"Health communication is the study and practice of communicating promotional health information, such as in public health campaigns, health education, and between doctor and patient."
Effective communication techniques to motivate and support behavior change for improved health outcomes.
Health communication: The study of how communication can be used to promote health and prevent disease.
Health behavior: The patterns of behavior that determine our health status, which can be improved through interventions in communication.
Social and Behavioral Determinants of Health: Refers to the natural, social, and economic factors that affect our health.
Communication campaigns: The use of messages and other communication strategies to promote behavior change.
Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA): A theoretical framework that explains how attitudes, beliefs, and social norms influence a person's behavior.
Social Cognitive Theory (SCT): A theoretical framework emphasizing the importance of socialization and cognitive processes in behavior change.
Health literacy: The ability to understand and take action on health information.
Health education: The process of guiding individuals, communities, and organizations to adopt healthy behaviors through education and awareness.
Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR): A collaborative approach to research in which the community is actively engaged in all stages of the research process.
Behavior change theories: Psychological and social theories that explain why people engage in certain behaviors and how those behaviors can be modified.
Stakeholder analysis: A process of identifying the key stakeholders and their interests in a particular health issue, which can inform future communication strategies.
Social marketing: The use of marketing principles to promote healthy behaviors.
Audience segmentation: The process of dividing the target audience into groups based on demographic, psychographic, or other characteristics.
Health policy and advocacy: The process of influencing public policy and advocating for resources to support public health initiatives.
Health communication ethics: Guidelines for responsible and ethical communication about health issues.
Mass Media: This refers to the use of television, radio, newspapers, magazines, billboards and other traditional mass media avenues to disseminate health-related messages to the general public.
Social marketing: This is a technique used to encourage positive health seeking behavior by utilizing marketing strategies usually used by commercial brands to sell their products, specifically by promoting positive health behavior.
Community engagement: This entails the involvement of the community in the planning and implementation of health programs, this way, they become invested and are more likely to practice and adopt health behaviors.
Interpersonal communication: This is the use of face-to-face communication or personal communication to communicate health messages. It serves to remove any subjective interpretations or bias associated with mass media, and is proven to be more effective in certain populations.
Training and capacity building: This involves developing the skills and knowledge of healthcare workers, community health workers etc., to effectively communicate health messages across to their clients.
Mobile health (mHealth): This refers to the use of mobile technologies such as phones or tablets to deliver health-related messages or services. This format is fast becoming popular in developing countries where access to traditional health services is limited.
Information-Education-Communication (IEC): This is a broad term for an array of health communication, education and awareness-raising activities intended to increase knowledge, motivate clients and promote positive health-related behavior.
Health promotion: This involves advocacy for, and the implementation of programs that encourage healthy lifestyles, healthy community environments and societies, policies and regulation supporting health through facilitating healthy behaviors.
Behavior change communication (BCC): This is a comprehensive approach that incorporates all of the above-listed avenues to bring about long-lasting behavior change, particularly relating to health matters.
Health education: This involves providing people with relevant and specific health knowledge that relates to them or their communities. Health education aims to equip individuals with knowledge that will enable them to make better-informed decisions about their health.
"The purpose of disseminating health information is to influence personal health choices by improving health literacy."
"Health communication is a unique niche in healthcare that allows professionals to use communication strategies to inform and influence decisions and actions of the public to improve health."
"Research into health communication seeks to refine communication strategies to inform people about ways to enhance health or to avoid specific health risks."
"Academically, health communication is a discipline within communication studies."
"Health communication may seek to increase audience knowledge and awareness of a health issue."
"Influence behaviors and attitudes toward a health issue."
"Demonstrate healthy practices."
"Demonstrate the benefits of behavior changes to public health outcomes."
"Advocate a position on a health issue or policy."
"Increase demand or support for health services."
"Argue against misconceptions about health."
"Improve patient-provider dialogue."
"Enhance effectiveness in healthcare teams."
"Communication strategies to inform and influence decisions and actions of the public to improve health."
"Influence personal health choices by improving health literacy."
"Communicating promotional health information, such as in public health campaigns."
"Inform people about ways to enhance health or to avoid specific health risks."
"Influence decisions and actions of the public to improve health."
"A unique niche in healthcare that allows professionals to use communication strategies."