Creating a Social Community

Susan Roberts-Dobie, Disa Cornish, public health, social media This spring, the unexpected turn of events brought by COVID-19 pushed Disa Cornish to the front lines as an educator--to students, family and the community--through a new venue: social media.

Serving as a resource is part of the role of public health, as evidenced by the pivotal presence of the Centers for Disease Control during times of prevention as well as pandemic. Until recently, the @UNIPublicHealth Facebook site was a mix of job openings, public health-related news, conference notices and apparel offers. That changed with a post about COVID-19.

“Our approach to social media pre-COVID was not coordinated. We posted things as they came across our desks,” Cornish says, noting, with appreciation, the efforts of graduate student Melissa Lemke. “During spring break, which started officially on March 16, I found myself struggling with a sense of loss. I was starting to realize that our UNI public health community had been dispersed and I missed the structure of regular daily contact. So I took a chance and just started posting videos.”

That first post led to another, and then another. Working from her desk in her kitchen at home, she used the recording function of Zoom video, the Public health Facebook page software that served as the platform in the transition to remote learning. Cornish went solo on her first post. She then teamed up for occasional gatherings with Susan Roberts-Dobie. The first get-together covered what they were struggling with, what was going well and what they were worried about. By late May, she had hosted video chats with her son (helping define various public health terms), with alumni, with fellow faculty and with master’s students.

“The response has been wonderful. Students and alumni are enjoying hearing from faculty and really interacting with us. We get great comments and messages with questions and ideas,” she says. “Personally, my favorite videos to record have been the ones with alumni. It is so fun to see those students again and talk to them about everything they're doing! I am constantly impressed by our students and their creativity, passion, and drive.”

While educating others through these chats, she has learned as well from her guests.

“Our public health professionals are working so hard right now! And there is great curiosity about the field of public health. People are interested in what we do and the breadth with which public health efforts operate.

“And I've learned that our UNI public health students are all serving as informal and/or formal sources of information for their friends, families, and communities about public health. The UNI public health faculty are so proud of that!”

What began as a response to an initial sense of loss turned into an opportunity for community and education. She expects the conversations to continue.

“I do see the pandemic continuing for a while, so I'm sure that topic will stay relevant for a good long while,” she says. “The UNI public health faculty is going to keep teaching, engaging in our communities, and working as public health professionals. We will continue to let our community know about those efforts. And, we will continue to use our online platforms to provide information, resources, and (hopefully) some fun.”

As the semester ended, Cornish, Roberts-Dobie and other faculty in the program donned their faculty gowns and caps to wish their graduates well via video. Cornish says this social media effort reinforced her image of the UNI public health community as strong, supportive and resilient. “I guess I already knew that, but I think we're all feeling it a little more now.”