Healthcare is the study and practice to communicate promotional health information, such as in public health campaigns, health education, and between physicians and patients. The purpose of disseminating health information is to influence personal health choices by increasing health literacy.
Because effective health communication must be tailored for the audience and situation, research in healthcare communication seeks to improve communication strategies to inform people about ways to improve health or to avoid certain health risks. Academically, health communication is a discipline in communication studies.
Health communication can be diverse looking for:
- increase audience knowledge and awareness about health issues
- affect behavior and attitudes toward health problems
- shows healthy practices
- shows the benefits of behavioral change to public health outcomes
- advocate a position on a health issue or policy
- increase requests or support for health services
- argue with health misconceptions
Video Health communication
Establishment
The term was produced when ICA members, International Communication Association, interest groups adopted the term. Interdisciplinary marriage between health and communication is certainly a general legal relationship long before the term "health communication" was introduced. (Stacks & Salween, page 489) Health communication research surrounds the development of effective messages on health, the spread of health-related information through broadcast, print and electronic media, and the role of interpersonal relationships within the health community. The essence of all communication is the idea of ​​health and the emphasis of health. The goal of health communication research is to identify and provide better and more effective communication strategies that will improve the overall health of the community. (Stack & amp; Salween, page 489)
Maps Health communication
Research
There are many goals and reasons why health communication research is important and how it relates to health care. The Health Care Professionals training program, or HCP, can be adapted and developed based on health communication research. (Stacks & Salween, 495) Because there are diverse cultures that make up the patient group in the field of health care, communication with other cultures has been taught and has been the focus in health care training classes. Research shows that nonverbal and verbal communication between health care professionals and patients can lead to improved patient outcomes. According to Stacks and Salween on page 496 some health care facilities, such as hospitals provide training and educational materials for patients. The purpose of the hospital doing this is to allow patients to get better results because of better communication skills. Over the years, there has been much research done on health communication. For example, researchers want to know whether people are more motivated by positive messages versus negative messages. Researchers examine ideas such as whether people are more motivated by wealth and security ideas or the idea of ​​illness and death. Researchers are examining which dimensions of the most influential persuasive incentives: physical health versus economy, psychological opponents, moral opponents, social versus. (Stacks & Salween, 497) Health Campaign Impacts-After research has been conducted and analyzed on the effects of health communication, it can be concluded that health communication campaigns that require behavior change lead to desired behavioral changes in about 7% -10% or more in people people on campaign sites than those in the control group. Also, the effect is stronger for the adoption of new behaviors rather than the cessation of current behavior, about 12% higher.
When assessing how affective a health campaign is, the main determinants are audience acceptance, message quality and quantity, distribution channels, and a larger communication environment. It is possible that the audience may receive more messages than others. The media channel and how the message is reached by the audience can affect the effectiveness of the health campaign. (Stack & amp; page 498)
Efforts and effects of health messages and communication are often opposed to alcohol and tobacco advertising. Ads for these items are often made into glamorous and will contradict what is said in the health campaign. This can lead to healthcare communication efforts seemingly pointless.
Training
Health communication professionals are specially trained in methods and strategies for effective communication of public health messages, with qualifications in research, strategic development, and effectiveness evaluation. Health communication is taught in the master's and doctoral programs. The Health Communication Coalition maintains a list of such programs.
Academics and practitioners in healthcare communication are often trained in various disciplines such as communication studies, sociology, psychology, public health, or medicine and then focus in their field either on health or communication. Pragmatic and interesting practitioners of socio-scientific science, theories of the humanities, and professional fields such as education, management, law and marketing (Maibach 2008). Professionals trained in healthcare communications face a range of job opportunities that span between the public, private, and volunteer sectors and have the opportunity for a large number of career mobility. Examples of jobs in each of these categories include federal, state, and local health departments in the public sector, pharmaceutical companies and large private sector companies, and nonprofit organizations such as the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association in the volunteer sector.
Overview
The International Communication Association officially recognized health communications in 1975; in 1997, the American Public Health Association categorized health communication as a discipline of Public Health Education and Health Promotion.
Careers in the field of health communication range from public, private, and volunteer sectors and health communication professionals trained specifically to conducting communications research, developing successful and repeated campaigns for health promotion and advocacy, and for evaluating how effective this strategy is for future campaigns.
