Episode 23: The Importance of Marketing for Public Health with Angela Hollowell

Welcome to the public health network or the official podcast of the public health Podcast Network. I'm your host, Dr. April Moreno. Join us as we speak to public health professionals around the country and around the world, in Global Community and Environmental Health Topics. Join us also as we speak to podcasters in this field of public health. To learn more about us visit public health podcasters.com. And in the meantime, enjoy the episode. Thank you so much for joining us for this episode of the public health networker. And I'm your host again Dr. April Moreno. Today we're speaking with Angela Hollowell. And this is an important conversation as we go into the topics of the importance of communication. In public health. We're talking about things like in our past episode about PR and public health. Today, we're going to be talking a lot more about marketing, and how it can be applied to public health. And even those career, this creative transitions from public health into the field of marketing. But most importantly, for this episode, how can we use marketing to improve the conditions of public health right now, whether it be for our careers are for actually improving, you know, saving lives, especially right now. So, Angela, thank you so much for joining us today. Please let us know, you know, a little bit about you and the work that you've been doing.

Angela 1:27

Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. Hello, everyone. My name is Angela, I'm coming to you guys from Durham, North Carolina. I am originally from Alabama, where I got my bachelor's and master's degree at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. And while I was there in college, particularly during my bachelor's degree, there was one question that really kind of changed my directory really opened my palate to everything that is medicine. And I was in a Cancer Health Disparities class where we had a researcher ask us point blank on the first day of class after presenting us with a research topic that said that black women and white women get breast cancer at the exact same rate, yet black women are twice as likely to die from breast cancer than white women. And I said, Well, why is that? And throughout the class, we started to break down all the things that affect our health, in the United States, specifically like our environment, like our socioeconomic status, like our education attainment levels, and things of that nature. And so that's kind of why I went into a master's degree hoping to explore medical anthropology, public health, and all the things that affect our health outcomes in life. And I really got into Yes, cancer disparities, but also environmental justice in the full human rights spectrum. Because, you know, previously when I went in, and I thought I wanted to be a medical doctor, you know, my train of thought was kind of one way, it's like, you get cancer, because you engage in all these risky activities. And, you know, these are the only things that affect your ability to get cancer be susceptible to cancer. But in reality is so much more than that, you know, our health is a system, both in the sense of healthcare, and also in the sense of our environment, and our lives, and everything about us that affects our health outcomes. So really started thinking systematically about public health. What I realized through research is that, you know, writing research papers is great, that's great, talking with people is great. But if the actual outcomes and takeaways and implementation that should come from research doesn't get to the people that need it, aka the community, that it's not doing a whole whole lot of good. So really got interested in how we can communicate, really dense public health outcomes, public health recommendations, environmental justice recommendations and actions that can really help communities at large, how can we communicate that to the everyday person. And so through photography, and filmmaking, I started focusing on documentary storytelling, so using photos, videos, and social media strategies to connect with people connect with audiences, and get communities engaged in their own health efficacy and outcomes.

April Moreno 3:58

Thank you, Angela. wonderful introduction. Excellent. So much depth in in the conversation in your introduction, and leading me to talk about so many things, you know, here in San Diego, actually, like at UCSD. I think it's interesting that I think it's a global health. I think it's global anthropology. I'm trying to remember exactly what it's called, but it's in more of the humanity side in that department. And they do global health over there. So, you know, the public health side when it comes to international stuff is actually over there in like more of the anthropology. Yeah, so I think that's really interesting, like social anthropology slash global health, I believe it's called I could be wrong, but it's it is of that sense. And so I think that, you know, your background definitely in anthropology speaks so much to global health and what's going on. And yeah, I totally agree with you and understand your trajectory into marketing and how To communicate that information, to speak to the greater systems that we're all part of. So I think that's excellent. So, um, I guess tell us a little bit more about how that transition happened, like maybe zoom in a little. So you were working in anthropology, which I love, also have a masters and Bachelor's in cultural anthropology myself. And so I'm just really interested to hear how your first opportunity in public health came to you. And what that looked like.

Angela 5:31

Yeah, so I guess my first opportunity probably was between my bachelor's and my master's degree, I took about six months off, to go home and just kind of rejuvenate, relax, really recenter around what a career like that could look like. Before going into my master's, it was a new program. So I started working at the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. So the University of Georgia has county offices throughout the state, that focus on three to four initiatives, typically agriculture, public health, education, and food. So working with people, and that all just contributes to our health. So when our relationship to the earth and the food that we eat, our knowledge of resources that are available to new mothers and growing families, education, or access to educational classes, that don't really require us to go back and get a full degree, but can give us a taste of getting back to the classroom and learning again, different skills, and then just all our well rounded health of getting out in the community where community events are available, and how can you get outside and things like that. So that was my first kind of introduction into that,

April Moreno 6:40

that field. And I love the fact that you mentioned that University of Georgia has this partnership with these local public health agencies. I guess maybe over here, we have something like UC Riverside that connect with the county, Mercer with the hospital system, but I haven't seen that exact example of a connection from a university and a local health public health agency. So tell us a little bit about how the marketing side began for you.

Angela 7:07

nd that same time. So this is: 2016

April Moreno 8:11

But tell us more about what you're currently doing now. And then how we can, you know, think about these other opportunities, I think in two senses, in terms of, you know, as a public health professional or a student who maybe needs additional income, what should they look into? Right? And then also how we can apply, you know, creative solutions to public health through our careers?

Angela 8:32

Absolutely, absolutely. So I can definitely answer both of those. So what I'm working on now is a lot of environmental justice focused work, a lot of health justice focused work, all under the umbrella of economic justice and racial justice as we know it. And so working with outdoor collective nonprofits like East Coast Greenway Alliance and the National farmworkers ministry, but also working with organizations like NC 100, which is now working on a digital inclusion campaign, because as we now know, digital health is part of our holistic health, right, our access to the Internet access to resources, the ability to have telehealth appointments, and schedule our vaccine appointments online, which a lot of places are requiring you to do online. That's the social determinants of health now, and so working with those campaigns is kind of my current projects right now, in terms of maybe students who are either currently in school or new graduates. And we're like, okay, I need to make some more money. But I also want to get some experience along the way in terms of marketing. One really good thing that I think would be really helpful for not a lot of profits, and that is really in demand right now is looking for those contract work positions, looking for those internships, to work in their marketing departments work in their communications departments. Learn how to work with a team, learn how to work and get in the community, get your hands dirty, if you will, really getting out there and learning how to find stories, cultivate stories, and curious stories in a way that connects with people. You

April Moreno 9:52

know, tell us about your work right now and how we can connect with you. What are your social media links, anything you'd like to share? share with us anything you're working on.

Angela: 10:01

So right now you can pretty much find me anywhere at Android Studio A and GH studio. I'm also on YouTube, but just my name Angela Hollowell. In terms of just connected with our workouts on the website www.nj studio.com

April Moreno: 10:16

Hey, thank you so much for joining us today. And I really appreciate that you talked about the importance of marketing today. I think that more people in the field of public health need to know that this is something we need for communication and improving health outcomes. Thank you so much. Absolutely.