We’re pleased to announce that Haley Cornwell, BS, has been selected for our summer internship position. Haley will be helping with our social media efforts, serving as the guest editor of our Students of Public Health series, and assisting on various other communications projects. Please help us welcome Haley to JPHMP Direct!

JPHMP Direct: Welcome, Haley. Tell us about your interest in public health. What experiences influenced your career path?

Haley Cornwell: Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve been fascinated with health, nutrition, and being active. Although I was always playing sports as a younger child, I struggled with weight control and management. That being said, nutrition and health was a daily topic of conversation. One day I decided to take it upon myself to research, learn, and alter the way I lived to improve my weight and overall health. Along with my own health issues, I also witnessed my grandparents’ health problems as they aged. Both my grandmother and grandfather suffered and died from preventable disease. It wasn’t until I pursued a degree in public health at Appalachian State University that I realized I could help prevent others from experiencing these diseases and/or disabilities in the first place.

JPHMP Direct: Tell us about some of the projects you’re working on for JPHMP Direct.

Haley Cornwell: Primarily, I will be working on social media, sharing articles from the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice with our followers on Twitter and Facebook and the broader community. I’ll also be talking to public health students about their projects and working with them to tell others what they’re doing in a series on JPHMP Direct called Students of Public Health. I may also help with author Q&As, infographics, and other types of content.

JPHMP Direct: What do you hope to gain from your experience with us that will be helpful toward achieving your career goals?

Haley Cornwell: I hope to gain knowledge and expertise within all that is public health. I also hope to gain communication, promotion, and marketing skills as well as friendships and good relationships with my co-workers!

JPHMP Direct: What public health issues do you feel are most urgent and why?

Haley Cornwell: This is such a tough question because to me all the issues are urgent! For now, I would say funding for public health programs is most urgent. There is minimal funding that goes into preventative measures and/or primary care. Without funding, programs cannot be implemented and research/assessments cannot be conducted. If more money were available, more in-depth assessments could be made, implementation of more programs could be produced, and more community resources could be provided and readily available for the public.

JPHMP Direct: What role does communication play in improving public health?

Haley Cornwell: Communication plays a huge role in improving public health, especially community health, environmental health, and policy. Ideally, community representatives should be involved so they can express their concerns for perceived health issues, and then we as public health professionals should work with them to improve pressing conditions. Without community involvement, it might feel to some community members that public health workers are simply barging into their lives and telling them everything they’re doing wrong and how they are going to fix it without those directly impacted having any say or input. How would that make you feel? Sometimes individuals are not aware/educated on the health issue at hand. Part of our job in public health is educating others. Education is done best with good communication. Have you ever had a teacher who to the depth of their core knew the material they were teaching but was horrible at explaining it, and because of that you failed the class/test? That’s similar to how communication works in public health. We need to communicate and provide all the resources to our communities if we want to see them succeed.

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About Haley Cornwell, BS

Haley recently graduated from Appalachian State University with a BS in Public Health/Health Promotion. Her primary field of interest is child and maternal care and communicating healthy behaviors to prevent disease. She love dogs and peanut butter, and her favorite activity is to sit on the porch and drink a cup of coffee or a glass of wine.