CommunicatingPublic Health

News & Services

Case analysis of digital health communication efforts in three mid-size Massachusetts cities:

Cambridge, New Bedford, and Newton

Common Challenges:Attract city residents as regular users

Keep the news and information current

Focus information on city-specific concerns and events to ensure relevancy

Over-reliance on print-style materials

Build an audience so it is more useful in emergencies

Invest time and money in communicating with the public

Public Health in New Bedford

Demographic information

Population: 95,183

English is primary language in <60% of households

Median household income: $36,172

Health & Human Services Department budget for FY 2014: $1.1 million*

*Budget for Health Department-only spending not available

City of New BedfordMission: “The Public Health Division is responsible for promoting general good health practices in the City of New Bedford.”

Target audience: City residents and business owners

Digital strategy:

Limited to a Web site for conveying information to citizens about public health threats, regulations, and licensing for certain small businesses

A platform for distribution of traditional print materials, such as flyers and FAQs

New Bedford SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weaknesses

• Useful information on a host of potential health problems for residents such as EEE and Lyme disease

• Many fact sheets also available in Spanish and Portuguese

• Straightforward navigation via drop-down menus

• Overview page is too long, too much scrolling

• Directed to other-language fact sheets in English only

• Main page is relatively static• Contact information is missing

or hard to find

Opportunities Threats

• Links to consumers for city’s healthy dining initiative

• Expansion to social media• Destination for health

information in Portuguese community with few other resources

• The PHD web page is not easy to find from city home page

• Much of the information on the site can be found elsewhere

• Limited funding

RecommendationsOptimize page design for use on mobile devices

Establish a presence on Facebook

Emphasize seasonal health concerns on Facebook and Web site

Redesign main page so that it is more concise and relevant

Configure content for use by sub-groups, such as parents, teens, older residents, small businesses, etc.

Underscore New Bedford-specific initiatives and information

City of NewtonDemographic Information

Population: 86,945

English is primary language in >70% of households

Median household income: $107,696

Health department budget FY 2014: $3.2 million*

*Budget for Public Health-only spending not available

Public Health in NewtonMission: “The mission of the department is to protect, promote and sustain the health, harmony, and well-being of all Newton residents, in a culturally-sensitive, customer-friendly manner. Our focus is on prevention.”

Target audience: City residents and business owners

Digital strategy: Limited to a Web site with information on health concerns, schedules for free screenings/immunizations, and some newsworthy content.

Newton SWOT AnalysisStrengths Weaknesses

• Simple navigation via drop down menus

• Some attempts to add information based on news events (talking with children after traumatic events)

• Limited information• Fresh content is linked from

Health & Human Services overview page; can’t be found if navigating directly to Public Health

Opportunities Threats

• Serves a mostly wealthy, wired community

• Good sources of local information on Recreation Department’s portion of the site (farmers’ markets, wellness programs, etc.)

• Health care providers can offer much of the same material

• Relevance to Newton residents• Limited funding

RecommendationsAdd Facebook presence

Expand content on Twitter to include information aimed at residents

Create a “newsier” top page for Public Health

Emphasize Newton-related health information, such as summer health maintenance clinics, and list as events on Facebook

Remove outdated information

Create single list of contacts

City of CambridgeDemographic information

Population: 106,038

English is primary language in <60% of households

Median household income: $64,865

Public Health Department budget for FY 2014: $6.5 million

Public Health in Cambridge

Mission: “The mission of the Cambridge Public Health Department is to improve the quality of life of residents and workers by reducing sickness and injury; encouraging healthy behaviors; and fostering safe and healthy environments in homes, schools, and workplaces.”

Target audience: City residents and business owners

Digital strategy: Web-based presence that highlights news, events, and Cambridge-specific programming

Cambridge SWOT AnalysisStrengths Weaknesses

• Lively main page• All information grouped into

four categories• Newsworthy events displayed

more prominently• List of contacts is extensive

and easy to find

• Content is repeated in multiple places

• City Public Health services are hard to find

• Material is in English only

Opportunities Threats

• Expanded use of social media• Strong sponsorship from

multiple partners• Strong local programming

• Branding confusion (Cambridge Health Department and Cambridge Health Alliance)

• Multi-lingual, diverse socio-economic community adds to expense, challenges

RecommendationsLink Twitter (Cambridge Health Alliance) to

Web site

Create Facebook presence for Men’s Health League and other programs

More material adapted for use on the Web (Cambridge in Motion)

Highlight calendar on Web site and create Facebook events

Other Cities on FacebookTend to highlight a specific program or set of programs. For example:

“Healthy San Francisco”

“Eating Healthy NYC”

“NYC Condom”

“NYC Quits Smoking”

“Philly Flu”

On TwitternycHealthy

HealthyBoston

San Francisco

Thank you!

Questions?