Communication, Basic Concepts of

Guiding Principles

Although health communication is highly diverse in terms of research methods and topics, a few philosophical principles underlie most efforts.

First, health communication may be deliberate or unintentional, explicit or implicit. Exam room conversations and public service announcements are good examples of deliberate, often explicit, communication. By contrast, fashion shows that feature excessively thin models may implicitly influence what it means to be healthy and appealing in cultural terms. Health communication scholars compare the impact of diverse messages such as these.

Second, health communication is a collaborative achievement that is influenced by everyone involved. That is most obvious when people interact face to face. But it is also a factor when people encounter health-related messages online or in the mass media. The content and form of health messages, as well as the degree to which people trust and attend to them, determines how influential they are.

A third premise is that health-related communication is influenced by the contexts in which it occurs. For example, the structure and climate of health organizations influence how talk occurs in [Page 206]medical exam rooms. And health care organizations themselves operate within larger contexts that involve economic, cultural, and legal factors. This means that there are many indirect, but powerful, influences on health communication.

Fourth is recognition that communication and health are interwoven at every level. In some cases, communication is therapeutic in itself. It is also the means through which people express their concerns and negotiate behavior choices. Communication is the vehicle for learning about health, and it makes it possible to frame public health concerns and advocate for healthy living conditions and policies.

Finally, health communication is not always constructive. Because the stakes are so high, careless gestures and comments can be especially damaging. And culturally insensitive or inaccurate information can sometimes be worse than no information.

Health communication occurs at the powerful nexus of theory and practice. Researchers and practitioners are involved in ongoing partnerships such that social science often has a profound influence on practice and current issues guide researchers' efforts.

Defining Issues

Although health communication has undoubtedly been around for as long as people have existed, it was not recognized as a defined field of study until the 1960s. Before then, scholars in psychology, medicine, sociology, and persuasion sometimes studied issues related to health communication. But by the mid-1980s, there was enough research to support books and journals dedicated solely to the topic. The first journal, Health Communication, was launched in 1989, and the Journal of Health Communication followed in 1996. These continue to be the primary journals in the field, and they have been joined by numerous other journals and books.

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