Health Communication Curricula

Health communication is a growing, changing, and increasingly relevant area of study in today's society. As an applied discipline, health communication curricula have a joint focus in theory and practice. Although some courses may emphasize [Page 575]one or the other, the overarching goal of health communication curricula is to show how theory can guide people in addressing health-related problems in the “real world.” This applied perspective makes health communication curricula particularly appropriate for various types of experiential learning, such as service learning or community engagement projects and internship/practicum experiences. There is a wide range of approaches to the study of health communication, from more humanistic perspectives to curricula grounded in the social sciences.