Health Communication, Overview

Health is an emerging area within the field of communication. Health communication includes the practice and study of communication strategies [Page 345]to prevent diseases or illness, and to promote individual and public health or quality of life. The pace of health communication research and practice has increased and expanded dramatically over the last three decades. Increased awareness of the incidence and the range of health issues around the world have led to the integration of research from disciplines such as medicine, nursing, sociology, psychology, law, and business. Health communication researchers and professionals have developed a variety of tools and methods to intervene at the individual level of behavioral processes associated with health and to advance systematic improvements related to the performance of health care organizations ...