Ethos Prototypes: The Intersection of Rhetoric, Cognition, and Communicating Health Policy Internationally

• Date: 01 December 2019
• Published date: 01 December 2019
• Author: Kirk St.Amant
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/wmh3.323

464

doi: 10.1002/wmh3.323

© 2019 Policy Studies Organization

Ethos Prototypes: The Intersection of Rhetoric, Cognition,

and Communicating Health Policy Internationally

Kirk St.Amant

Effective health and medical policy implementation in international contexts is a complex process.

Success often reflects effective communication practices. Credibility is often a key to

achieving such objectives. Cultures, however, can have differing credibility expectations that can affect

these communication and policy implementation processes. Individuals working in such contexts can

benefit from mechanisms that can facilitate credible communication in health and medical policy

contexts. This entry overviews one such mechanism, that of ethos prototypes.

KEY WORDS: culture, ethos, prototype

Introduction

In global contexts, effective communication is essential to addressing public

health issues. For such dynamics to work, all parties need to quickly recognize key

policy documents and readily accept them as credible sources of information.

Individuals who craft policy‐related documents must, therefore, understand how

cultural factors can affect the international exchange of ideas. Approaches that assist

such practices can contribute to coordinating international policy efforts

relating to health and medicine. This entry presents one such approach—that of

ethos prototypes—for crafting policy documentation for international environments.

Of Credibility and Culture

Effective communication involves more than understanding. It also encompasses

acceptance and agreement—both of which connect to credibility. If I understand

your argument, but I do not consider it credible, I will not act on the information

you’ve provided. Likewise, my perception of your credibility also affects my

agreement to act—or my accepting your information as valid and your proposed

course of action as worth undertaking. Such factors are important to crafting policy

documents audiences understand, accept, and agree to act on to achieve public

health objectives (e.g., contain a disease outbreak).