Show and tell: Creating a digital safety kit for public health

Photoillustration of Samuel Mendez

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Who I am: Samuel R. Mendez, artist and public health researcher

What I created: I made the Center for Health Communication’s Digital Safety Kit for Public Health and brought attention to the issue of harassment in public health via an op-ed

Why it matters: Online harassment is a growing problem in public health. While resources exist for social media influencers and professional content creators, they don’t meet the unique challenges of public health communication. In our field, public engagement is essential, and many of us must share contact information as part of our job in public health. The Digital Safety Kit fills this gap and calls for institutional support in tackling this significant problem.

What I learned: Writing an op-ed helped me reach a professional audience that might not read an academic paper or check our university’s resources unprompted.

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