Laker to speak at "Leading with Listening: Modernizing Public Health Communication in a New Information Age," Sept. 23

Associate Professor Penina Acayo Laker, whose research centers on design as integral to addressing systemic issues in public health and racial inequity, will deliver the closing keynote for “Leading with Listening: Modernizing Public Health Communication in a New Information Age” on Sept. 23.

The event is a convening of WashU Bursky School of Public Health’s Health Communication Collaborative, which is co-directed by Laker and Matt Kreuter, the Kahn Family Professor of Public Health, and managed by Alexis Marsh. The collaborative seeks to promote population health and well-being by leading with listening to deeply understand what the public knows, believes and values about health.

“In public health, the word of the day is ‘trust.’ Everyone is talking about the problem of trust. People don’t trust that public health authorities are listening to them,” Laker said. “I think it’s time to move away from studying the problem and start thinking about solutions. This convening will shake up the landscape a little bit, take what is already being done and challenge people to think big. We can’t just tell people, ‘It’s important to listen.’ We have to think about infrastructure, systems, structures. If it is done well, this could be the beginning of something big.”