Chat continues with Andre about SXSW Health Track

We are continuing our conversation with Andre Blackman, an UMD SPH alumnus, who will be serving on the Health Advisory Board for South by Southwest^® (SXSW). SXSW^® is a unique conference that brings together music, film and interactive and they recently added a one-day health track to the interactive portion of the conference. Here’s a bit more on the benefits of having a health track at SXSW Interactive and using social media in health communication.

What do think being on the advisory board will help to do?

Basically the advisory board was put together in order to make sure that the panel sessions that get approved are diverse and suitable for SXSW’s forward thinking atmosphere. I’m sure we will see quite a few great submissions and it will be hard to pick and choose! This is also a first for SXSW so having people close to the subject matter helps to make sure that the addition is a success for future events.

What do you think having a health track at SXSW will do for public health?

I think the submissions for the Health track will get things rolling for more innovation and attention on the thoughts and ideas that will really shape our health experiences for the future. I’m really hoping to see public health organizations take notice of these ideas and make it a part of their initiatives. The “bottom up” change will be hard to implement without these very integral folks such as state/local health departments and funding organizations to allow them to test these ideas out in their communities.

Why do you think using new media is important for public health?

We are no longer living in a world with only top down directives from the federal government or one way communications that have been scrubbed clean of all things genuinely human. These days people are getting their information from a stunning variety of sources and in the public health world, having authentic factual information is vital to our society’s well being. New media is giving everyone an opportunity to learn and understand in new, exciting ways. We are having conversations that go beyond a poster or PSA and these conversations allow for new ways to enage with communities around the country and the world. For example, the Salt Lake Valley Health Department used their Facebook page to continually update their local citizens on best practices and vaccines during the H1N1 (swine flu) outbreak. The Department of Health and Human Services also had a video PSA contest around flu prevention practices. The campaign brought out some great content but also had the credibility factor from HHS to solidify the importance of the messages. The contest brought in the “bottom up” perspective, giving an opportunity for the masses to come up with material rather than the other way around - great for awareness.

Beyond new media, my mindset is focused on new ideas and innovation in public health - thinking outside of the box for projects that really have an impact on the people we are serving. Digital storytelling through video, mobile phones and theater/role playing for health education are some things that are improving public health around the globe. Public health is about the people, not always just numbers. It’s time to jump into the human element and get creative about behavior change and awareness.