Health Communication Practice Research Articles

A Study on Communication Practices in Reducing Non-Communicable Diseases in Bahir Dar City, Ethiopia.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) pose special challenges in developing countries In Ethiopia, the growing NCD burden has raised a public health concern with significant social, economic, and developmental effects. Thus, the study sought to examine health communication practices in addressing the NCDs in Bahir Dar City of the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. A qualitative case study was conducted from January to April 2023. The study employed in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and observations to gather data from health extension workers, NCD experts, and NCD focal persons about their experiences and perspectives regarding NCD prevention and control. The participants were purposively selected, and a thematic analysis technique was employed to analyze the data. The study found that several health communication strategies, such as health promotion, training and creating model households, screening, referrals, follow-ups, rehabilitation services, and activities reporting were employed. Nevertheless, there was a lack of consistent, reliable, and long-lasting and professional health communication regarding NCD prevention and management. Some of the challenges contributing to such deficient practices were overloading HEWs with various tasks, allocating many households to a single HEW, shortage of screening tools, shortage of financial and human resources, weak interdisciplinary collaboration, COVID-19, and recurrent conflicts in the city and the region. Above all, lack of health communication skills affected the health interventions. Concerning communication methods, one-to-one communication was frequently employed, while mass media and social media were rare. Generally, NCD communication, in particular, and health communication, in general, did not receive priority as other health-related activities in the city. The study found that there were poor health communication practices in preventing and controlling NCDs. Thus, professional practice of health communication about NCDs must be prioritized, and emphasis should be given to inter-sectoral collaborations. Prioritizing financial and human resources is also essential for effective NCD communication.

Contributions to Research and Practice Made by the National Cancer Institute’s Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch

ABSTRACT The Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch at the U.S. National Cancer Institute was founded in 1999 in response to increasing evidence demonstrating a link between effective health communication and improved cancer-related outcomes and in recognition of the rapid and dramatic technological changes that were transforming health communication at the turn of the 21st century. For the past 25 years, the Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch has been conducting and supporting research at the forefront of emerging cancer communication trends and technologies, making numerous contributions to health communication science, public health, and cancer control practice. In this essay, we provide a brief history of the branch and the context that led to its establishment, discuss contributions made by the branch to health communication research and practice through key projects and initiatives, and conclude by highlighting health communication and informatics research priorities that offer opportunities for significant impact going forward in light of the challenges posed by the current communication environment.

Evidence-Based Health Communication in Practice: Driving Funding, Research, and Training Through the University of Texas at Austin Center for Health Communication

ABSTRACT Academic centers play a vital role in advancing knowledge, driving innovation, and fostering collaboration. The University of Texas at Austin Center for Health Communication was established in 2014 with the mission to improve public health through evidence-based communication research and practice. In this article, we reflect on the center history, explain our practice-oriented funding structure, and showcase examples of public health campaigns informed by theory and data, as well as professional-oriented educational programs. We also discuss the academic and community impact of our research, education, and practice and the benefits and challenges associated with this practice-led funding model. Although there are other approaches to operating academic centers, we hope the lessons we have learned can be of help to other centers dedicated to health communication research and practice.

Cultural Tightness-Looseness: How Was It Related to Vaccination Behavior among University Students in Japan, the United States, and India?

As a next step to better understand the role of cultural tightness-looseness (CTL), this study aimed to examine whether CTL is associated with COVID-19 vaccination behavior among university students, taking into consideration sociocultural perceptions of vaccination across countries. A global online survey was conducted. University students from Japan, the US, and India participated. The average CTL score, three sociocultural perceptions related to COVID-19 vaccination, side effects, infection experience of themselves and family members, and other demographic variables were used to identify the model and to explain the second vaccination status using stepwise logistic regression methods with Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) scores which was for both the total, with the country as a variable, and for each country. Analyses of data from 1289 respondents who received the first vaccine revealed the essential role of CTL in individuals getting the second vaccine, while also revealing differences between countries. Regardless of the limitations, this study adds knowledge about CTL's roles in the COVID-19 vaccination behavior among young generations and provides insights into public health communication practices for issues like COVID-19.

Meeting People Where They Are: Hyper‐local Engagements Around COVID‐19 Misinformation in New Jersey

ABSTRACTThis paper details the findings from a study investigating the efficacy of community‐based and ‐organized information sessions for dispelling public health misinformation around COVID‐19. The authors used community‐engaged participatory action research methods to co‐organize town halls with community members, groups, and officials to disseminate COVID information for two New Jersey towns and townships with differing demographic compositions in late 2020 through 2021. These sessions aimed to share reliable, trustworthy public health and safety information around the COVID‐19 pandemic. This small‐scale, qualitative study suggests that this type of hyper‐localized information session where residents can interact with local leaders and talk openly about local problems around public health can be a point of connection for people with their community, that helps them access and address localized public health problems in myriad ways. In so doing, this study suggests ways to re‐imagine public health information and communication practices to promote informational justice.

