From Noise to Impact: Why Simplicity Is The Health Communicator’s Most Powerful Tool
April 7, 2025 | Behavioural Health, digital health, health communication, misinformation
Clear health communication has never been more critical, as shown by the 2025 surge in ADHD self-diagnoses in the UK, driven by misleading social media content. In a noisy, fast-paced digital world, oversimplified messages can distort understanding, fuel anxiety and lead to poor decisions. To counter this, health communicators must prioritise clarity, credibility and empathy—sharing accurate, accessible information in the spaces people already use. Cutting through the noise starts with earning trust.
The gap between clarity and confusion can have real consequences, especially when it comes to health.
As an example of this, we’ve already seen a surge in ADHD self-diagnoses in the UK in 2025, fuelled by glamourised content on TikTok and other social media platforms. In this instance, misleading posts led many, especially young people, to mistake everyday behaviours for symptoms. The result is unnecessary anxiety and poor health decisions.
This is what happens with the growing volume of “noise” led through misinformation. The more noise there is, particularly when it’s incorrect, the harder it becomes to recognise and trust what is true. And, like the boy who cried wolf, the damage lies in the moment the truth is ignored.
People today are under pressure. With rising costs, long hours and constant digital input, few have the time or energy to question what they’re seeing. If something feels simple, familiar or emotionally charged, it often gets accepted without scrutiny.
In this environment, surface-level content wins. Oversimplified health claims and viral anecdotes spread faster than facts. But when that content misleads, it does more than confuse – it misshapes beliefs, behaviours, and outcomes.
Helping people stay healthy starts with helping them cut through the noise. That means being clear, accurate and relevant. It means turning complexity into simplicity, without losing meaning.
Of course, it is not only audiences who face this challenge. Those of us working in health communications are also navigating an increasingly noisy and complex landscape. Regulatory constraints, limited budgets, changing media channels and rising stakeholder expectations all make impact harder to achieve. Many in-house teams are stretched, often relying on professionals from non-comms backgrounds to handle high-stakes messaging with minimal support.
Five Ways to Communicate with Impact
If we want to encourage healthier choices, here are five things health communicators can do to support real change:
1. Be clear, not clever Use plain language. Avoid jargon and technical terms unless your audience expects them. Clarity is more effective than cleverness.
2. Check for trust Ask yourself: Would I believe this if I saw it online? In a crowded and sceptical space, tone, source and format all carry weight.
3. Use evidence smartly Reference trusted sources, but don’t overload the message. Present facts in ways that are easy to understand, share and act on.
4. Speak with empathy Facts matter, but tone matters too. People are more likely to listen if they feel seen and understood. Empathy builds credibility.
5. Show up in the right places Take your message to the platforms and spaces people already use, whether that’s social media, group chats, podcasts or community forums. Make it easy to access and hard to ignore.
To cut through the noise, we first need to earn trust, as this is the first step towards helping people make better choices based on facts not noise.
If you’re a brand looking to cut through the noise and deliver health communications that truly make a difference, we’d love to help.
Get in touch to see how we can work together to bring clarity, confidence and meaningful impact to your audiences: info@foxandcat.co.uk
This content was provided by Fox&Cat
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