Ethics: Health Communication Strategies

All decisions regarding the conception and implementation of communication intended to influence people's attitudes, norms, or practices inherently involve ethical issues. Essentially, all decisions regarding the conception and implementation of communicative goals and strategies involve ethical issues. Ethical issues associated with concerns for autonomy and equity can be found in decisions about the goals and aims of the communication intervention, as well as who should be the intended or “target” populations. The use of persuasive appeals, including the adoption of commercial marketing techniques, also raises a host of ethical concerns, including concerns about risk information or “fear” tactics, appeals to responsibility, reliability and the manner of presenting the certainty and reliability of health information, employing cultural themes, and the use of personal and virtual social ...