Health Communication

History of Health Communication

The field of health communication has emerged from a number of social science disciplines. Research efforts in psychology and sociology in the 1960s and 1970s, which focused on the health care system, greatly influenced communication scholars. In particular, the psychological literature on persuasion and social influence during this time period, as well as books such as The Pragmatics of Human Communication by Watzlawick, Beavin, and Jackson, helped build a theoretical foundation for the field of health communication. Early work in health communication mainly addressed communication within the health care delivery setting, focusing on diagnosis, cooperation, counseling, and education. However, the early landmark study of the Stanford Heart Disease Prevention Program, initiated in the early 1970s, demonstrated that communication can be a powerful influence in health promotion with a wider reach to a larger audience base.

The field of health communication saw a burgeoning increase in published research in the late 1970s and 1980s. As literature concerning the role of communication in health care and health promotion grew, there appeared to be a greater need for academic legitimization of the field. In 1975, the International Communication Association established a Health Communication Division, while the National Communication Association founded a similar subsection in 1985. Within the field of public health, the Public Health Education and Health Promotion section within the American Public Health Association formally recognized health communication as part of its group in 1997.

In the past two decades, two scholarly journals focusing on the field of health communication were launched. Health Communication, primarily devoted to communication in health care, was first published in 1989, while the Journal of Health Communication, launched in 1996, takes a more international orientation and focuses more on research and public health practice.

Channels and Levels in Health Communication

Health communication inquiry involves a broad array of communication channels, such as face-to-face communication, personal communication (e.g., telephone, mail, fax), mass media (e.g., radio, television, billboards), and newer, interactive technologies (e.g., the Internet, computer kiosks for tailoring information). Health communication research may also span a diverse range of settings varying from homes and schools to workplaces, hospitals, and public spaces, among other venues.

...