Career Insights
Meet Jessica Hughes Wagner
“I get to improve the lives of Texans.”
Deputy Director Jessica Hughes Wagner personifies the mission of UT’s Center for Health Communication. She calls on 20 years of experience using communication skills in health settings to help lead a team of expert practitioners and scholars dedicated to using communication for better health.
“I'm really passionate about seeing the public health workforce grow and for folks to have stronger skills and communication. Time after time you see a brilliant public health official doing great work. But, if they can't describe the work they're doing or why it's important, it falls flat or they can't get funding.”
Wagner believes that public education for health care workers is one of the most impactful parts of the center’s interdisciplinary work, combining research, education and practice to support successful health initiatives.
“Our director, Mike Mackert, is a faculty member and leads the research and education parts of our mission. But in terms of practitioners, that’s where I plug in,” said Wagner, who has worked as an account executive at several public relations agencies and received her Master of Public Health degree with a focus in health communication at UNC-Chapel Hill. In 2020 she received the President’s Outstanding Supervisor Award from UT Austin.
“I'm unique among our stable of instructors in that I am not a faculty member. I'm not a professor. I'm a professional with practical work in health communication. It brings another side to how we teach.”
The first joint academic center between a medical school and a university college of communication, the center’s 24-person team includes academic research associates, project managers, digital advertising specialists, graphic designers, writers and others who support their mission.
“We like to say about ourselves that we are a little like an advertising agency or a communications consultancy sitting inside of the university,” Wagner said. “Our efforts are the work of a lot of people.”
Learning to solve problems is key skill
Together Mackert and Wagner are the instructors for one of the newest courses, “Thinking Like a Health Communication Problem Solver.” Curiosity, empathy and a willingness to think about old problems in new ways are some areas discussed.
Emphasis is on transferable, functional skills that apply in any health field. For example, effective visual design and social science research to inform messaging.
The free, online course is 30-45 minutes long and will help participants learn how to think through common health communication challenges and barriers to behavior. The class also offers an overview of the center’s philosophy. “We encourage thinking about the places where we can use our skills and strategy to make the biggest health changes,” Wagner said.
She enjoyed teaching the course because it helps learners think about health communication as a tool and incorporating curiosity and listening as research. Early in her career she learned that her assumptions about promoting colo-rectal screenings to those over 50 did not match her intended audience. Changing course was uncomfortable, but it was the right thing to do.
“That’s at the core of thinking like a health communication problem solver. Listening to your core audience and doing the necessary research to understand their lived experience. Then having the humility to know that you need to trust what they tell you,” she said.
Director Mike Mackert emphasizes the value of these skills across programs. “I can't say enough how much that course is a very distilled version of who we (the CHC) are and what we want online ed to be. The general idea of ‘thinking like a health comm problem solver,’ informs our approach for all students[SK1] .”
Student feedback
More than 100 learners took the class within the first year it was offered and reaction has been enthusiastic:
- I liked the sample campaign. It got us thinking about how to apply what we learned in real life.
- It's good to hear real examples and to know that everything was built up from different angles. That way we can see that it's possible to do it in our daily lives.
- I appreciated the extensive examples of messaging campaigns, particularly the one on alcohol use and consent.
Approachable training series is growing
Interest in public health has grown immensely in the last five years, especially in Texas, and demand for education is growing. The center is responding with an expanding catalog of short courses for mid-career professionals.
“We work hard to make it fun and manageable with shorter class times and continuing education credit for most of our courses,” Wagner said.
The Health Communication Training Series has enrolled more than 2,000 learners with backgrounds ranging from public health professionals, pre-med students, physicians, nurses and advertising/media professionals.
“This is a really good way to build your portfolio or beef up your resume as a communicator or a public health worker,” Wagner said. “Bite-size courses make learning accessible for working professionals.”
Insights to Move Your Career Forward
Explore a variety of continuing and professional education topics provided by programs across UT Austin's Extended Campus in this blog, Career Insights. These career-focused articles offer insights to support professionals at all stages of their career. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to receive Career Insights right in your inbox.
About UT’s Center for Health Communication
- Innovative center shared by the Moody College of Communication and Dell Medical School.
- Established in 2014.
- Supports health initiatives with agencies such as the Texas Departments of State Health Services (DSHS) and Family and Protective Services (DFPS), MD Anderson Cancer Center and the UT System.
- Provides the accessible, affordable Health Communication Training Series and other education opportunities.
- Vision: Improving health through evidence-based communication research and practice.
By
Sandra Kleinsasser
