The impact of media on health behaviors and how to effectively use media to promote healthy behaviors.
Introduction to Health Communication: The introductory course will give you an overview of the field of health communication and the various factors that contribute to communication in healthcare settings.
Theories of Health Communication: This topic examines the theories behind health communication, such as the communication theory of behavior change, and how they are applied to improve health outcomes.
Health Campaigns: This topic focuses on the implementation of health campaigns and how they can encourage behavior change among target audiences.
Social Marketing: Social marketing applies marketing principles to promote positive health behaviors and discourage negative ones.
Health Literacy: Health literacy involves the ability of individuals to understand and act upon health-related information, including communication about health behaviors.
Health Belief Model: The Health Belief Model is a theoretical framework that explores how individuals perceive the benefits and barriers to health behaviors and how these factors influence behavior.
Entertainment Education: Entertainment education uses media to convey health messages and promote behavior change.
Health Journalism: Health Journalism focuses on the ethical and effective reporting of health-related news stories.
Media Effects: Media effects explore the ways in which media messages influence health behaviors.
Health Communication in the Digital Age: Health communication strategies have evolved in the digital age through the use of social media, interactive websites, and mobile applications.
Mass Media: This includes a wide range of platforms such as TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, and online media outlets. The messages conveyed through these sources can impact health behaviors through awareness campaigns, health news, and entertainment programming related to health topics.
Social Media: Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram can influence health behavior by disseminating health information through user-generated content and through targeted online advertising.
Advertising: Whether it’s for cigarettes, junk food, or pharmaceutical products, advertising can significantly impact behavior. Negative health behaviors such as smoking, alcohol use, or unhealthy eating may be promoted through advertisements, while healthy behaviors may be promoted through public health campaigns.
Public Relations: This encompasses a range of communication strategies and techniques aiming to promote and protect the reputation of individuals, organizations, or brands. This can influence health behavior through media coverage of certain health campaigns, trends, and stories.
Health Education: Health education can inspire people to make healthy choices, by teaching them how to be more aware of health risks and how to adopt healthy lifestyle habits. This can be achieved through health promotion campaigns, public service announcements, and community and school-based programs.
Entertainment Communication: Entertainment media, including movies, video games, and television series, can influence attitudes and behaviors in subtle ways. For example, food advertising disguised as product placement in movies or TV shows can influence children’s eating habits.
Interpersonal Communication: One-to-one communication between individuals can influence health behavior through close relationships, social support, and shared experiences. Health care professionals can leverage interpersonal communication techniques to improve patient health outcomes.
Mobile Health: Mobile technology, including smartphones, watches, and health apps, can lead to improvements in patient health behavior by enabling self-monitoring, encouraging healthy choices and providing feedback and personalized education.
Community-based Health Communication: Community-based health communication refers to communication strategies that aim to improve health outcomes by engaging various community groups in the process. This may include interventions such as health fairs, community campaigns, and community-based participatory research.
Non-Media Health Promotion: Non-media health promotion strategies such as incentives, discounts, and evaluation can influence health behavior by motivating people to adopt healthy behaviors. Businesses and health care providers can provide incentives to encourage healthy lifestyle changes, such as smoking cessation, weight loss, or blood pressure reduction.