Clear communication is critical to the success of public health practice at every level of the ecological model: intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, organizational, and community. In every instance of health communication, there must be careful consideration of the right channel for messages to reach the target audience, from face-to-face interaction to television, the Internet, and other forms of mass media. The recent explosion of new Internet communication technologies, especially through the development of health web sites (such as MedlinePlus, Healthfinder, and WebMD), online support groups (such as the Association for Online Cancer Resources), web portals, customized information systems, telehealth programs, electronic health records, social networks, and mobile devices (cell phones, PDAs, etc.) mean that potential media are constantly changing.
The social and cultural context in which health communication takes place is also very diverse and may include (but not limited to) homes, schools, doctors' offices, and workplaces, and messages should take into consideration the different levels of literate health and education of their audience, as well as demographics, socio-economic problems, and many other factors that can affect effective communication.
Strategy and methods
Adjusting health messages is one strategy for persuasive health communication. For health communication messages to reach a selected audience accurately and quickly, healthcare professionals must gather a superior set of information and appropriate audiences targeting the population segment. Understanding the audience for information is essential for effective delivery.
Communication is a puzzle that harms the health and health of a patient. Communication is an activity that involves spoken speech, sound, tone, nonverbal body language, listening and more. It is a process for mutual understanding to come in hand during interpersonal relationships. Patient communication with their health teams and vice versa, affects their health outcomes. A strong, clear, and positive relationship with a doctor can chronically improve and improve the condition of a particular patient. Through two approaches, biomedical models and biopsychosocial models; this can be achieved successfully. Evidence has shown that communication and tradition have changed over the years. With the use of many new inventions and changes in our technology market, communication has greatly improved and became instantaneous.
Communicators need to constantly synthesize knowledge from other scientific disciplines including marketing, psychology, and behavioral science. Once this information is gathered, professionals can choose from various communication methods and strategies that they believe will best convey their message. These methods include campaigning, entertainment advocacy, media advocacy, new technology, and interpersonal communication.
Campaign
The Health Communication Campaign is arguably the most widely used and effective method of disseminating the public health message, especially in support of disease prevention (eg Cancer, HIV/AIDS) and in the promotion of public health and health (eg, family planning, reproductive health). The Institute of Medicine argues that health communication campaigns tend to organize their messages to a diverse audience in one of three ways:
- By serving the common denominator in the audience
- By creating a single primary message and then making systematic changes to reach a particular audience segment better, while retaining the same primary message
- By creating distinctly different messages for different audience segments
Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and health communication scholars emphasize the importance of strategic planning across campaigns. This includes various steps to ensure a well-developed message is communicated:
- Review background information to determine what the problem is and who is affected by the problem
- Set communications goals and propose plans to meet desired results
- Analysis of target audiences by determining interests, attitudes, behaviors, benefits, and barriers
- Select channels and materials for communications related to what is most effectively reaching viewers
- Develop and test message concepts to determine understanding, acceptance, and reactions to messages
- Implement communication with selected audiences and monitor exposures and reactions to messages
- Assess results and evaluate the effectiveness and impact of campaigns, note if changes need to be made
Historical campaigns
American smallpox epidemic
In 1721, health communication was used to reduce smallpox outbreaks in Boston. Cotton Mather, a political leader, used pamphlets and speeches to promote the inoculation of smallpox. Alcohol abuse has been a problem in society as long as alcohol has been in existence. In the 19th century, Women's Temperance Union Women led the movement against alcohol abuse. They use mass communication to communicate the desired message. Newspapers and news magazines are allowed to promote anti-alcohol movements.
Cardiovascular Disease
The study of three communities and a five-city project is an experimental campaign to inform middle-aged men about the causes of cardiovascular disease. Health messages are communicated through television, radio, newspapers, cookbooks, booklets, and bus cards. Three "communities" consist of three experimental communication strategies: media-specific campaigns, media campaigns equipped with face-to-face communication, and control groups without intervention. The experiments revealed that after one year, the people most at risk were those in the second experimental group: they men consumed media campaigns and were attended by healthcare providers.
