1) What qualities do you look for in the people you hang out with?
I like to work with creative, intelligent, and cooperative folks who are committed to making a difference in the world. Luckily, I have wonderful colleagues!
2) What do you do?
I study, write, and speak about the role of communication in promoting health and wellbeing. In my work I strive to promote informed and engaged health decision making, health risk prevention and early detection, effective health information dissemination, and collaboration in the delivery of care to enhance health outcomes.
3) Why do you do what you do?
I believe that strategic, culturally sensitive, and adaptive use of communication can improve health outcomes, reduce suffering, and enhance quality of life locally and globally. I try to provide the evidence base for guiding strategic health communication.
4) Is this where you thought you would end up?
I had no idea what I would be doing professionally, but I am very pleased with the path I have taken. I enjoy my work as a researcher, educator, writer, and speaker.
5) What values are you committed to?
I am committed to equity, cultural sensitivity, collaboration, and multi-methodological research rigor.
6) How many hours do you work in a typical week?
My wife tells me I work all the time, planning my research, writing manuscripts, collecting data, advising students and mentees, keeping up with correspondence, participating in meetings, teaching, traveling, seeking research funding, reviewing manuscripts, etc. I probably spend most of my waking hours working (and perhaps some of my sleeping hours dreaming about my work too)!
7) What skills are required in your position on a day-to-day basis?
Conceptual, analytic, interpersonal, writing, speaking, creativity, research design competencies, and resilience enable me to achieve my goals.
8) Are there any negatives to your job?
I enjoy my work, but I need to focus on maintaining a good work/life balance so I spend quality time with my family and promote my own health.
9) What is the background of most senior-level executives in your SBCC circles?
Many of the people I work with have doctoral level and other advanced graduate level educations. However, they come from and live in many different parts of the world and have different ethnic, racial, generational, and cultural backgrounds.
10) What do you wish you knew at our stage? (IE: Entry-level SBCC practitioners)
I wish I knew how complicated it is to promote and sustain health behavior change. I also wish I knew how important it was to work collaboratively with different audiences and colleagues.
11) What is the best piece of professional advice you've ever received -- and used or implemented?
Don't just jump in to a complex project. Take the time to seek input and carefully plan, evaluate, and adapt research and intervention strategies.
12) If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently?
I would take more time and not be in such a rush.
13) What should keep entry-level SBCC enthusiasts up at night? What are the critical social issues that need attention and how can these issues be best addressed?
14) What professional organizations are you associated with, and in what ways?
I work with a number of federal agencies in the US (the NIH, CDC, FDA, VA, AHRQ, HRSA, SAMHSA, etc.), foreign government agencies, health promotion organizations, health care delivery systems, corporations, public health departments, and foundations. I also participate in several professional societies such as the American Academy for Health Behavior, the Society for Participative Medicine, the National Communication Association, the International Communication Association, and others.
15) What mistakes have you made?
I've made many mistakes, but I try to learn from them. Most of my mistakes were based on not being more patient, reflective, and collaborative.
16) What one thing do you still struggle with?
I struggle with time management, work-life balance, and patience.
17) What traits impress you the most in a working professional, irrespective of their area of expertise?
I appreciate receptivity, openness, candor, creativity, intelligence, and sense of humor.
18) What are the top 7 technical skills that entry-level SBCC enthusiasts should strive to hone?
It is important to understand relevant theory, research methods, data analytic strategies, clear writing skills, good speaking and interpersonal skills, inquisitiveness, and listening skills.
19) What's the best advice you can give to help plan a career rather than simply work to keep a job?
Address important issues in methodologically sophisticated ways.
21) What has been your most rewarding accomplishment?
I have enjoyed starting and nurturing important research and outreach programs such as the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), HINTS-China, the Global Advocacy Leadership Academy, the Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch at the National Cancer Institute, the PhD program in Health and Strategic Communication at George Mason University, and the Fairfax County Health Literacy Initiative.
22) What developments in the horizon could affect future career opportunities in this field?
The growth of digital information systems have provided important new channels for reaching different audiences with relevant, timely, interactive, adaptive, and actionable information for guiding decision making. There is tremendous need to design and implement these digital systems effectively to address important social issues.
23) Can you recommend a "must-read" book that will help us broaden our skills as working professionals or inspire us to reach our highest potential?
I have been influenced by several books: Ev Rogers' The Diffusion of Innovations, and Karl Weick's The Social Psychology of Organizing.
24) As a communicator, if you could write a book on a social issue; what would it be and why?
I recently co-edited two books on important social issues; One was on using communication programs to reduce health disparities:
Dutta,
M.J., & Kreps, G.L. (Eds).
(2013). Reducing health disparities:
Communication Interventions. New York: Peter Lang Publishers.
and the other book was on promoting global health with communication:
Kim,
D.K., Singhal, A., & Kreps, G.L.
(Eds.). (2013). Health communication: Strategies
for developing global health programs. New York: Peter Lang Publishers.
Publishers
I am writing a book now on promoting interdisciplinary teamwork in the delivery of health care.
25) Which other SBCC maven would you recommend for this interview?
I encourage you to contact my brilliant colleague Ed Maibach who directs the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University.
26) What's the most valuable question we should ask the next SBCC maven who is interviewed on this blog?
Who were the professionals who most influenced your work? For me it was Ev Rogers, Karl Weick, W. Charles Redding, Gerald M. Phillips, Thorrell Fest, and Barbara Rimer
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