Nova Institute for Health Media Fellowship for Broad Vision of Health 2024

Acknowledging the need for better public understanding of the connections between the health of people, places, and the planet, we added Media Fellows to our Scholars and Fellows program in 2023. Nova’s Media Fellowship program aims to increase the number and quality of print and online articles as well as broadcasts that reflect a broad vision of health, are science-based, and accurately report on pertinent ideas, questions, and debates. We embrace solutions journalism while also seeking to combat mis- and dis-information, which have become a scourge in health and science communications. We also want to disseminate innovative research and ideas, and evidence-based information, to many different audiences in understandable and engaging formats. The Media Fellowship program provides journalists an opportunity to deepen their understanding of the complex, intertwined network of factors that affect health and well-being and the inadequacy of a health framework that focuses primarily on disease. Media Fellows can play an important role in translating research findings and analyses for a range of audiences, combining data with stories that inform the public and engage policymakers in order to change attitudes.  Project Focus Applicants for the Media Fellowship have considerable latitude in determining the focus of their proposed projects. All proposals, however, should show an appreciation for the multitude of factors, at many levels, that affect health and thriving, and connect the dots between these factors to take a broad view of health. Proposals should resist reductionist approaches or a narrow focus on a single issue that is unconnected to a wider context. Proposals should when possible take a solutions journalism approach that demonstrates rigorous, evidence-based reporting on responses to social (and health) problems. Ideally, the work could help key audiences — from clinicians and nonprofit and business leaders to policymakers and advocates — recognize the multiple factors that affect health and adopt practices and policies in response.  Applicants can read about our 2023 Media Fellows and view their published work.   Mental Health and Emotional Well-being  We are in the midst of a growing, global mental health crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated an already significant mental health decline and a staggering increase in “deaths of despair” from suicide and drug and alcohol use. Psychological stress is rising in young people, with increasing pediatric mental health diagnoses and acute care hospitalizations. A loneliness epidemic underscores growing disconnection from ourselves, our communities, and our natural environments. The climate crisis magnifies persistent inequities and threatens lives and livelihoods worldwide.  For these reasons, the Nova Institute has a particular interest in mental health and emotional well-being. We encourage proposals that address or examine mental health, using a science- and evidence-based approach, and how mental health and emotional well-being connect to personal, community, and planetary health. Health Inequities Long-standing, inadequate, and harmful social, economic, and environmental conditions and systems have had an adverse impact on individuals’ health and created significant inequities. The Nova Institute welcomes projects that recognize and/or examine the political, historical, and social dynamics that have led to health inequities experienced by the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) community and people who are medically underserved such as refugee, migrant, and immigrant populations; people with disabilities; etc. Transdisciplinary and Inter-Sectoral Approach To understand the many factors that affect health and well-being, and the intertwined connections among them, we champion a transdisciplinary approach and encourage projects that tap the expertise of multiple disciplines. Compelling projects may also explore the current or potential role of various sectors—e.g., public, business, medical, and education sectors—in advancing or undercutting health.