Communicating About Health

"Our goal in this edition of Communicating About Health: Current Issues and Perspectives is to provide a manageable way of understanding the complex array of factors (both new and longstanding) that affect health. Along the way, we share the latest research and give voice to the stories of many different people. We believe you will find this to be an insightful, rich, and thorough overview of health communication. Our wish is that readers come away with a sophisticated knowledge of current issues, a real-life appreciation of the human side of health care and advocacy, and practical strategies for communicating more effectively and ethically about health"--

An ideal combination of communication theory and practical advice, Communicating About Health: Current Issues and Perspectives, Fourth Edition, is an indispensable resource for readers looking to improve their communication abilities in the health care field. Written by Athena du Pr�--an experienced researcher and noted scholar--the text offers an excellent balance of theory and practice; research and pedagogy; coverage of patient/caregiver issues; and material on the current, historical, and philosophical backgrounds of communication in health care. In addition to enhancing features found in the previous edition, this new edition includes a greater emphasis on theory, narrative, and technology in order to reflect changes in the health industry. What's New to the Fourth Edition? * A new chapter--eHealth, mHealth, and Telemedicine--describes the global impact of smartphone and tablet technology, tailored health messages, and the Internet on the health industry * A new chapter, Health Care Administration, Human Resources, Marketing, and PR, provides in-depth coverage of the contributions and communication strategies involved in leadership, morale, service excellence, community engagement, and more * An expanded discussion of communication not only involves physicians and nurses but also pharmacists, allied health personnel, dentists, therapists, and others * New features--Can You Guess?, What Do You Think?, Check It Out!, and In Your Experience--offer a higher level of engagement with students and stimulate critical thinking and discussion Support Package (contact your Oxford sales representative or call 800-280-0280 to request these resources) * An interactive website, known as a Prezi, is available for each chapter at www.oup.com/us/dupre and includes videos, activities, discussion questions, key points, and more. Suitable for use in class or online. * An Instructor's Manual and Test Bank, available both in print and online at www.oup.com/us/dupre, features sample syllabi, test questions, self-assessment activities, background reading, and more.

This text provides a research-based thorough overview of health communication, balancing theory with practical advice and examples that encourage students to further develop their own communication skills. In a broad survey of the field, approached from the perspectives of both caregiver and patient, it offers solid coverage of the history of health care, an examination of culture’s role in health and healing, and a look at current issues and challenges facing health care. The new edition includes expanded coverage of diversity among patients and of the impact of technology on health care communication today.

Communicating About Health: Current Issues and Perspectives continues to live up to its long-standing reputation as the most dynamic and current exploration of health communication on the market. This book offers rich, current research and in-depth analysis of the cultural, social, and organizational issues that influence health communication and health advocacy. Communicating About Health is an indispensable resource for readers seeking to improve their communication abilities in fields related to health. This text explores health communication through the eyes of patients, care providers, healthcare leaders, campaign designers, and more. Readers will learn how culture, media, personal identity, technology, social networks, and other factors contribute to health and healing.

The Routledge Handbook of Health Communication brings together the current body of scholarly work in health communication. With its expansive scope, it offers an introduction for those new to this area, summarizes work for those already learned in the area, and suggests avenues for future research on the relationships between communicative processes and health/health care delivery. This second edition of the Handbook has been organized to reflect the goals of health communication: understanding to make informed decisions and to promote formal and informal systems of care linked to health and well-being. It emphasizes work in such areas as barriers to disclosure in family conversations and medical interactions, access to popular media and advertising, and individual searches online for information and support to guide decisions and behaviors with health consequences. This edition also adds an overview of methods used in health communication and the unique challenges facing health communication researchers applying traditional methods to efforts to gain reliable and valid evidence about the role of communication for health. It introduces the promise of translational research being conducted by health communication researchers from multiple disciplines to form transdisciplinary theories and teams to increase the well-being of not only humans but the systems of care within their nations. Arguably the most comprehensive scholarly resource available for study in this area, the Routledge Handbook of Health Communication serves an invaluable role and reference for students, researchers, and scholars doing work in health communication.

This book explores the unique contribution that critical communication studies can bring to our understanding of health. It covers several broad themes: representing and mediating health; marketing and promoting health, co-producing health; and managing health crises and risks. Chapters speak to moral and social regulation through health communication, technologies of health, healthism and governmentality. They engage with historical and contemporary issues, offering readers theoretically grounded perspectives. At base, the book explores what a critical communication approach to health might look like, revealing in important—and sometimes surprising—ways how communication sits at the centre of understanding how health is constructed, contested, and made meaningful.