Dr. William Schaffner discusses the importance of patient and public communications. Health Watch USA(sm) 2025 Webinar: Combating Infectious Disease Challenges. Aug. 29, 2025.

Summary: Building Trust and Empathy in Health Conversations
Dealing with vaccine hesitancy, such as a patient’s reluctance to receive a flu shot, requires more than simply offering facts—it necessitates empathy, validation, and a focus on building trust. When a patient expresses uncertainty about vaccination, the healthcare provider’s response should never be surprised or judgment. Instead, it is vital to acknowledge and validate the patient’s concerns, maintaining open, supportive dialogue. Asking patients to share their specific worries and responding with understanding helps ease anxiety and fosters a sense of partnership.
Providers are encouraged to normalize healthy behaviors by sharing relatable examples, such as mentioning that they and their families are vaccinated, and highlighting that most people in the community do the same. This approach leverages social norms and comfort to promote positive health actions. Even if a patient remains hesitant, it’s important not to argue, but to accept their reluctance and assure them the conversation will continue in the future.
Effective communication about vaccines also involves keeping messages clear, fact-based, and accessible. Healthcare professionals should be honest about the benefits and limitations of vaccines, offering reassurance and emphasizing the goal of preventing serious disease. Ultimately, how patients feel during these interactions—respected, understood, and cared for—has a lasting impact. The role of the healthcare provider is not only to impart knowledge but to nourish trust, serving as both teacher and caregiver in the journey toward better health outcomes.  (AI Assisted)

Key Points (AI Assisted)
• Effective communication in public health dates back centuries, with early examples including the spread of new medical ideas through newspapers.
• The media, including social media, serves as a primary source of continued public education after formal schooling.
• Misinformation is unintentionally false or misleading information, while disinformation is deliberately spread to deceive or cause harm—often motivated by profit or politics.
• Disinformation is designed to provoke strong emotions such as anger, distrust, or tribalism to sway beliefs and behaviors.
• Exposure to false claims does not always translate to belief in them, but social media's influence is significant in shaping public trust.
• Changing health behaviors relies on both imparting knowledge (the facts) and addressing attitudes (how people feel), with social norms playing a crucial role.
• Building trust is essential; making patients and the public feel comfortable and reassured encourages positive health actions.
• When patients express hesitancy, healthcare providers should validate concerns, maintain a supportive tone, and avoid confrontation, focusing instead on empathy and normalization.
• Providing relatable examples and affirming shared practices (like getting vaccinated personally) can help normalize healthy behaviors.
• Always keep communication science-based, simple, clear, and acknowledge limitations of medical interventions.
• Repeating positive, evidence-based messages and fostering a supportive environment helps reinforce health recommendations.
• Ultimately, the roles of doctor and nurse encompass teaching and nourishing, with the greatest care being the prevention of disease.

YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/h45wnmG79xI 
 
Health Watch USA^sm Webinar, Combating Infectious Disease Challenges. Have we gone twenty steps forward or backwards?  Aug. 29, 2025  Download Slides
   
Presentations from additional countries can be viewed at:  https://www.healthwatchusa.org/conference2025/index.html