Dr. Baccarelli asked Dean Ranney how the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) conveys the importance of communication in the classroom.
“I think what we didn't learn traditionally was the importance of communicating not just within our own circles,” she said, “but also communicating with folks who may not identify as scientists, as academics, as anything related to public health. And that lack of a skill set, I think has hurt us both in public health but also in higher education in general.”
The faculty who are most passionate and skilled in communication should work with students, she said, and communication skills should be taught both inside and outside the classroom.
Dean Ranney also stressed the critical role listening plays in public health, especially listening to people's concerns. “It actually starts with hearing and understanding,” she said. “We often think about communication as being on broadcast media or writing an op-ed.” But communication can be as simple as having a conversation over Thanksgiving dinner or creating a social media post about the impact of our work, she said.
At YSPH, she said, faculty and staff in the Office of Community & Practice developed a program on “compassionate dialogue” that incoming master’s students are required to take. The beginning of the course focuses on active listening.
Since a crucial component of public health is informing the public, Dr. Baccarelli asked what public health practitioners can do to link science to society in order to help shape decisions, practices, and behaviors without appearing dictatorial or patronizing.
The first step is explaining the real-world impact of the science to the community to demonstrate why it matters; Dr. Ranney responded. At YSPH, linking science and society is the core element of the school’s strategic plan.
“If I'm doing research on environmental determinants or drivers of health, and no one in the community has had a say about what they're worried about, about how you're collecting the data,” she said, “why would they believe it and use it?”
Research does not end with a journal publication, Dr. Ranney said; it’s “when it’s used. Whether it's being used by a community group or by a policymaker or by a company that may be able to make their products safer, that's the goal.”
In response to Dr. Baccarelli’s question about whether public health has a branding problem, Dean Ranney conceded that not everyone understands the discipline of public health.
“But I also hesitate to say we have a branding problem as if it's totally our fault,” she said. “I want to just say out loud that there is a misunderstanding or distrust of a lot of things in society right now — not just public health and health science, but also the media, Congress, higher education, and the courts.”
Dr. Ranney noted that a lot of public health work is invisible to the community. She suggested moving beyond the popular connotation that public health keeps people from getting sick and reframing it to say public health helps people stay healthy.
“No one hesitates about engaging with wellness influencers,” she said. “Everyone is seeking ways to be healthy. Ultimately, that is our job. That is what motivates us in public health — trying to help people achieve health.”
In response to a question about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in public health, Dr. Ranney said it helps researchers organize data quickly, improving efficiency. However, she said, AI has the potential to create problems. Some believe AI could potentially generate the next pandemic, she said. It could also seed division, discord, and conflict.
Dr. Baccarelli asked Dr. Ranney what inspires her.
Historically, “there are always periods of chaos and discontent,” Dean Ranney said. “But then you watch people who have agency and create change in really amazing ways — whether it's discovering the circulation of the blood or the effect of handwashing,” she said. Those discoveries started with a small group of people who did some science and created some systems and coalitions.
“I believe that we can create a better world…,” Dr. Ranney said. “And I know that the way that we get there is by us continuing to think rigorously, but also to think in community and then commit to action on the other side. One of the things I love about being dean is that I have the opportunity to create conditions in which others can do that too.”