Why
Responding to global challenges related to health mis- and disinformation, and calls from the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada to renew public health core competencies, address workforce challenges, and employ systems approaches, our team has developed a set of modernized public health communication competencies. Equipping the public health workforce with the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for effective communication is necessary for impactful public health practice.
Our process
Our list of public health communication competencies were developed based on reviewing the health communication literature, health communication textbooks, and communication competency statements from other jurisdictions. We have sought input from the public health workforce via survey and subject matter experts via interviews. A consensus building process was used to finalize the competency statements.
Outcomes
Our research has resulted in a Public Health Communication Competency Framework, launching in 2025, to guide public health practice, education, and professional development, particularly for those in communication-focused roles in the field of public health. It will serve as a companion resource to the 2025 Core Competencies for Public Health in Canada. This project is being led by Dr. Jennifer McWhirter and is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Publications from this project to date are list below. Two additional manuscripts covering key informant interviews and the Delphi consensus-building process are under review.
MacKay M, McAlpine D, Grant LE, Papadopoulos A, McWhirter JE. (2025). Assessing communication competencies in Canadian MPH program curriculum: An environmental scan and content analysis of communication courses. Public Health Reports.
MacKay, M., McAlpine, D., Wrote, H., Grant, L.E., Papadopoulos, A., McWhirter, J.E. (2024). Public Health Communication Professional Development Opportunities and Alignment with Core Competencies: An Environmental Scan and Content Analysis. Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada: Research, Policy and Practice, 44(5), 218-228.
McAlpine D., MacKay M., Grant L.E., Papadopoulos A., McWhirter J.E. (2024) Modernizing Public Health Communication Competencies in Canada: A Survey of the Canadian Public Health Workforce. Canadian Journal of Public Health.
MacKay, M., Ford, C., Grant, L.E., Papadopoulos, A., & McWhirter, J.E. (2024). Developing Competencies in Public Health: A Scoping Review of the Literature on Developing Competency Frameworks and Student and Workforce Development. Frontiers in Public Health (Public Health Education and Promotion).
MacKay, M., Ford, C., Grant, L. E., Papadopoulos, A., McWhirter, J. E. (2023). Developing Public Health Competency Statements and Frameworks: A Scoping Review and Thematic Analysis of Approaches. BMC Public Health, 23, 2240.
MacKay, M., Li, Y., Papadopoulos, A., & McWhirter, J. E. (2023). Overview of the Health Communication Curriculum in Canadian Master of Public Health Programs. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 29(6), 906–914.