How do women talk about self-funded breast cancer genetic testing?: Small stories and stance-taking strategies.

Genetic testing for breast cancer genes is an experience which is inextricably linked with health communication practices and the broader social context in which it occurs. Linguistic approaches can provide perspective on how women seeking self-funded BRCA1/2 gene testing represent their experiences, knowledge, roles, choices and emotions through the way they talk. A discursive constructionist epistemology and narrative theoretical framework informed the applied linguistics methodology. Analysis of 'small stories' and stance-taking was performed on eight transcripts of audio-recorded telephone interviews with women at low to moderate risk of carrying BRCA1/2 pathogenic variants who self-funded genetic testing. We found a high prevalence of 'small stories' including accounts of events, hypotheticals, habitual narratives, and stories which combined multiple genres. Stance-taking was a means by which participants constructed personal identities in the conversational context, such as that of a responsible person. Via stance-taking strategies, participants also actively negotiated the conversational agenda, for example expressing different degrees of alignment with the interviewer's orientation towards emotions. This study provides a basis for recognizing linguistic markers in genetic counseling interactions about genetic testing for breast cancer genes. Enhanced awareness of client language choice, and the ways in which small stories and stance can signify the client's evaluation of experience and choices, alignment with the genetic counselor's questions/statements, and investment in the conversation, has potential to improve the therapeutic interaction.

The Global Study of COVID News: Scope, Findings, and Implications of Quantitative Content Analyses of the COVID-19 News Coverage in the First Two Years of the Pandemic

ABSTRACT Researchers and practitioners have unanimously acknowledged the impact of legacy media coverage of past pandemics as well as COVID-19 and its importance for health-related risk communication. Therefore, this study provides scholars and health communication practitioners with a deeper understanding of the patterns, main themes, and limitations of media reporting and peer-reviewed research in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in different national media environments. Because the objective is to evaluate patterns, this paper focuses on early quantitative and automated content analyses for theoretical contribution, geographic diversity, methodological rigor, and inclusion of risk and crisis communication theory. It also assesses whether authors deduced implications, for both theory and practice of health-related risk and crisis communication. We conducted a content analysis of 66 studies in peer-reviewed journals from the beginning of the pandemic until April 2022. The findings demonstrate that early quantitative analyses of the news coverage of COVID-19 are often not theory-driven, apply heterogeneous forms of framing analysis, and lack references to risk and crisis communication theory. Consequently, only few implications for health communication practice during pandemics were drawn. However, there is evidence of improvement in geographic scope compared to previous research. The discussion addresses the importance of developing a consistent approach to framing analyses of risk and crisis media coverage and the importance of well-designed cross-cultural research in a global pandemic.

Public perceptions of air pollution and associated health risks in Nevada, USA: applications for health communication

ABSTRACT Background We examine the extent to which acute and chronic health conditions motivate individuals to seek air quality information. We apply the theoretical elements of the Health Belief Model (HBM) to improve risk communication about ambient air pollution. We discuss the practical applications of HBM, in tandem with the principles of health communication, within an environmental health context. Methods We test the predictive power of selected components related to the HBM (perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, and cues to action) for intentions to seek information about ambient air quality. We surveyed 325 individuals throughout Nevada where poor air quality poses a risk for vulnerable populations. Results Ordinal logistic regression analyses showed that experiencing mucous membrane symptoms (eye itching, nose irritation, and dry throat/cough), perceived severity to future health threats, and having an at-risk member in the household positively and significantly predicted intentions to seek air quality information. Experiencing neuropsychological symptoms (fatigue, feeling heavy-headed, and nausea/dizziness), and having a cardiovascular or a respiratory condition did not have significant effects on reported intentions. Conclusions We discuss how the results of this study can be integrated into health communication practices to increase public engagement with air quality information as a personal intervention measure.

