AI in Public Health Communication: 5 Steps You Can Take Now

Posted on June 24, 2024 by Mark Miller

This entry is part 5 of 6 in the series Jul 2024

AI presents major opportunities for health organizations, and this article presents five challenges, five risks, and five steps leaders can take to use AI successfully and responsibly.

Read the article in JPHMP

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force in many sectors, including retail, health care, finance, agriculture, and entertainment. Despite the widely known risks and downsides of AI, its application in certain fields has contributed to improved efficiency, service, quality control, and safety. For public health leaders, this represents a critical juncture: a time when embracing AI responsibly and thoughtfully could potentially lead to significant advancements in health communication and intervention.

Historically, the public health sector has been slower than the corporate world in adopting new technologies. This lag has often allowed commercial interests, such as fast food and tobacco companies, to outpace public health initiatives. Even for the most pessimistic and cautious leaders, it’s critical to understand how others are using AI in ways that affect their mission and the communities they serve.

The growing complexity of public health challenges and rapid technological advances increase the urgency to consider adopting artificial intelligence and other tools in targeted, incremental ways. In a new article in the Journal of Public Health Management & Practice, Connie Moon Sehat, Robert Jennings, and I list several opportunities and risks and suggest steps for exploring the use of AI in public health communication.

Opportunities:

Targeted messaging
Real-time monitoring
Automation of routine tasks
Improved accessibility
Enhanced engagement

Risks:

Privacy concerns
Bias and inequity
Accuracy and authenticity
Misinformation
Technical challenges

It is critical to ensure that humans are at the center of any application of generative AI. Ultimately, AI is simply a powerful tool that needs to be managed by the watchful eye of people.

Leaders who are ready to explore the potential of AI to improve public health communication can begin with the following steps.

Build awareness and expertise. Demonstrate commitment to AI by exploring its potential to improve operations and impact. Engage employees and external stakeholders in identifying AI applications that enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
Establish governance policies. Develop clear policies for data collection, storage, and usage to ensure compliance with privacy regulations and ethical standards. Include guidelines for disclosing AI usage.
Prioritize equity and inclusion. Embed principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion in all AI strategies. Engage diverse stakeholders to ensure AI initiatives uphold ethical principles and promote public trust.
Think big, start small. Pilot low-risk, low-cost AI applications, ensuring adherence to governance policies. Monitor and evaluate the impact to inform future AI uses.
Invest in staff training. Enhance AI literacy and technical skills among staff. Understanding AI’s influence on information access and creation is essential, even if your organization isn’t ready to adopt it widely.

Often, the missteps of AI applications, like New York City’s chatbot that provided inaccurate legal advice, get more attention than efforts that add value, like the advances in medical imaging. As Bibb Allen, MD, of the American College of Radiology has said, “While AI for imaging will not come all at once, early adopters of AI in their practices will be ready to be future leaders in health care.” The same can be said of public health leaders. Taking steps now, with appropriate risk management, leaders can position their health departments for success in a rapidly changing world.

Read “Leveraging AI for Public Health Communication: Opportunities and Risks” in the July/August issue of the Journal of Public Health Management & Practice.

About the Author

Mark Miller: Mark Miller is the vice president of communications at the de Beaumont Foundation, where he applies his experience in philanthropy, health care, politics, and policymaking to improve the health of communities and people. He is the lead editor of Talking Health: A New Way to Communicate About Public Health, and his writing has appeared in numerous journals, blogs, newspapers, magazines, and other outlets.