Institute for Communication Research
Risk Communication Health Communication Organizational Communication Communicating Science Evaluation Research
Risk Communication
Health Communication
Organizational Communication
Communicating Science
Evaluation Research
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As health educators, promoters, leaders, and providers strive for the safety and wellness of the public, they must communicate a safety culture, educate about safety, develop safety models, and lead by example.
Description
• Health communication focuses on strategies for health promotion and health delivery.
• Health communication research occurs across a vast landscape and ranges from topics, focusing on provider-patient interaction, social and communal issues, health organizations, health policy, as well as health promotion. To better manage the effects of health experiences, many individuals often depend on social networks for support.
Challenges
• A major challenge to communicating health begins with creating co-constructed approach. Collaboration among communicators, educators, health care providers, administrators, policy makers, patients, and public health advocators is vital to the success of prescriptive health strategies.
• Another challenge associated with health communication is the perpetuating assumption that individuals are always proactive health information and health care seekers. Pessimism associated with feelings of embarrassment, mistrust, stigma, or cultural barriers are some of the hurdles individuals are facing.
• The greatest challenge involves focusing efforts for all populations. Underrepresented and underserved populations have been identified as the elderly, adolescents, African-Americans, Native Americans, individuals of certain socio-economic status, and residents living in rural areas.
Opportunities
• Health Strategy Analysis focusing on patient safety and quality improvement. The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act creates a confidential reporting structure in which physicians, hospitals and other health care professionals and entities can voluntarily report information on errors to Patient Safety Organizations, which then analyze the data to develop patient safety and quality improvement strategies (American Medical Association [AMA], 2005).
• Health Care Program and Policy Assessment effecting health choices, guiding future health care policy making, and measuring outcomes, community access to care, utilization, and costs.
• Development of a base of skills and strategies for health care teams working with family members
• Evaluation of health trajectories, assisting with the healthy development of positive health behaviors, and accessing resources and support regarding nutrition, substance abuse, violence, and sexual activity.