Advergames for children's health education and communication practices

PurposeAppropriate and deliberate use of drug prevention methods is the key to educating children about the dangers of addiction and the way of prevention. With the growing prevalence of digital games among youngsters, health education and communication among children can try adopting advergames on digital television instead of traditional media, which has also been supported by prior research. It is, therefore, this research attempts to apply digital games as a means of health promotion and carry drug prevention messages through digital gameplay. Based on behavioral models, this research investigated the communication design and effectiveness of advergames for children's health promotion.Design/methodology/approachTwo studies were conducted in this research. In Study 1, the research team investigated how public health message was assimilated into advergames, which affect the health behaviors of children, they are (1) Knowledge about Drug, (2) Attitude Toward Drug and (3) Perceived Severity toward Drug-abuse. In Study 2, this research investigated the effects of the advergames on children through a between-group experiment. A pre-test/post-test for the control group and experimental group with 180 primary school children in Hong Kong was conducted.FindingsThe finding showed the potential use of advergames in health communication among children. The result proved that the anti-drug advergame is a more successful intervention among the participating children in the experimental group than the control group. The result triggers further investigations in academic, professional and educational values for advergames design, health education and communication areas.Research limitations/implicationsBecause of the chosen small sampling locally in Hong Kong, the research results may lack generalizability for other countries or practices.Practical implicationsThe study evokes children's awareness of drug prevention, encourages their physical and emotional wellness, and finally advocates a healthy lifestyle for them, through the deployment of health game communication.Originality/valueDespite this research studied the use of advergames, instead of digital games in general, for health promotion and delivering drug prevention messages. The research design distinctively allowed the primary students to participate in the design of the advergames instead of being passive players and/or in the information delivery process. This approach is indeed a pioneer attempt in that limited practice has been found academically. The study expands academic and practical knowledge on health game communication.

Knowledge and sources of covid-19 information in nigeria during the covid-19 pandemic: a case study for evaluating outbreak health communication practices in nigeria

Knowledge and sources of covid-19 information in nigeria during the covid-19 pandemic: a case study for evaluating outbreak health communication practices in nigeria

Women’s Metaphors About BRCA Gene Testing and How They Can Inform Health Communication Theory and Practice

ABSTRACT Genetic testing can detect whether an individual carries a harmful variant in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 (Breast Cancer 1 or 2) gene which, if present, drastically increases a woman’s risk for breast and ovarian cancer. The experience of BRCA gene testing can be an emotionally laden process yielding significant uncertainty. In this study, we examined women’s experiences of BRCA gene testing by exploring how participants communicatively framed and made sense of this process through the use of metaphors. Comparing uncertain and unfamiliar experiences to familiar references through metaphor can help people in challenging health-related situations with sense-making and communicating complex emotions. Furthermore, metaphors can be employed as a therapeutic tool by health care professionals, but their use has not often been studied regarding experiences of genetic testing, including BRCA gene testing. We conducted in-depth interviews with 42 women who have undergone BRCA gene testing (regardless of results), and analyzed data using constant comparative techniques. Eight categories of metaphors that women used surrounding BRCA gene testing were evident in the data, including those related to (a) knowledge is power; (b) gambling; (c) a journey; (d) a rollercoaster; (e) battle, disaster, or wreckage; (f) Pandora’s box or a can of worms; (g) doom and gloom; and (h) the release or placing of a weight. Results enhance our understanding of women’s experiences related to the uncertainty-inducing process of BRCA gene testing and lead to valuable theoretical implications and practical recommendations, including regarding the potential use of metaphors in patient-provider communication about BRCA genetic risk.

"We're Here to Take Care of Our Community": Lessons Learned From the U.S. Federal Health Center Covid-19 Vaccine Program.

Equitable access to vaccination is crucial to mitigating the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on low-income communities and people of color in the United States. As primary care clinics for medically underserved patients, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) emerged as a success story in the national effort to vaccinate the U.S. public against Covid-19. In February 2021, the Federal Health Center Covid-19 Vaccine Program began allocating vaccine supply directly to FQHCs in an effort to improve vaccine equity. This qualitative study documents how FQHCs in two states successfully mitigated barriers to vaccine access, responded to patient concerns about vaccination, and worked to maintain and grow community trust in a climate of uncertainty and fear during early vaccine roll-out to the general population. Using a socio-ecological model, we show how FQHCs intervened at multiple levels to advance vaccine equity, revealing valuable lessons for health promotion practice in primary care settings or underserved communities. Our findings provide descriptive context for existing quantitative evidence showing FQHCs' greater success in vaccinating people of color, and foreground valuable and innovative strategies for trustworthy health communication practices and equitable resource allocation to medically underserved patients and populations.

