Engaging with the Media to Increase Impact

Media Engagement

4 countries; 100 journalists; 55 media reports

‘The findings of public health research should be made available to the general people.’ Rumana Huque, Executive Director, ARK Foundation

Journalists and the media are critical partners in the dissemination of health research. The media has significant influence over how people form opinions on health issues and plays an important role in creating mass awareness – as evident during COVID-19, as well as immunisation programmes, family planning, and other health campaigns.

CHORUS has identified the media as a key urban health stakeholder, for its potential ability to advocate on the key urban health issues such as the vast health inequities, access to quality services, increasing NCD rates, and the financial burden of health expenditure for poor urban residents. By increasing awareness of these complex effects of rapid urbanisation, the media can constructively support efforts to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC), and improve health outcomes of the poorest populations. If we can work closely with the media to communicate important health research and evidence to the public, we can increase social accountability and bring policy issues into the public domain.

“Research-based knowledge is a crucial component in policy design and decision making. It enables us to think of practical actions and increases awareness among

general people who can force decision-makers to implement the appropriate policies,” Rumana Huque, Executive Director, ARK Foundation

Between March and August 2023, CHORUS teams in Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria and Ghana organised workshops for national and local journalists and media professionals, with the aim to:

generate interest and awareness of urban health issues and policies amongst journalists and media professionals
Strengthen the capacity of journalists to report on the key urban health issues for effective advocacy
Explore the barriers and challenges faced by journalists in reporting health research, and work collaboratively to help overcome them.
Develop informal networks of journalists to build sustained rapport and a community of health reporters, with whom evidence can be shared and communicated for policy impact.

“I realized that we are more focused on health service and governance aspects of health in reporting, but the recent training made me feel that there are a

lot of unexplored areas in urban health such as disparities in access to service in urban areas, air pollutions, burden of NCDs and more.” Training participant, Nepal