparities” and “health equity” were widely misunderstood.
Recommendation: When developing messages about health equity
and disparity issues, it is often more effective to communicate how the
problem impacts the whole community and how the solutions benefit
everyone. Avoid messages that may unintentionally promote an “us
versus them” mentality. Use “we” to refer to the community rather
than “you.”
Recommendation: Avoid phrases like “equal,” “social justice,” or
“leveling the playing field” when communicating with general
audiences because they can be misunderstood as taking something
away from one group to give to another.
Example
DCH provides funding,
training, and expert
advice so communities
can make lasting changes
that reduce the major risk
factors for chronic
disease—tobacco use,
lack of physical activity,
and unhealthy eating.
Some confused disparity with words
that sounded similar like despair or
desperate. Others associated the word
equity with equitable or financial ideas
like home equity. Frequently, equity
was not associated with health. Many
found these words confusing.
If you DO need to talk about health
equity in greater detail, provide specific
examples to illustrate and define what
you mean.
Working at the
community level to
promote healthy living
and prevent chronic
disease brings the
greatest health benefits
to the greatest number of
people in need. It also
helps to reduce health
gaps caused by
differences in race and
ethnicity, location, social
status, income, and other
factors that can affect
health.
We achieve health equity
when we remove these
barriers or find ways to
overcome them so that
every person has a chance
to reach his or her full
health potential.
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Messaging Insight
Obesity may not be as much of a priority issue for audiences as other
diseases such as diabetes or heart disease. It also may be less of a
priority compared to economic concerns or other challenges they are
facing.
Recommendation: Understand where your audiences are coming from.
Understand their context. People may be more receptive to the work
you are doing at the community-level if you frame your efforts as
addressing a problem that is important to their families or community.
Notes/Additional Information
Children and children’s issues are often
compelling to a broad range of
audiences.
Example
Physical activity can help
students focus, improve
behavior, and boost
positive attitudes.
Much of the media coverage around
obesity focuses on childhood obesity.
There also is a large opportunity to help
people understand that obesity is a
concern for adults as well and the
problem of obesity is relevant to the
whole community.
It is important to let people know that
obesity and the risks associated with it
can be prevented. Show them how
your work is helping with those
prevention efforts.
Recommendation: Acknowledge the role of personal responsibility and
then bridge to the need for broader scale improvements.
National surveys indicate about half of
communities accept that obesity is best
addressed through community
solutions, in part if not completely.
There is a significant amount of support
within communities for the policy,
systems, and environmental
improvements.
There are ways people
can help improve their
health as individuals but
we need to remember
that many people live in
neighborhoods that make
it very difficult to be
healthy.
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Messaging Insight
Notes/Additional Information
Example
Notes/Additional Information
Example
Safe, as in safe places to play, led to some confusion. For some it was
interpreted as meaning safe equipment and for others with an absence
of crime.
Recommendation: If you are doing work to increase access to safe
places to play, provide specific examples of what safe means in the
context you are using it.
To some, words like “changing”, “transforming”, and “fixing” negated
or discounted the positive work that may already be happening in a
community.
Recommendation: Words like “building”, “strengthening”,
“enhancing”, and “bettering” acknowledge that a community was
starting from a strong foundation.
Audience Considerations- Race/Ethnicity:
Messaging Insight
Caucasians, Hispanics, and African Americans shared many of the same
attitudes, including:
• Healthy choice was not typically the easiest choice
• Key barriers to healthy living include affordability, lack of access,
lack of knowledge, and a busy modern life
• Improved access to healthier living is positive, but freedom to
choose is important too
• Associated healthy and organic foods with specialty grocers and
higher costs
Caucasians
• Greatest concerns about government overreach into personal
decisions
• Most interested in/had the most questions about government
spending and use of tax dollars for healthy living program
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Messaging Insight
Notes/Additional Information
Example
Hispanics
• Most enthusiastic about community efforts around healthy living
• Minor concerns about government spending and oversight of
funds
• Some belief that cultural eating habits are a barrier to healthy
living
African Americans
• Some belief that cultural eating habits are a barrier to healthy
living
• Most vocal and frustrated around access to healthy living in their
communities
• Concerned about a variety of social problems in their
communities
• Concerned if efforts actually would be implemented, supported,
and maintained
Audience Considerations- Community and Business Leaders:
Messaging Insight
Notes/Additional Information
Example
For community and business leaders “healthy community” meant:
• Good opportunities for/access to health care, healthy foods,
physical activity, affordable housing, education, transportation
• Economically viable, a sense of safety and a “vibrant” feel
• Engaged and involved residents, effective leaders, and good
collaboration/communication
For community leaders, messages emphasizing the “people-oriented”
benefits of community health efforts are likely to resonate.
For business leaders, messages about good health being good for
business were well received
Community health efforts
are important because
they create healthy and
vibrant communities.
Making healthy living
easier for their
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Messaging Insight
Notes/Additional Information
Example
communities can help
increase profits, bring in
more customers, and
build goodwill.
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