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A Senate committee is preparing to vote tomorrow on President Trump's pick to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She would be taking over an agency that less than half of the country trust to provide reliable vaccine information. NPR's Pien Huang reports.
PIEN HUANG, BYLINE: Trump's nominee, Dr. Erica Schwartz, said last week that if she was confirmed as the next leader of the CDC...
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ERICA SCHWARTZ: My first priority will be restoring trust in public health institutions through radical transparency and unwavering scientific integrity.
HUANG: One way to do so, she said, is to change the tone and, quote, "lead with humility."
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SCHWARTZ: I want to be the CDC director for all Americans. I don't want to be a paternalistic CDC director.
HUANG: For many in public health, Schwartz's testimony raised concerns over whether she would stand up against political interference. But she's tapped into an active debate on how to communicate about public health after the challenges of the COVID pandemic. Nandi Marshall, president of the American Public Health Association, says the goals are the same as ever.
NANDI MARSHALL: The thing about public health is that we care about people so much that we're trying to do anything we can to help you live your best life.
HUANG: However, Marshall says, traditional public health messaging is simple, direct and prescriptive in a way that has made some people feel judged.
MARSHALL: If we can have some more joy and love-based messaging that makes people want to do whatever it is that supports their wellness, I think that's going to be the way to do it.
HUANG: Marshall says it's also critical to create communities where healthy choices are available to all.
MARSHALL: We have to stop with the - don't do this. I mean, we - but the thing is, it's like, we don't want you to do this, though, right? So it's - I'm not saying it's easy.
HUANG: Jessica Steier is a public health scientist who founded a health communications company called Unbiased Science.
JESSICA STEIER: If we're setting ourselves up as, you know, talking down to people, we're already losing the battle. It's no longer just about being the smartest person in the room or being the expert. That means nothing if people won't listen to you.
HUANG: The new approach calls for relatability, meeting people where they are in short videos on social media and understanding that people make health decisions based on lots of concerns, not just the ones spelled out by public health. But Steier says it's hard to change things up.
STEIER: People forget there is no money in public health. So we don't have the resources to build out communications teams.
HUANG: At the federal level, public health has also been a target for defunding and reductions in the Trump administration. According to polls, one group people do trust for medical guidance is their own doctors and healthcare providers. If she's the next CDC director, Dr. Erica Schwartz, who's a preventive medicine physician, said she would speak to the public as she's spoken with her patients.
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SCHWARTZ: As I was a patient-centered physician, I want to be a nation-centered CDC director.
HUANG: What does that sound like? The nation might soon find out.
Pien Huang, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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