This month, we introduce our readers to a dynamic woman entrepreneur who is employing innovative methods to wake up – and shake up – the world of health communication. Chelsea Dade, a health communication and advocacy professional based in the Greater Washington, D.C. area, is the Creator of Communicate For Health Justice (CFHJ), a communication platform dedicated to mixing health equity and social justice concepts into health communication editorial content and programs. Due to her extensive background in the performing arts, Chelsea is known for taking a creative and interdisciplinary approach to age-old problems.

A millennial-driven company, Communicate For Health Justice (CFHJ) creates communications by taking both the history of health inequity and current social movements into account. By challenging the traditional way of communicating about health that tends to stop at the surface and operate unidirectionally, CFHJ is a pioneer in the new wave of equitable, socially-conscious health communication.

Chelsea took the PhotovoiceWorldwide course “Facilitation 101: The Basics,” with Stephanie Lloyd. In this interview with PVWW, Chelsea talks about health justice communication, photovoice, and how the two inter-relate.

PVWW: How did you become so passionate about health justice?

CD: I’ve always been passionate about justice. From an early age, I’ve been someone who stands up for the marginalized and challenges bullies. It’s just my nature; I physiologically can’t sit back and let people get hurt (literally and metaphorically), when it doesn’t have to happen.

In addition, what I have learned through building CFHJ is that you have to find your own way to communicate for health justice, and that medium may not look the same for you and another person. I may use words, someone else may use photovoice.

“…sometimes all it takes for people to join a movement is that first person to jump; in this case, that person was me.”

PVWW: What have you learned in the course of developing CFHJ that has impacted your own development—both personally and professionally?

CD: I’ve learned so many things about myself while developing CFHJ. Personally, I’ve learned that you’re not going to be everyone’s “cup of tea,” and that’s OK. Don’t be a circular peg trying to fit into a square hole—you’ll only end up hurting yourself and moving further away from your purpose.

On the professional side, I first just want to say that the idea of “professionalism” is riddled in white supremacy. But for this case of this interview, I’ll say that a professional learning I experienced was that people are more ready for dialogue or discussion about equity in the health communication space than I expected (with a little pushing). I definitely had low expectations when I started CFHJ. I truly thought it would go nowhere. I mean, this is a concept I started in my head while studying Health Communication at Northwestern University. But over time, as my platform grew and my own voice developed from student to expert, I was pleasantly surprised by how open people were to the concepts I was conveying. Now, don’t get me wrong. I still get some hate. But sometimes all it takes for people to join a movement is that first person to jump; in this case, that person was me.

“The ability to convey concepts in health equity through different mediums is key to the pursuit of health justice.”

PVWW: Do you see photovoice as a tool to enhance and improve health communication?

CD: I certainly do. A few months ago I mentioned in my blog about CFHJ’s partnership with PVWW that the ability to convey concepts in health equity through different mediums is key to the pursuit of health justice. Whether through mixed media, visual art, music, or dance, each medium has its own power to connect and communicate justice.

PVWW: How do you foresee health practitioners, social workers, and others using photovoice and health communication to incorporate health equity and justice into their practices?

CD: Photovoice is currently used in public health in certain circumstances. For example, it’s been utilized in community-based participatory research (CBPR) among Latino youth to study the impacts of social marketing, and was used to assess environmental disparities in a predominantly Black, South Carolina community. But has the research gotten connected to activating social change and justice? I think there is more to explore there.

In that way, I think it’s up to advocates like CFHJ and PVWW to showcase the social-change power of these tools when used ethically. I do think that the last part is a potential hang-up in some circles, because storytelling has a history of feeling exploitative. Again, I think more health practitioners, social workers, etc., will have interest in working with photovoice once the methods and benefits have been adequately expressed.

PVWW: What did you enjoy most about Facilitation 101: The Basics?

CD: I think what I enjoyed most about the course was the attention to ethical and safety guidance. The work that I am involved in with CFHJ—that deals with highly sensitive topics, such as racism and discrimination and exclusion—are very sensitive to discuss, and what I really appreciate about photovoice and PhotovoiceWorldwide is the attention to making sure that people feel safe in the practice, whether that’s from establishing permission guidelines for obtaining the photos, or even to being ready to explain the work in more detail for people who just need a little bit more clarity.

PVWW: What is something unexpected that you learned from the course?

CD: One unexpected piece of learning I took away from the course was that you don’t have to be a professional photo taker to do photovoice. The power that is most special about photovoice is the authenticity and the simplicity of capturing a moment through a photograph.

PVWW: What else would you like to add that you feel is important?

CD: I would tell people who have lived experience that you don’t have to get permission to do this work, regardless of what others may say. If I had waited until I got another degree, CFHJ wouldn’t have impacted people as it has. The amount of “thank yous” and comments I have received—saying I helped change people’s perspectives about health communication—would not have happened.

Equally important, I feel that justice work requires one to examine their own positionality within the systems they are trying to change—whether that’s class, race, gender, language, or another type of privilege—it’s important to unpack that before you begin the work you want to do. But once you’ve done that internal examination, know that by taking a step forward, you will help someone else who might not have felt ready to follow their passion and build a safe space for another person. That’s what I feel is important, the cyclical effect of communicating for health justice that helps other people do the same, in their own way.

PVWW: What can people gain from enrolling in a Photovoice Worldwide course?

CD: Photovoice is a great way to expand your skill set, not only in working towards communication for health justice, but really, communicating equity in a whole host of areas.

To learn more about Chelsea and CFHJ, visit https://www.cfhj.org/