Many scholars examine the role of communication in shaping policies that influence human health. Communication is central to each stage of [Page 628]the policy process, including agenda setting (identifying a problem worthy of attention), framing (emphasizing particular aspects of the problem and assigning institutional responsibility), formulating and adopting specific policy proposals, implementing the policies, and enforcing them. Research at the intersection of communication and health policy has focused on a variety of channels and outcomes, including the role of the mass media in promoting policy adoption, strategic communication in social movements to place an issue on the policy agenda, institutional policy change as a mechanism through which media campaigns influence health behavior, the synergistic impact of communication and policy change on changing health outcomes, and ...