Public Health and Journalism

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feminista

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This is semi-random, but I thought someone here might have some information regarding public health in connection with journalism. I graduated with a degree in English literature, so I'm always looking for ways to connect my interest in public health with my critical writing background. Has anyone heard of any dual-degree programs in public health and journalism? I'd like to learn how to use digital media and health writing in public health intervention design, programming, etc.

EDIT: Just to clarify, I will be pursuing an MPH next year, as the job prospects are MUCH better right now than for those who complete J-school. I posted this mostly because I'm just sort of curious.

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This isn't really journalism...Medical writing or copy editing. There are some online and on-campus classes or certificates for it, but I think you could get a job like that with a MPH. But I think the better paying jobs are for PhDs, MDs, PharmDs, etc. and most jobs seems to be freelance. It's pretty broad--you can write articles for magazines, or edit scientific publications or help write them. That's all I know--I'm still researching it!
 
kaiser family foundation has some stuff on healthcare journalism ... either internships or fellowships
 
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This is semi-random, but I thought someone here might have some information regarding public health in connection with journalism. I graduated with a degree in English literature, so I'm always looking for ways to connect my interest in public health with my critical writing background. Has anyone heard of any dual-degree programs in public health and journalism? I'd like to learn how to use digital media and health writing in public health intervention design, programming, etc.

EDIT: Just to clarify, I will be pursuing an MPH next year, as the job prospects are MUCH better right now than for those who complete J-school. I posted this mostly because I'm just sort of curious.

I love that you submitted this, feminista! I was also an English lit major in undergrad, paired with a photography minor. I'm starting a DrPH program in the fall, and I've been looking into auditing some courses in photojournalism / journalism (depending on what schedule I end up with, of course).

I'm not sure of any dual degree programs, but I think you could get good writing experience by submitting op-ed pieces, letters to the editor, etc. on relevant issues. And I've found an interesting niche writing advocacy reports for a human rights organization, and consulting on grant writing for non-profits. Good luck - public health professionals with good writing skills are always necessary.

If you do hear of anything, I'd be curious to know...
 
Thanks for the responses, everyone! I've been thinking a lot about it, and I think, maybe, it is possible to achieve a similar goal by self-educating and freelancing. I think I need to invest in some books on Photoshop and web design-type stuff and attempt to get some pieces published independently, very possibly online. I really think online journalism is the way to go, anyway.

varekai - I did find ONE nascent program at Berkeley through some internet research this week. It's so new that they don't even have a formal admissions process in place yet! Check it out here:
http://sph.berkeley.edu/students/degrees/programs/mj-mph.php

I won't be attending Berkeley (didn't apply there), so I guess this program isn't an option for me. But it's interesting that at least one school is developing a dual-degree in public health and journalism. Maybe we'll see more in the future.
 
The USC MPH program also has a health communication track, FYI
 
I believe CO School of Public Health has a Health Comm concentration as well. I was looking into free-lancing with my own background in communications and decided a general MPH would serve me better for this type of career. To get a start, livestrong.com offers some money per article published on their site. The topics are all health-related. There are a few other sites doing the same, only requiring a current MS/MPH or the pursuit of one.
 
You might be interested in programs that use photovoice which is where they give members of a community cheap cameras and ask them to take pictures of environmental hazards or public health issues in the community. This type of public health project might allow you to raise awareness in the media of issues of concern and combine the two fields. Also here at UT-Houston I know we offer a course on behavioral journalism I imagine other programs also offer similar coursework.
 
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