The 2018 spring series of MUSC Health’s Talking Circle programs to collect input from local residents is coming to our community on March 22, 2018. A network of citizen forums is planned in neighborhoods throughout the Lowcountry, with each forum to include 8-12 participants. Individual volunteers will attend an afternoon meeting for approximately one hour. The groups help MUSC Health leaders understand health communications from the consumer’s perspective. Communication messages will then be created to meet the needs emphasized by the Talking Circle participants.
The forums will be formed with volunteers age 65 and older. Individuals of any background or health status are welcome to attend. Meetings are held three times each year in the spring, summer and fall. The spring meeting for Kiawah and Seabrook residents is Thursday, March 22, 2018, at 2 pm at Kiawah Town Hall, 4475 Betsy Kerrison Parkway, Johns Island.
Volunteers may contact MUSC Health Population Health at (843) 792-6637 or PopulationHealth@musc.edu.
The Department of Public Health Sciences coordinates the forums and other activities with the goal of improving health of all residents in the area. Philip Smeltzer, Ph.D., a population health leader at MUSC, described the value of the forums. “We have found that asking our consumers of health care what they need and how to remove barriers to health is a critical first step,” he said. “We created a preventive health booklet and a follow-up after-office-visit approach based on Talking Circle feedback. We may never have taken those steps without the input from our Talking Circles.”
-Submitted by Philip Smeltzer
(Imgae credit: musc.edu)