Influencing health through communication theory: Development of a persuasive campaign for a nonprofit community health center

Abstract

This original teaching idea for a semester-long course encompasses a team-based project in which students worked together to create persuasive campaign materials for a local community health organization. The purpose of this project was for students to apply learned concepts related to theories and principles of persuasion to a real-world situation. As a team, students engaged in working sessions to develop persuasive messages related to a health issue and create campaign materials that could be used by the organization to reach target audiences. Students produced a comprehensive final report and presentation documenting the development process and showcasing their work. Overall, while there are opportunities to shrink, expand, and otherwise customize this type of project, it produced an exciting and engaging experience for students. They reported development of their small-group communication skills, greater confidence in their unique leadership capabilities, and a greater understanding of how to connect communication theory to professional experiences. Courses Persuasion or related graduate or upper-level undergraduate courses focusing on message design, social influence, or public communication campaigns. Objectives This semester-long, team-based project, designed for a seminar on persuasion, required a graduate class to partner with a local community health center to: identify a specific, relevant community health concern; develop theoretically grounded, evidence-based persuasive campaign materials suitable for the organization to use on social media platforms and/or in print format; and deliver a comprehensive project report and presentation of the materials to the community organization at the end of the semester.