Health and Risk Communication in Pandemics and Beyond: Strategies for a System Thinking, Community-Centered, and Equity-Driven Approach

About

Health and Risk Communication in Pandemics and Beyond: Strategies for a System Thinking, Community-Centered, and Equity-Driven Approach
A Global Health Communication Institute
Rome, Italy, July 7-18, 2025

The Institute will meet from Monday to Friday
9:00 am - 4:00 pm CET on Monday to Thursday and 9:00 am - 12:00 pm CET on Fridays

A summer global health communication institute that brings together professionals and leaders from multiple sectors and disciplines for an international professional development course in association with Strategies for Equity and Communication Impact (SECI) and the peer-reviewed Journal of Communication in Healthcare: Strategies, Media, and Engagement in Global Health.

Participants will engage in advanced conversations, strategies, and skills-building units on interdisciplinary topics at the intersections of health and risk communication, social and behavior change (SBC), social and behavior change communication (SBCC), system-thinking, community engagement, and health equity/human rights. Participants will have the opportunity to interact with international and Italian organizations in Rome and AUR faculty members with relevant experience on the topic.

Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and their implications for health and risk communication in the 21st century will be discussed not only as related to pandemics and disease outbreak settings but also to other health areas, community and population health issues, and social, political, and structural determinants of health and well-being. Participants will delve into strategies for enhancing health systems, engaging with communities, addressing inequities, and navigating political and social determinants of health. The curriculum emphasizes participatory and multisectoral communication strategies to achieve impactful behavioral, social and policy outcomes in various stages of pandemic management as well as in improving health, racial and social equity in the prevention and management of other key health and social issues of our time.

The course is grounded in the theory and practice of Social and Behavior Change (SBC) disciplines, Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC), Health Equity, and Human Rights and fosters strategic thinking and skills on a transformative approach to health and risk communication in the 21st century. Nested in Rome, Italy, the course will include site visits and lectures from representatives and staff members of local and international organizations, hospitals, arts institutions, and AUR faculty members. A certificate of completion will be awarded to participants by The American University of Rome.

Participants in past sessions of this program include practitioners and scholars from leading institutions around the world, such as:
- American University of Beirut, Lebanon
- Arden University, Germany
- Assuricare, United States
- Catholic University of Brasilia, Brazil
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and CDC Foundation, United States
- Indian Institute of Development Management (IIDM), India
- Oswaldo Cruz Foundation – FIOCRUZ- Brasilia, Brazil
- Robert Koch Institute, Germany
- Sinai Urban Health Institute (SUHI), United States
- UMass Chan Medical School, United States

For additional information and registration go to https://aur.edu/sbcc Registration Deadline: May 1, 2025
A few partial scholarship are available. Application Deadline: March 15, 2025.

Course leader

Renata Schiavo, PhD, MA, CCL

Target group

The course is intended for practitioners, academics, and leaders in the fields of public health, communication, global health, healthcare, medicine, international development, human rights, and community development from a variety of sectors, organizations, and countries, including international organizations, government agencies, foundations, nonprofit organizations, community-based organizations, hospitals, and others. The course is open to all interested parties and is likely to benefit professionals who work on any kind of health, social, or disease issue/area and/or anyone who intends to work in health and risk communication in the future.

Fee info