Health Communication - Development

Development

Health communication as an area for study and practice has momentum for continued growth as well as increasing visibility across disciplines and among public health officials, practitioners, and funding agencies. Academic programs across the country have added undergraduate specializations, minors, and majors in health communication, while graduate programs have defined tracks to train future health communication scholars, carved out research areas, and received funding for specific grants and to develop Centers for Communication. As of 2013, the Coalition for Health Communication lists twenty-four graduate programs with an intense focus in health communication and a goal to develop students as professionals in the field of health communication. Even with this dramatic increase in the number of degree programs, there is still an always growing demand for more academic opportunities that will expand the field of health communication professionals. Health communication is also now starting to be called "public health", especially in scholarly areas such as academic programs in universities. The future of health communication is growing and continues to in ways not only in areas of medical practice, but on as varied sites as social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Health communication in future development will focus on social marketing and networking approaches to influence individuals to adopt healthy behaviors, linking profiles and information through social network sites. By having health communication online many people all around the world, who may not be involved in medical scholarly practices, will have a chance to become informed on the most recent and important advances and news in health and medical practices. Health communication scholars are participating in the creation of the Healthy People 2020 goals, of which an entire section is devoted to the role of health communication. The attention will continue to grow due to the need for translational research that moves research from the bench and into practice, the impacts of technology on health, the changing needs of United States and Global populations, and the prominence placed on multi-disciplinary teams for conducting funded research. The future of health communication is promising and as an area of study, it is poised for multiple pursuits over the next few decades. Effective media communication is therefore a key responsibility of public health professionals and information officers, especially during emergencies. This field guide summarizes the practical steps that can be taken to strengthen and enhance efforts made in this area. The guide can act as a rapid primer document as it highlights aspects of media communication activities that are crucial during a public health emergency. The target audiences for this field guide are WHO office and field personnel who are unfamiliar with media interactions or who wish to sharpen their skills in this area. It is also intended to help public health officials in other organizations and networks to deal with the media communication