Digital Safety
Online harassment is a growing concern for people in public health. This includes students, scientists, officials, and other workers. Public funding and the need for community engagement make it impossible to "just log off." So I've spent a lot of time giving people tips to help reduce the harm.
Resources
I made tools with Harvard's Center for Health Communication. They offer short-term and long-term tips for people doing public health work today. They also offer entry points for people who don't feel like tech experts.
- Digital Safety Kit for Public Health. A guide to lessen the harm of online harassment. For workers, students, and organizations.
- DIY Digital Safety DiscoTech. An online resource for you to run your own digital safety events. No expertise required!
Research
The field of media studies offers useful ways to think about online safety. As one example, I worked with health communicators to use a media studies framework to understand their experiences:
- A framework to respond to online harassment. In: Journal of Health Communication.
Outreach
We still need to raise awareness of the issue of online harassment in public health. People need to know what it looks like. And people need to know that health organizations have the power to respond. I wrote op-eds on these topics:
- Online harassment of public health workers. In: Harvard Public Health.
- University supports in the face of online harassment. In: Inside Higher Ed.
I've also talked with journalists writing about online harassment in health fields. I've shared insights into what people can do if it happens to them:
- Forthcoming article in: Nature.
- Harassment of a doctor in a case of mistaken identity. In: New Hampshire Public Radio.
Teaching
I led several intro workshops on digital with research groups around Harvard. I have also run "Digital Safety DiscoTech" events to help public health students take action in a low-key social setting. I also offered an action plan for researchers through a panel at the CUGH 2024 conference.