In our busy world of constant communication, where we are bombarded by information and messages and needs, how do you cut through that noise to get people’s attention? How do you influence people to watch and listen to what you have to say, even if the topic is not one they have thought about before? How do you persuade them to take the action you request? That is your challenge and goal for this Discussion.

The issue is healthcare in rural areas of the United States. Your first task will be to educate yourself on the needs of people in these areas. If you live in an urban area, you may not be aware of the degree to which place informs resources available and access to those resources. Being poor and underserved in a rural area increases the needs of these residents. Consider this finding from the 2010 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports: “Despite improvements, differences persist in health care quality among racial and ethnic minority groups. People in low-income families also experience poorer quality care.” (AHRQ, 2014, para.1)

Put on your advocacy hat, and remember the Walden University outcome to facilitate positive social change. The media message that you develop could impact services in a rural county where you live or in your state, now or in the future.

For this Discussion you will respond to the following scenario:

Imagine that you are an employee in the Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) of your county. Your department is launching a campaign to increase quality services to the underserved in your community. You are tasked with developing a media message that HHSA will disseminate to the public, with the goal of persuading people to donate money for a mobile screening bus that can travel to rural areas of the county and reach underserved individuals and families. 

To prepare:

• Review the Week 6 Learning Resources. In particular, review the article “Behind Advertising: The Language of Persuasion” for specific principles and strategies to use in developing your media message.
• Consider the wording of the media message to include in your Discussion.
• Consider the ethics of your message and how it adheres to the code of ethics for human services professionals or other codes of ethics of particular interest to you, and to ethical guidelines for advertising.

By Day 3

Post responses to the following:

• Present the text of your media message.
• Explain the principles and strategies you used to develop the message, and your reasoning.
• Justify how your media message is ethical by referencing specific codes of ethics and other resources.