Using Creative Methods to Influence Policy and Inspire Action
Picture a gallery: Lining one wall are books, posters, paintings, and iPads displaying videos. In one painting, a woman sheds a tear behind an alcohol bottle with a health clinic pictured nearby. In another poster, a father holds his newborn child next to the words, “Partner Labor Support Improves Labor Outcomes.” While certain public health phenomena can be captured through metrics—disability-adjusted life years, years of life lost, and average life expectancy—other dimensions of mortality and morbidity are more accurately captured through the stories behind the numbers. The Incubator shared some of these stories with the launch of its inaugural project gallery, “Population Health Challenges: Influencing Policy and Inspiring Action.”
The artwork displayed was created by Harvard College students as a part of a final project for Societies of the World 24: Is Globalization Good or Bad for World Health?, the 2019 General Education course taught by GHELI Faculty Director, Sue J. Goldie. The assignment? To systematically analyze a societal health challenge that they were passionate about, and to create a “real world” product to influence policy or motivate a change in thinking or behavior. The exemplars featured in the new GHELI gallery are a testament to the novel, interactive pedagogical approaches leveraged in the course—brought to life through students’ own vibrant visuals and analytical writing.
To celebrate the gallery opening, GHELI invited students into the multimedia studio to learn more about the genesis of these creative projects. Many referred to seeing suffering related to health among populations, either while growing up, through internships, in U.S. cities, or foreign countries. The students repeatedly mentioned that this project provided unparalleled opportunities for creative exploration; they deftly used concepts learned in class and applied them to their topics through modes of their choice, which they felt clarified concepts more than a written exam. For these reasons and more, GHELI holds Learning Lab and collaborative conversations, continually asking, “How can pedagogy be re-designed to include more interactive methods that are beneficial to the learner?”
When students weren’t filming, they were talking to each other about their projects and engaging in a round table discussion with Instructional Design Specialist, Nina Bhattacharya. They discussed complex interplays between the underlying social determinants of health and the broader health issues on which that their projects focused. These conversations illuminated avenues through which students can make change in policy outside of the classroom. While GHELI tinkers and tests ways in which art can supplement education and health, the Incubator will also continue to follow along with the journeys of students as they seek answers on Harvard’s campus and much farther beyond.