Health communication

Health communication is the study and practice of communicating promotional health information, such as in public health campaigns, health education, and between doctor and patient.^[1] The purpose of disseminating health information is to influence personal health choices by improving health literacy. Health communication is a unique niche in healthcare that allows professionals to use communication strategies to inform and influence decisions and actions of the public to improve health.

Because effective health communication must be tailored for the audience and the situation ^[2] research into health communication seeks to refine communication strategies to inform people about ways to enhance health or avoid specific health risks.^[3] Academically, health communication is a discipline within communication studies.^[1] The field of health communication has been growing and evolving in recent years. The field plays a role in health advancement with patients and medical professionals. Research shows health communication helps with behavioral change^[4] in humans and conveys specific policies with practices that can serve as an alternative to certain unhealthy behaviors. The health communication field is considered more a multidisciplinary field of research theory^[4] to encourage actions, practices, and evidence that contribute to improving the healthcare field. The use of various skills and techniques to enhance change among patients and many others and focus on behavioral and social changes to improve the public health outcome.^[4]

Health communication may variously seek to:

increase audience knowledge and awareness of a health issue^[5]
influence behaviors and attitudes toward a health issue
demonstrate healthy practices
demonstrate the benefits of behavior changes to public health outcomes
advocate a position on a health issue or policy
increase demand or support for health services
argue against misconceptions about health^[6]
improve patient-provider dialogue^[7]
enhance effectiveness in health care teams^[8]

^ ^a ^b "What is Communication?". National Communication Association. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
^ Beato, Ricardo R.; Jana Telfer (July–August 2010). "Communication as an Essential Component of Environmental Health Science" (PDF). Journal of Environmental Health. 73 (1): 24–25. PMID 20687329. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
^ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Health Communication Basics". Retrieved 24 March 2013.
^ ^a ^b ^c Egelhofer, Marc (September 2007). "Health Communication: From Theory to Practice. By Renata Schiavo". Biotechnology Journal. 2 (9): 1186. doi:10.1002/biot.200790098. ISSN 1860-6768.
^ Gwyn, Richard (2002). Communicating health and illness. London: Sage Publications Ltd. ISBN 978-0761964759.
^ Freimuth, Vicki S.; Sandra Crouse Quinn (December 2004). "The Contributions of Health Communication to Eliminating Health Disparities". American Journal of Public Health. 94 (12): 2053–2055. doi:10.2105/ajph.94.12.2053. PMC 1448587. PMID 15569949.
^ Dutta-Bergman, Mohan J. (2005). "The Relation Between Health-Orientation, Provider-Patient Communication, and Satisfaction: An Individual-Difference Approach". Health Communication. 18 (3): 291–303. doi:10.1207/s15327027hc1803_6. ISSN 1041-0236. PMID 16187933. S2CID 23884129.
^ Fox, Stephanie; Gaboury, Isabelle; Chiocchio, François; Vachon, Brigitte (2021-01-28). "Communication and Interprofessional Collaboration in Primary Care: From Ideal to Reality in Practice". Health Communication. 36 (2): 125–135. doi:10.1080/10410236.2019.1666499. ISSN 1041-0236. PMID 31580162. S2CID 203653041.

[What_is_Communication?-1] "What is Communication?". National Communication Association. Retrieved 30 May 2013.

[EHS-2] Beato, Ricardo R.; Jana Telfer (July–August 2010). "Communication as an Essential Component of Environmental Health Science" (PDF). Journal of Environmental Health. 73 (1): 24–25. PMID 20687329. Retrieved 24 March 2013.

[CDC-3] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Health Communication Basics". Retrieved 24 March 2013.

[:04-4] Egelhofer, Marc (September 2007). "Health Communication: From Theory to Practice. By Renata Schiavo". Biotechnology Journal. 2 (9): 1186. doi:10.1002/biot.200790098. ISSN 1860-6768.

[5] Gwyn, Richard (2002). Communicating health and illness. London: Sage Publications Ltd. ISBN 978-0761964759.

[HD-6] Freimuth, Vicki S.; Sandra Crouse Quinn (December 2004). "The Contributions of Health Communication to Eliminating Health Disparities". American Journal of Public Health. 94 (12): 2053–2055. doi:10.2105/ajph.94.12.2053. PMC 1448587. PMID 15569949.

[7] Dutta-Bergman, Mohan J. (2005). "The Relation Between Health-Orientation, Provider-Patient Communication, and Satisfaction: An Individual-Difference Approach". Health Communication. 18 (3): 291–303. doi:10.1207/s15327027hc1803_6. ISSN 1041-0236. PMID 16187933. S2CID 23884129.

[8] Fox, Stephanie; Gaboury, Isabelle; Chiocchio, François; Vachon, Brigitte (2021-01-28). "Communication and Interprofessional Collaboration in Primary Care: From Ideal to Reality in Practice". Health Communication. 36 (2): 125–135. doi:10.1080/10410236.2019.1666499. ISSN 1041-0236. PMID 31580162. S2CID 203653041.

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