(Re)Discovering the Necessity of Craft in Health Communication

As I write this in May, the tumult of public life has challenged even those who typically reach for the assurance of “this too shall pass.” It will. But what will we find there? That answer, of course, is being worked out—in classrooms, boardrooms, examination rooms, courtrooms, and kitchens. As health communicators, our work to bring clarity to complexity, to connect evidence with empathy, has never felt more essential or exposed. Between the still-unfolding dilemmas around the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI), dwindling grant funding, and the shifting presence of trusted authorities in public health, we find ourselves rafting through turbulent waters.