Communications channel
Entertainment media
Using the entertainment industry as a platform to advocate health and education information is a communication strategy that has become increasingly popular. The most widely used strategy is for health communication professionals to create partnerships with storyline creators so that public health information can be incorporated into the plot of a television show. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have established strong partnerships with Hollywood, Healthcare and Society, at the University of Southern California Norman Lear Center to continue to produce new storylines on television and in movie studios that will help to promote public health information. Some of the resources provided with this partnership include a comprehensive "information sheet" to provide writers with easy access and reliable information on health issues, as well as meetings and panels to discuss new information and resources. Some of the most prominent examples of this communication method in recent years are with the film Contagion and I Am Legend in understanding the spread of the disease NBC series < i> Parenthood in Asperger's Syndrome, and with CW's series <90210 and spreading awareness of cancer.
Writers and storytellers have an increased motivation to continue to incorporate public health information into their scripts with the creation of the Sentinel for Health Awards in 2000, which respects the storyline that effectively promotes the topic of health and audience awareness on public health issues. A survey conducted by Porter Novelli in 2001 reported many interesting statistics about the effectiveness of this strategy, such that more than half of daylight and daylight viewers have reported that they have learned something about health promotion or disease prevention from TV shows. Among these data, minority groups are represented significantly with more than half of African American and Hispanic viewers claiming that they have taken some form of precaution after hearing about health issues on TV, or that the TV storyline helps them to provide vital health. information to friends or family members.
Direct Marketing
Media advocacy uses a strategic mass media tool that is combined with a widespread organization to advocate for sound public policy or lifestyle. This can include the use of text messages and email to spread messages from person to person, and use social networking sites to promote health information to a wide audience. As technology develops, the platform for health communication through media advocacy is bound to flourish as well.
Interpersonal communication
Health communication relies on strong interpersonal communication to influence health decisions and behaviors. The most important of these relationships are the connections and interactions between individuals and their health care providers (eg, doctors, therapists, pharmacists) and individual social support systems (family, friends, community). These connections can positively influence an individual's decision to make healthy choices. Patients are more likely to listen when they feel emotionally invested into the situation. If they feel as if they understand what is being said, they are more likely to make an objective decision based on the information they hear.
Apps
Health communication has become important in promoting the health of the general public in various situations. One of the most important health communication applications is during major Environmental events (eg storms, floods, tornadoes) and address the questions and needs of affected audiences quickly and efficiently, safeguarding public health protection and the forefront of their messages. Healthcare professionals continue to work to improve this type of risk communication to be ready for emergencies.
Another important health communication application is in reaching students in the college community. The National College Health Assessment has measured that 92.5% of students report being in "good health, excellent, or excellent", but the students seem to face serious problems with stress, depression, substance abuse, and malnutrition in comparison to age groups and other audiences. Professionals in healthcare communications are actively striving for new ways to reach these at-risk audiences to improve community health standards in campus settings and to promote a healthier lifestyle among students.
Challenges
Health communication faces many challenges. While problems can be attributed to many factors, some of the most important issues have to do with the gap between health literacy and health communication, lack of communication through mass media, and lack of trained professionals.
Communication-literacy gap
One of the challenges faced by health communication is the general gap that is formed between health literacy and the use of health communication. While the goal is that health communication will effectively lead to health literacy, issues such as unexplained medical jargon, poorly formed messages, and often public education gaps have created gaps. Specifically, studies have been conducted among elderly populations in the United States to illustrate the general public who are left to lose due to this problem. Older adults consist of age groups that generally suffer from the most chronic health conditions compared to other age groups, but studies have shown that even these groups have difficulty understanding written health materials, understanding health care and policy, and generally do not understand medical jargon. Lack of such health communications can lead to increased hospitalization, inability to respond and manage illness or medical conditions, and generally declining health status.
In some populations, health-related websites (e.g., WebMD) and online support groups (e.g., Cancer Online Resource Association) have increased access to health information.
Mass media
Mass communication is used to promote beneficial behavioral changes among members of the population. The main criticism of the use of mass media as a method of health communication is the unfavorable ability for false messages and misinformation to spread rapidly through the mass media, before they have the opportunity to be debated by professionals. This problem can generate unwarranted panic among those who receive messages and become a problem as technology continues to grow. An example of this can be observed in the ongoing distrust of vaccination due to the publication of many incorrect messages linking the rubella-mump vaccination (MMR) vaccine to the development and onset of Autism. The speed with which messages are spreading is due to new social networking technologies that many parents do not trust in vaccinations and therefore do not allow their children to receive vaccines. Although this panic has been labeled as fictitious, many still retain a prolonged suspicion of vaccination and reject it, which has caused public health problems soon.
Historical Chronology
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments