| Course | PHE 489 Public Health Capstone Communication |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 6 |
| Paper type | undergraduate capstone communication plan for several audiences |
| Length | About 1,020 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Southern New Hampshire University |
| Program | BS Public Health |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PHE 489 Module 6
One Problem, Four Audiences: A Communication Plan for Arsenic Testing in Southern New Hampshire
[Student Name]
Southern New Hampshire University
PHE 489: Public Health Capstone Communication
Module Six Communication Plan
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The organization, setting and figures below are a composite written as a model document. No real employer, client, colleague or patient is described.
One Problem, Four Audiences: A Communication Plan for Arsenic Testing in Southern New Hampshire
Milestone Three recommended targeted free test kits, plain-language results, a treatment rebate and a state requirement to test at home sale. None of these will work unless each audience hears about them in terms that lead to a next step. This plan describes how the regional public health network will communicate with four audiences over the next year.
Communication Goals
The plan has three goals: that 1,000 households pick up and return test kits within two years, with at least half from priority households; that every household with a high result understands its next step; and that at least two legislators agree to sponsor or support a bill requiring testing at home sale.
Audiences at a Glance
Each audience starts from a different place and is asked to do something different, as Table 1 shows.
Table 1. Audience plan
| Audience | Current belief | Action sought | Messenger | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Well owners | My water tastes fine | Pick up and return a kit | Neighbors, librarians, health officers | Postcards, events, local radio |
| Landlords | Testing is the tenant's concern | Test rental wells and share results | Town health officers | Letter with a kit, phone follow-up |
| Town officials | This is a state or private matter | Host kit days, add the program to town newsletters | Network director | Select board meetings |
| State legislators | Few constituents raise it | Support a testing bill | Constituents with results, the network | Two-page brief, constituent visits |
Note. Messengers are people the audience already listens to.
Well Owners
The owner message follows the extended parallel process model, which holds that people act on a threat when they see it as personal and believe a response will work, and otherwise tune it out (Maloney et al., 2011). The postcard therefore pairs a personal threat with an easy action: Your neighbor's well is not your well. Arsenic has no taste or smell. Pick up a free test at the town hall or library this month, fill it at your kitchen tap and drop it in the mail. Questions? Call the number on the kit.
Because free tests in New Jersey drew mainly better-educated, higher-income households (Flanagan et al., 2016), the plan does not rely on the postcard alone. Kits will be offered in person at food pantries, school pickup lines and church suppers, and volunteers who have tested will tell their own stories at each event.
Landlords
Landlords will receive a letter from their town's health officer with a free kit and a short explanation: a tested well protects tenants and the landlord, and results can be shared with tenants in a one-page form. The officer will follow up by phone after two weeks.
Town Officials
The network director will give a ten-minute presentation at each select board meeting, showing that town's survey results and the share of testing day samples above the limit, and asking for three concrete things: a kit day at the town hall, a notice in the town newsletter and a link on the town website.
State Legislators
Brownson et al. (2009) noted that policymakers respond to evidence presented briefly, with local relevance and a clear policy option. The legislative brief will fit on two pages, open with the number of households in the members' districts on private wells, summarize the New Jersey results in two sentences and set out the bill's main provisions. Its opening line reads: About one in six wells tested in our region exceeds the federal arsenic limit, and no law requires anyone to check. Constituents who found high arsenic will accompany the network on visits, because a family's story often carries more weight than a table.
Plain Language and Access
Every printed piece will be written in short sentences, avoid terms such as micrograms per liter except where a number is needed, and use large type. The results letter will show the owner's level on a simple bar beside the federal limit. Materials will be available in Spanish on request, and the kit phone line will offer an interpreter service. For older owners who do not use the internet, every step can be done by phone or in person.
Local Media
The network will offer the weekly newspapers a short series written by a local family who tested and treated their well, and will buy brief spots on the regional radio station during kit months. Media coverage is not counted as success in itself; it is useful only if kit pickups rise in the weeks after it runs.
Testing the Messages
Before printing, the postcard and results letter will be tested with eight residents, including two with limited reading skills and two renters. Each tester will retell the postcard's point as they understood it and describe the step they would take. Wording that confuses anyone will be changed.
Anticipating Worries
Some owners fear that a high result will lower their property value or must be disclosed at sale. The plan answers this directly: results stay with the owner unless they agree to share them, treatment is available and affordable with the rebate, and a treated well is a selling point. Health officers and real estate agents will be briefed with the same answer so the message is consistent. The plan also avoids alarm: materials say arsenic is a long-term risk, that bottled water is a safe stopgap and that treatment works.
Timeline and Budget
Message testing runs in month one, postcards and events begin in month two, select board presentations follow in months two and three, and legislative visits are scheduled before the bill filing deadline. Communication costs, covered within Milestone Three's outreach line, total about $8,000 for printing, postage, radio spots and event supplies.
