Bernard Appiah Receives K. Everett M. Rogers Award
Bernard Appiah grew up in Ghana, where his father played a vital role in their village’s communications—when there was important news to share with the community, he was summoned by the chief to beat a gong to invoke a gathering.
Appiah became a pharmacist in Ghana before relocating to the U.S. to pursue studies in science communication and public health that were no doubt inspired by his father.
Now an assistant professor of public health at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Appiah is widely credited with developing innovative approaches to global health communication, including the use of radio entertainment to inform low- and middle-income communities.
Appiah’s groundbreaking work has earned him the K. Everett M. Rogers Award by the American Public Health Association (APHA), one of the field’s most prestigious honors for contributions to public health communication. The award was presented at the annual APHA conference in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 3.
The Rogers Award, presented by APHA’s Section on Public Health Education and Health Promotion, recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to either theory or practice in public health communication. The criteria include excellence in research or theory development; teaching, mentoring or otherwise training future public health communication professionals; and the implementation of practical communication work that advances public health. The award honors its namesake, a pioneering communication theorist and sociologist who originated the diffusion of innovations theory.
Appiah joined Syracuse University in 2020. He is a senior research associate for the Maxwell African Scholars Union and a research affiliate for the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health. He also serves as director of the research program on Health Communication and Public Engagement (H-COPE), which operates within the public health department and maintains collaborations across New York state, nationally and internationally.
He teaches courses such as Development and Evaluation of Public Health Programs; Global Health Communication and Advocacy; Implementing and Evaluating Health Programs; and Influencing Healthy Behavior. His research explores how communication strategies can influence public health decision-making, particularly in underserved communities.
“This recognition underscores Bernard Appiah’s dedication to improve public health through innovative health communication strategies,” says David Larsen, professor and chair of the Public Health Department. “The Rogers Award is a fitting acknowledgment of his leadership in shaping the field of public health communication and his commitment to training the next generation of scholars and practitioners.”
Appiah developed the 10+10+30 approach to using radio and entertainment-education or drama to tackle global health challenges. It involves a 10-minute serial drama, a 10-minute community health worker-led panel discussion of the drama on radio, and a 30-minute phone-in by listeners.
In one project, in Ethiopia, he and fellow researchers promoted childhood vaccinations through a series of radio dramas. They found that parents who listened to the broadcasts were more likely to have their children vaccinated on time. In turn, they were less likely to suffer from diseases that could’ve been prevented, or at least reduced in severity.
Appiah knew that such radio shows are popular in Africa, and the narrative helped the public understand scientific concepts—an approach that resonated far better than directives such as “Go get your shot.” What’s more, he says, such broadcasts are a fraction of the cost of multimedia public health campaigns.
That project was funded by the Gates Foundation. Appiah’s work has also been funded by Grand Challenges Canada, and the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research.
“I have since 2005 been using entertainment-education interventions to diffuse innovations to change health behavior, so to receive such an important award that bears Rogers’ name feels surreal,” Appiah says.
