Staff at Centre de santé Saint-Boniface (CDSSB) have taken to the airwaves to get important and practical health tips out to their community. Envol 91FM, a local radio station that caters to French-speakers in Manitoba, approached the health clinic a year ago to gauge their interest in a twice-monthly radio spot and CDSSB eagerly agreed. The 15-minutes radio features air every second Thursday around 8:30 am on 91.1FM.
“We want to reach our community in as many ways as possible,” shares Linh Tran, Communications Coordinator at CDSSB. “Obviously, TV isn’t in our budget, nor do we have funding for other media, but Envol is very active in the community so it’s a great fit for us. Over 75% of our clients are francophone and being able to catch them on their morning commute gives us an approachable way to talk about health.”
Tran stresses that with changes to the media landscape, timely and accurate health information is more important than ever. “It’s important to be a reliable source for people,” she explains. “There’s so much information now on social media and YouTube, and that information isn’t always true. Reliable, trust-worthy health education matters.”
She also shares that the way that people want to receive health information is changing. “Some people might be worried about talking to a health professional about something, so this is maybe an easier way for them to learn,” says Tran. “We know that two-hour workshops aren’t always feasible for people to attend in their busy lives, so catching them for 15 minutes on the way to work or school is a great alternative. We want people to feel informed and empowered so that when something does happen to them, they feel a bit more prepared and have some ideas for next steps.”
The topics broached so far have been wide-ranging. Seasonal depression, dental health and nutrition have been discussed, with many more topics on the way. “Our health professionals have a great sense of what people need to hear,” says Tran. “They’re paying attention to what’s happening in our communities and with our clients, and they use that as a guide to be able to address important health issues.”
The staff from CDSSB who go on-air represent the broad array of services available at the clinic, such as dietitians, physicians, and mental health professionals, but they also represent those willing to go live on air, a sometimes daunting task.
“Some of our staff are naturals at being on the radio, and others are really happy to provide information to their colleagues but not have to do any public speaking,” Tran admits with a laugh. “But we all recognize that this is part of our mission to promote health and prevent disease. We want people to have good health outcomes. Nobody wants to get sick and if we can prevent that from happening, that’s good news for everyone.”