Measuring Whether It Worked
The network will track kits picked up and returned by distribution site, the share from priority households, calls to the kit number, the number of towns that host kit days and the number of legislators who agree to support a bill. Zheng and Flanagan (2017) warned that outreach can widen gaps between households, so the share of kits from priority households is the plan's most important measure. If it falls below half after six months, outreach will shift further toward in-person events in lower-income areas.
References
Brownson, R. C., Chriqui, J. F., & Stamatakis, K. A. (2009). Understanding evidence-based public health policy. American Journal of Public Health, 99(9), 1576-1583. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2008.156224
Flanagan, S. V., Spayd, S. E., Procopio, N. A., Chillrud, S. N., Ross, J., Braman, S., & Zheng, Y. (2016). Arsenic in private well water part 2 of 3: Who benefits the most from traditional testing promotion? Science of the Total Environment, 562, 1010-1018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.03.199
Maloney, E. K., Lapinski, M. K., & Witte, K. (2011). Fear appeals and persuasion: A review and update of the extended parallel process model. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 5(4), 206-219. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2011.00341.x
Zheng, Y., & Flanagan, S. V. (2017). The case for universal screening of private well water quality in the U.S. and testing requirements to achieve it: Evidence from arsenic. Environmental Health Perspectives, 125(8), Article 085002. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP629
What the PHE 489 Module 6 instructions ask for
For Module Six, PHE 489 asks you to plan how your capstone recommendations will be communicated, usually in three to five pages with APA 7 sources. Set measurable communication goals. Identify each audience, what it currently believes and what you want it to do, and choose messengers and channels that audience trusts. Draft key messages, applying a communication theory and evidence about how similar audiences respond, and include sample wording. Explain how messages will be tested, how you will answer likely worries or objections, what the plan will cost and when each step happens, and how you will judge whether the communication worked. Plan for plain language and access needs.
How this PHE 489 Module 6 communication plan example is built
This PHE 489 plan carries arsenic recommendations to well owners, landlords, town officials and state legislators in southern New Hampshire. A table sets out each audience's belief, action, messenger and channel. Owner postcards follow Maloney and colleagues' extended parallel process model, and in-person kit events answer Flanagan and colleagues' finding that free tests drew better-off households. Brownson and colleagues guide a two-page legislative brief. Messages are tested with eight residents, worries about property values are met directly, costs are about $8,000 and the share of kits from priority households is the main measure, following Zheng and Flanagan. Large type, a Spanish version and phone options widen access. Media count only if pickups rise.
Where the PHE 489 Module 6 rubric puts the points
Graders of the PHE 489 communication plan generally look for measurable goals, well-defined audiences with their beliefs and desired actions, appropriate messengers and channels, theory-based messages with sample wording, a plan to test messages, attention to objections, a realistic timeline and budget, and measures of success. The strongest plans tailor each message to its audience instead of sending one message everywhere, and they attend to equity in who is reached. Graders mark down plans that list channels without messages or ignore decision makers. A clear audience table and accurate APA 7 citations complete stronger plans. Plain language and access for older or non-English-speaking residents strengthen plans. A measure tied to each goal matters.
PHE 489 Module 6 help: the mistakes that cost points
Communication plans for PHE 489 often lose points when they treat the public as one audience, propose social media without saying what it will say or forget the people who can change policy. If your capstone is on a different issue, provide the prompt, your recommendations and what you know about each audience, and the plan will set goals, tailor messages and messengers, draft sample wording and add measures. Notes on local decision makers or community groups help a great deal. Our PHE 489 communication plans include an audience table and sample wording for at least two audiences. Plain-language wording and access needs are covered.
Get PHE 489 Module 6 written to your instructions
Provide the PHE 489 Module 6 prompt with your recommendations and audiences. The plan will set goals, tailor messages, messengers and channels, draft sample wording, plan message testing, answer objections and add a budget and measures, delivered in around two days with the first one free. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Southern New Hampshire University document.
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PHE 489 Module 6 questions, answered
Where can I find a free PHE 489 Module 6 Communication Plan sample?
This page carries a full PHE 489 Module 6 communication plan for arsenic testing aimed at well owners, landlords, towns and legislators.
What goes in a public health communication plan?
Goals, audiences and their beliefs, desired actions, messages, messengers, channels, message testing, responses to objections, timeline, budget and measures.
How is a message for legislators different from one for the public?
It is brief, shows local relevance, summarizes evidence and presents a specific policy option, often with constituent stories.
Why test messages before using them?
Testing with members of the audience shows whether they understand the message and know what to do, before money is spent.
How do you measure whether communication worked?
Track the actions the messages asked for, such as kits returned or meetings held, and who took them.