A Divergent Experience in Public Health: What If I’m on the Inside & Outside?
Empathy is being able to easily put yourself in someone’s shoes. Sympathy is showing concern, but not necessarily being able to relate.
Being a public health communicator for a gynecologic cancer non-profit organization and being a five-year survivor of uterine cancer, I find myself straddling an interesting dichotomy: being both on the inside looking out and the outside looking in.
The Inside Looking Out
As a cancer survivor, I have firsthand experience with the uncertainty and isolation that patients often face. My experiences allow me to consider my target audience differently, where I hope to build trust and credibility that they may not find anywhere else. Because I can relate to the challenges they face, I'm thoughtful about what kind of support and encouragement I did or would have wanted to receive on my journey.
I have always had a good job, excellent health insurance, and a family support system, so I may not be able to relate in that way. But I have also had an incredibly biased doctor look me in my face, disregard my symptoms, and tell me I did not have cancer without performing any sort of tests to be sure. So I do understand navigating complex medical systems, the need to seek second opinions, and having to put a considerable amount of thought and effort into trying to understand treatment options and the impact of the disease i’m facing.
The Outside Looking In
Because i’m not just talking to the demographic I most closely relate to and associate with, I must also view health issues from a broader perspective. In these cases, I have to rely less on the intuition I so often lead with and focus more on data-driven decision-making, public policy, and the impact of social determinants of health.
Admittedly, in these moments, it can be hard to get out of my head because we all live with a certain level of implicit bias. Leaning on data and research recenters my efforts and allows me to provide a comprehensive and fact-based perspective on health-related subjects.
Reckoning with the Divergent Perspective
I can empathize with certain demographics from the inside out because of my own experiences, but when I’m standing on the outside, I may not always be able to fully grasp the nuances of someone else’s situation just like everyone is not necessarily equipped to understand the nuances of my situation.
I would like to offer a word here—grace.
Maybe consider that your audience doesn’t want to be force fed messaging and be mindful that you don’t know it all because no one does.
Think first of compassion for your audience as you attempt to understand them, and extend grace to yourself as you try to navigate the process of crafting targeted messaging that will truly resonate with them.
Even if you haven’t had cancer or the same disease as your target demographic, I would urge every communicator to find some way that you are similar to the people you’re wanting to get a message to. It may be race, gender, culture, religion—anything that allows you to see yourself in them. We can all be reminded that a little more humanity and compassion gets important messaging to those who deserve health equity, meaning everyone.
