Safe Messaging: Inclusive Communication

Hello readers! This is Weekly Spark Managing Editor Jesse Danielle Gass, here to bring you a new series on messaging about suicide prevention.

How we talk about suicide matters—the language we use can help or harm.

Luckily, there’s lots of helpful guidance on how to safely message about suicide prevention. In fact, the new 2024 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention calls for implementing research-informed communication efforts based on that guidance.

But keeping up with the latest communication science can be tough, so my team and I are here to help! In this regular series, we’ll share tips and resources to help you craft suicide prevention messaging tailored for your audiences.

And now for our first topic! This week, we’re highlighting CDC’s Health Equity Guiding Principles for Inclusive Communication, which provides actionable guidance on addressing all people inclusively and respectfully. Its tips include:

• Engaging the communities you’re trying to reach and using their preferred terms
• Avoiding dehumanizing or violent language
• Improving the cultural responsiveness of your communication materials

This key resource is useful for all public health communicators, especially those in our field. We encourage you to check it out and look for the next installment in our messaging series coming soon!

Spark Extra! Want to learn more about equity in suicide prevention? Watch our webinar series.