Communicating to Build Trust

Become a credible force for facts and evidence in this four-week online course designed to empower researchers not to shy away from public communication, but to confidently step up to make a meaningful impact with their work.

Date: Oct 30 to Nov 20, 2025

Location: Virtual

Format: Course

Each year, the Annual Research Meeting (ARM) brings together thousands of people working to improve health and health care — from researchers and policymakers to health system leaders, data scientists, and community partners. For more than 40 years, the ARM has been the trusted forum for sharing evidence, methods, and insights that guide better decisions and stronger systems.

Designed to Help Researchers Build Trust

With credibility under attack and distrust and politicization running rampant, today’s researchers must learn how to navigate this landscape to become a credible force for facts and evidence. AcademyHealth's newest course, Communicating to Build Trust, was designed to meet this need, empowering researchers not to shy away from public communication, but to confidently step up to make a meaningful impact with their work.

More than ever, we need researchers who can communicate facts and evidence in a way that builds trust. It is not enough to send evidence into the world and hope it finds a useful home. Today’s researchers must learn how to navigate a landscape characterized by misinformation, mistrust, and frequent attacks on science and evidence.

Course Timeline

Monday

August 11, 2025

Registration Opens
Friday

October 24, 2025

Registration Closes
Thursday

October 23, 2025

Enrollees Receive Log In Information to Access the Learning Platform
Thursday - Week 1

October 30, 2025 (2-3:30 p.m. ET)

Live Interactive Call with Facilitation
Thursday - Week 2

November 6, 2025 (2-3:30 p.m. ET)

Live Interactive Call with Facilitation
Thursday - Week 3

November 13, 2025 (2-3:30 p.m. ET)

Live Interactive Call with Facilitation
Thursday - Week 4

November 20, 2025 (2-3:30 p.m. ET)

Live Interactive Call with Facilitation

Testimonials

"This course was instrumental to shifting the way I think about sharing my science to the non-science community. We are not taught how to effectively share our science to non-academic audiences and this provides an excellent introduction to shifting the way we can spread our message to wider audiences and create change based upon our own work." - Course Participant

"I learned immediately useful tips, tailored to health systems researchers, for combating misinformation and improving data visualization. Communicating with the press feels much less daunting and abstract." - Course Participant

"This course was incredibly helpful and provided me a toolkit for communication that was manageable and effective. I have never had training in this area before and I think it will make a meaningful difference in my ability to disseminate research findings and work with decision-makers." - Course Participant

"This course was excellent. It's exactly what's missing in research today: Without translation and dissemination to lay audiences and policymakers, research dies in the journal. This course encouraged me to keep on keeping on with this kind of work!" - Course Participant

Featured Speakers

Lauren Adams, M.A.

Lauren Adams, M.A., is senior director of communications and marketing at AcademyHealth, where she oversees strategic communications. Read Bio
Kristin Rosengren

Kristin Rosengren is Chief Strategy Officer, and co-director of the AcademyHealth Translation and Dissemination Institute. Read Bio
Aaron E. Carroll, M.D., M.S.

Dr. Aaron E. Carroll is President & CEO of AcademyHealth. Read Bio
Dan Gorenstein

Dan Gorenstein is the Founder and Executive Producer of Tradeoffs, a health policy podcast that explores our confusing, costly, and often counter-intuitive health care system. Read Bio
Zenneia McLendon

Zenneia McLendon is an expert in digital communication with over 15 years’ experience leading organizations’ digital strategies, including website, social media management, and online engagement. Read Bio
Jonathan Schwabish

Jonathan Schwabish is an economist who helps people communicate their data in meaningful ways. Considered a leader in the data visualization field, he has written extensively on how to best visualize data and how to communicate social science research in more accessible ways. Read Bio

Learning Objectives

Address Misinformation

Identify and overcome misinformation by building trust and connecting with audiences.

Leverage Social Media

Learn how to use social media platforms to develop an engaged audience seeking evidence-based information and credible research.

Improve Data Viz Skills

Create effective graphs, charts, and infographics that increase understanding among target audiences.

Build Media Relationships

Effectively develop and utilize media relations to become a trusted and reliable source of scientific information.

Ideal for Researchers Wanting to Increase Their Impact

This course is ideal for researchers who:

Wish to better understand and influence the dynamics of public trust in science and evidence
Desire to increase the use of evidence in decision-making at every level
Work on complex issues and are developing a sense to subject matter expertise
Would like to create materials that can be used in real-world situations