What is Health Communication?
Susan and Tyler's current and former advisees at dinner in New Orleans
Health Communication is an interdisciplinary academic area that incorporates research from medicine, sociology, psychology, social psychology, anthropology, and communication. When a scholar, researcher or practitioner says that they are in the health communication field, they may be referring to one of several areas of interest or application.
One area of health communication is physician-patient communication. Scholars are very interested in discovering what communication factors lead to increased patient satisfaction, increased compliance with medical regimens, and other positive health outcomes, including longer life, earlier detection and treatment of disease, and increased quality of life.
Another area of health communication is health communication campaigns. There has been increased effort in recent years to reach various populations with health messages. These campaigns usually use the mass media as a cost-effective way to reach people, but many campaigns are now incorporating a peer-based (interpersonal) education component as a way to increase the rate of behavior change. Additionally, e-health and m-health campaigns rely on mobile technology, the internet, and/or social media to disseminate messages to specific populations.
A smaller area of health communication, and one which cuts across the previous two areas is a focus on health communication message design. Frequently, very little attention is paid to the actual content of the persuasive messages which are being disseminated to individual patients or entire populations. Message design principles can be used to create messages that are appropriate for people of various cultures or social backgrounds. Researchers involved with message design argue that the words that we use in a persuasive message are of great importance and can determine whether a person accepts or rejects a message– even when the literal content of messages would otherwise remain the same.
There are, of course, many other areas of health communication, including telemedicine, risk communication, health or environmental journalism, culture and health, and others. Health communication and health psychology receive considerable attention in departments other than communication, most notably in departments of psychology, public health, medicine, behavioral science, anthropology (particularly medical anthropology), and sociology. This is truly a transdisciplinary field.
If you are interested in pursuing graduate studies in this area, consider applying to the School of Communication at the University of Miami. We have a strong cohort of health communication faculty members as well as a dynamic, interdisciplinary program that includes Communication Studies, Cinema Arts, and Interactive Media, Journalism and Media Management, and Strategic Communication. A number of faculty have research teams that include graduate students. The experience of conducting a research project and eventually co-authoring conference papers or publications is invaluable. Additionally, an increasing number of graduate students are taking advantage of opportunities for paid internships at government health agencies, including the CDC and NIOSH. This type of hands-on experience is highly valued by academic and private sector employees.
One area of health communication is physician-patient communication. Scholars are very interested in discovering what communication factors lead to increased patient satisfaction, increased compliance with medical regimens, and other positive health outcomes, including longer life, earlier detection and treatment of disease, and increased quality of life.
Another area of health communication is health communication campaigns. There has been increased effort in recent years to reach various populations with health messages. These campaigns usually use the mass media as a cost-effective way to reach people, but many campaigns are now incorporating a peer-based (interpersonal) education component as a way to increase the rate of behavior change. Additionally, e-health and m-health campaigns rely on mobile technology, the internet, and/or social media to disseminate messages to specific populations.
A smaller area of health communication, and one which cuts across the previous two areas is a focus on health communication message design. Frequently, very little attention is paid to the actual content of the persuasive messages which are being disseminated to individual patients or entire populations. Message design principles can be used to create messages that are appropriate for people of various cultures or social backgrounds. Researchers involved with message design argue that the words that we use in a persuasive message are of great importance and can determine whether a person accepts or rejects a message– even when the literal content of messages would otherwise remain the same.
There are, of course, many other areas of health communication, including telemedicine, risk communication, health or environmental journalism, culture and health, and others. Health communication and health psychology receive considerable attention in departments other than communication, most notably in departments of psychology, public health, medicine, behavioral science, anthropology (particularly medical anthropology), and sociology. This is truly a transdisciplinary field.
If you are interested in pursuing graduate studies in this area, consider applying to the School of Communication at the University of Miami. We have a strong cohort of health communication faculty members as well as a dynamic, interdisciplinary program that includes Communication Studies, Cinema Arts, and Interactive Media, Journalism and Media Management, and Strategic Communication. A number of faculty have research teams that include graduate students. The experience of conducting a research project and eventually co-authoring conference papers or publications is invaluable. Additionally, an increasing number of graduate students are taking advantage of opportunities for paid internships at government health agencies, including the CDC and NIOSH. This type of hands-on experience is highly valued by academic and private sector employees.
