LATEST NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
CDC’s American Heart Month Toolkit Supports Clear, Consistent Heart Health Communication
The CDC’s American Heart Month Communications Toolkit offers timely, practical resources for public health communicators to use throughout February. Designed to raise awareness of cardiovascular disease—the leading cause of death in the United States—the toolkit combines up-to-date data with ready-to-use, bilingual materials. It highlights the prevalence, cost, and risk factors of heart disease, including high blood pressure, and provides printable tools to support patient-provider conversations.
The toolkit also features evidence-based campaigns, such as Million Hearts® and Live to the Beat, alongside implementation guides and change packages for health care teams. Together, these resources support clear, consistent, and accessible heart health messaging across diverse audiences and settings. Find CDC’s toolkit here.
New PHCC Training: Media Relations for Public Health Communicators
The Public Health Communications Collaborative (PHCC) Academy has opened enrollment for its fourth free training, Media Relations Capacity Building for Public Health Communicators, designed to strengthen how public health professionals engage with the media. This self-paced, two-hour course focuses on crafting clear, accessible messages, navigating the 24/7 news cycle, and preparing subject matter experts for interviews.
Through short videos, reflection exercises, and knowledge checks, participants build practical skills to think like journalists and collaborate effectively with spokespeople. The training emphasizes proactive media engagement to help elevate public health voices in fast-moving information environments. Participants who complete all requirements can earn a digital certificate of completion. Find it here.
Arclet Opens New Opportunities to Advance Public Health Communications
Arclet is growing and preparing to scale in 2026, with two new opportunities now open. The organization is hiring a Customer Success & Insights Specialist (part-time, W-2, remote within the U.S.) to support public health communicators, strengthen platform adoption, and translate user relationships into insights, stories, and evidence that inform product development and partnerships.
Arclet is also seeking proposals for a Senior Content Strategist (part-time consultant) to provide strategic leadership for content strategy, partnerships, quality systems, and the content roadmap as the platform’s reach expands. Arclet is a small, mission-driven team building technology-enabled tools that help public health and community communicators create, adapt, share, and evaluate health messages that truly reach people. Learn more about the open positions here.
FEATURED TOPICS
OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Health in a Push to Become a Hub for Personal Health Data
OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Health, a dedicated platform allowing users to securely connect medical records and wellness apps to personalize health conversations. Designed to enhance patient engagement and decision-making, the tool flags potential medication risks by integrating user data without training its AI on personal medical information.
Early examples highlight its potential to help patients navigate complex care systems. While initially available to a limited group, OpenAI plans broader rollout on web and iOS. ChatGPT Health incorporates layered protections, multi-factor authentication, and record management features, signaling a growing intersection of AI and public health communication. Read more from Fortune here.
A State of Crisis’: record number of Americans are pessimistic about US healthcare system
A record share of Americans view the U.S. healthcare system as deeply troubled, with 23% describing it as “in a state of crisis” and nearly half citing major problems, according to new West Health–Gallup polling. Rising healthcare costs emerged as the most urgent concern, closely tied to worsening access and affordability.
Experts note that unpredictable expenses, an aging population, and inflation are driving financial strain that leads many to delay or skip care. Mental health access remains a particular challenge, with cost barriers creating a feedback loop between poor mental health and unmet care. State-level disparities further underscore uneven access nationwide. Read more from The Guardian here.
3 Issues to Watch in Public Health in 2026
Public health communicators are heading into 2026 amid mounting uncertainty and high-stakes challenges. Confidence in long-standing public health institutions is being tested as leadership changes, staffing losses, and political influence reshape how guidance and data are produced and received. At the same time, shifts in U.S. vaccine policy risk fueling skepticism at home and abroad, with potential consequences for routine immunization and measles control globally.
Compounding these concerns, investments in pandemic preparedness and international disease surveillance are shrinking just as the world moves further from — and closer to — the next pandemic. Together, these trends raise urgent questions about trust, prevention, and readiness in the year ahead. Read the full article from STAT News here.
Americans’ Social Media Use 2025
New Pew Research Center data show that social media use remains widespread in the U.S., with important implications for public health communication. YouTube (84%) and Facebook (71%) continue to reach the largest shares of adults, while Instagram now reaches half of the population. Use of TikTok, WhatsApp, and Reddit has grown steadily in recent years, particularly among adults under 30.
Daily use is highest on YouTube and Facebook, though younger adults are far more likely to use TikTok daily. The findings underscore the need for public health communicators to tailor messages by platform, age, and audience demographics to maximize reach and impact. Read the study from Pew here.
