Strategic communication in health promotion : reciprocal knowledge transfer in developing real communication projects for public health practice

Strategic communication is essential for the visibility of public health projects and an important pillar of the BSc Health Promotion and Prevention programme at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences. In the course “Communication Management in Projects”, scientific knowledge and practical skills are developed by working on real communication assignments in collaboration with partners in the field. The aim of the course is to introduce students to strategic communication from a scientific and practical perspective. The didactic challenge is facilitating the acquisition of skills in a professional field that is only partially established, both evidence-based and practice-oriented, and supporting students in bridging a twofold gap: a profession-related gap between studies and professional field and a science-practice gap in strategic communication in health promotion. This article presents the didactic methodology of the course and uses the course evaluation to analyse the effectiveness of the didactics in terms of bridging the two gaps. The opportunity of the course lies in the reciprocal transfer of knowledge: on the one hand, students acquire skills that can be applied in practice through the real communication assignments and contact with the practice partners, and on the other hand, practice partners gain insight into interdisciplinary professional development in the field of public health at the university of applied sciences. With its focus on strategic communication, the course contributes to the professionalisation and establishment of the professional field of health promotion.