Appendix B: List of Common Public Health Audiences

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You can’t use “general public” as a primary audience for Index scoring. Be specific about the primary audience so you can craft a material that matches what the audience can comprehend and use. 

For example, if you are communicating with parents about vaccinating young children, choose “parents of young children” or “parents taking children for well-child visits” as the primary audience rather than all parents, who may have children outside the intended age range for the recommended behaviors. 

Here are some examples of common audiences for public health communication materials. Consumer and non-health professional audience examples: 

Consumer and non-health professional audience examples:

  • Adolescents and young adults
  • Caregivers (people, such as family members and friends, who care for others)
  • Community leaders
  • Employees and employers (specify which one and possibly their job functions, if different groups need different information)
  • Parents (specify children’s age or developmental stage)
  • People who are likely to be or have been exposed to a specific harm (specify harm)
  • People with questions about a specific health issue or new diagnosis (specify issue or diagnosis) 

Health professional audience examples:

  • Clinicians (specify, if appropriate, doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, physician assistants, hygienists, and any affiliated staff)
  • Epidemiologists
  • Laboratory professionals
  • Public health department staff (such as, management and program staff, health communicators and educators)
  • Public health organizations [such as, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO)] 

Examples of other common audiences:

  • Community health workers, such as navigators and promotoras
  • Health plan staff, health insurance brokers and advisors
  • News professionals, including online and social media outlets 
  • Non-profit organization and foundation staff
  • Policymakers
  • Researchers
  • Teachers (specify students’ age range or grade level, if appropriate)