In this episode of GFN Voices, Gabriel Oke explores one of the most overlooked yet vital aspects of scientific work: communication.
He explains that no matter how important or innovative research may be, its true impact depends on how clearly and effectively it is shared with the world. From researchers and academics to policymakers, advocates, and the public, communication is the bridge that turns data into action and science into progress.
Transcription:
00:09 - 00:25
[Joanna Junak]
Gabriel, you introduced your work in Science Lab session at this year's Global Forum on Nicotine. So what main message you wanted to share with participants through the video you presented in this session?
00:25 - 01:04
[Gabriel Oke]
Thank you very much. So as you can see in the video, it's about communications really. So what I want everyone to really take home is the point that no matter the science you're doing, no matter the research you're doing in the laboratory, no matter the surveys you're doing, if it's not well communicated, it's not really going anywhere. So for example, a policymaker or a politician will not go and read a journal, will not go and on PubMed, most of them are really busy. So how we communicate all the findings, all the results from our studies is very, very important. So I think that's my message. So appropriateness in messaging is my key message.
01:05 - 01:11
[Joanna Junak]
Okay, and what are the key challenges in promoting tobacco harm reduction in Africa?
01:12 - 02:10
[Gabriel Oke]
I think the fact that there isn't enough research, again, because to communicate appropriately, any type of communication is close to marketing. And to do anything around that, you need appropriate messaging for each category of people. For example, the way you talk to a doctor about tobacco production is different from the way you talk to a journalist, from the way you talk to students. So, yeah, I think... The most important thing now is research. We need more and more research. And that's why another science lab that we're doing is also on understanding the research gaps, the funding gaps, and all that. I don't know you know about that as well. So yeah, it's about getting the right research done first, understanding the landscape. One thing happened when I was on the radio for something in Nigeria and I realized that there are some words about tobacco that you can't even see on TV. And most people, even most journalists, don't know it. So we need to work around getting the right research done so that we can now start adding advocacy later to our science.
02:11 - 02:17
[Joanna Junak]
What barriers for public health advocates do you see when communicating about DHR?
02:18 - 03:26
[Gabriel Oke]
I feel like the old thing is still sensitive because it's still like novel to a lot of people. So you're talking to maybe, let me give you an instance, you're a public health advocate and you're very young, let's say you're still undergrad, but you want to communicate about tobacco abduction to a consultant, to a medical doctor who has been working for a long time. And who only knows about, you know, tobacco as tobacco and cigarettes and smoking alone and not tobacco and reduction. So it's really a problem that is even more than you. So I feel like now being able to now do some research yourself, having the right information so that when you talk to anyone, You know, you can speak with some authority, really, like, okay, yeah, I don't know everything, but this I know, this I know. So I feel like understanding and knowledge is so important because it gives you a lot of confidence when you're communicating. So I feel like the fact that everyone is still novel to the whole idea, still trying to gather information around it is quite difficult because there are a lot of voices, right? There are a lot of voices, a lot of people, a lot of things. you've been able to do your own work well, do your own final analysis and then speak appropriately is where the real work is.
03:27 - 03:33
[Joanna Junak]
Okay, and why is education so important in tobacco harm reduction?
03:33 - 04:23
[Gabriel Oke]
Because you don't get into practice without the right knowledge. So I think when I was flying in, I was reading a book. I said it in the GFN, I was on earlier too. There's this book by Malcolm Gladwell that spoke about how Nicoledon and some other cartoon networks then were able to make children addicted to cartoons. It's just communication. It's education. Educating themselves, iterating. So when you do something that's not working, you do it again. So that's where education comes in now. Okay, you only know about smoking. This is the right information. You put it on the right channels, television, you know, radio, social media, debunking misinformation. So there are lots of things to work around and education is like the early, you know, early stage where you can now get them to know more and more and then you build on that and then you can now expect the right practice out of that, you know.