A prospective cross-sectional study on parent – Female adolescent communication towards sexual and reproductive health issues in south west ethiopia: Parent perspective

BackgroundEven though female adolescents can get information regarding sexual and reproductive issues from different sources, parents are the preferred source of information for most adolescents. ObjectiveThe study was aimed at assessing the parent-female adolescent communication regarding sexual and reproductive health issues in southwest Ethiopia. Method and materialsCommunity-based retrospective cross-sectional study design was employed among 388 parents of a female adolescent from May 5 to 26, 2021. The data were entered into Epi data version 4.2 and analyzed by the Statistical software package for social science version 23. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regressions were done to identify factors associated with poor parent-female adolescent communication regarding sexual and reproductive health issues. ResultsAccording to this study, 223 (61.9%) parents had poor communication on sexual and reproductive health with their female adolescents. Having no communication difficulties regarding sexual and reproductive health issues[AOR = 0.287;95 %CI:0.167–0.494], poor knowledge of SRH issues[AOR = 2.082;95 %CI:1.222–3.547], in favorable attitude towards parents- female adolescent sexual and reproductive health communication[AOR = 1.847;95 %CI:1.065–3.204], parents didn’t have previous experience of sexual and reproductive health problem[AOR = 3.062;95 %CI:1.779–5.204], parents-whose female adolescent not asked about SRH issues[AOR = 0.434.;95 %CI:0.265–0.743] were the identified statically associated factors with poor parent-female adolescent communication regarding sexual and reproductive health issues. ConclusionsDespite the fact that poor parent–female adolescent communication has many impacts on sexual and reproductive health issues in female adolescents this study showed the status of poor parents-female adolescent communication regarding sexual and reproductive health issues was high. The knowledge, attitude, and communication challenges of parents regarding sexual and reproductive health concerns were found to be the identified factors associated with poor parents-female adolescent sexual and reproductive health communication practices. Thus, creating a positive atmosphere, and effective communication between parents and adolescents through empowering both parents and adolescents can improve the overall sexual and reproductive health issues of the adolescent.

An Overview of Innovative Approaches to Support Timely and Agile Health Communication Research and Practice.

Innovative approaches are needed to make health communication research and practice more timely, responsive, and effective in a rapidly changing information ecosystem. In this paper we provide an overview of strategies that can enhance the delivery and effectiveness of health communication campaigns and interventions, as well as research approaches that can generate useful data and insights for decisionmakers and campaign designers, thereby reducing the research-to-practice gap. The discussion focuses on the following approaches: digital segmentation and microtargeting, social media influencer campaigns, recommender systems, adaptive interventions, A/B testing, efficient message testing protocols, rapid cycle iterative message testing, megastudies, and agent-based modeling. For each method highlighted, we also outline important practical and ethical considerations for utilizing the approach in the context of health communication research and practice, including issues related to transparency, privacy, equity, and potential for harm.

Investigating reports of cancer clusters in Canada: a qualitative study of public health communication practices and investigation procedures.

Introduction Public health officials provide an important public service responding to community concerns around cancer and often receive requests to investigate patterns of cancer incidence and communicate findings with citizens. In this study, we identified procedures Canadian public health officials followed when investigating reports of cancer clusters, and explored the challenges officials faced conducting risk communication with communities. Methods Thirteen interviews were administered by telephone with 15 officials across Canadian jurisdictions and analyzed using thematic analysis. A content analysis of procedural documents received from five provinces was also undertaken. Results A third of provinces/territories in this study did not use any consistent guidelines to investigate reports of cancer clusters, a third used their own guidelines and a third used guidelines from other countries. Each Canadian jurisdiction identified a different agency or individual responsible for investigating cluster inquiries. Officials in most interviews considered public education to be the primary objective of risk communication during an investigation. Officials in only 4 of 13 interviews cited an overall positive response from the public after investigating reports of a cancer cluster. Conclusion Differences in practices used to investigate suspected cancer clusters by public health officials were revealed in this work. Establishing pan-Canadian cancer cluster guidelines could improve procedural consistency across jurisdictions and offer enhanced opportunities to compare cluster responses for evaluation. A reporting system to track reported clusters may improve information sharing between federal, provincial/territorial and local investigators. During formal investigations, face-to-face participatory communication approaches should be explored to improve citizen engagement and manage community concerns.

Expanding the Health Information National Trends Survey Research Program Internationally to Examine Global Health Communication Trends: Comparing Health Information Seeking Behaviors in the U.S. and Germany

ABSTRACT The Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) is a well-established U.S.-based research program administered by the National Cancer Institute to track the public access to and use of health information. This paper introduces a German research initiative, part of the International Studies to Investigate Global Health Information Trends (INSIGHTS) research consortium. This adaptation of the HINTS is important for initiating analyses of global health communication practices and comparing health information seeking behaviors (HISB) across nations to pinpoint potentials and challenges of health information provision and contribute to a deeper understanding of socio-contextual determinants of HISB. First cross-country comparisons revealed that the share of residents seeking for health information is high in the U.S. (80%) and Germany (74%), but different primary sources are used. Whereas a clear majority of U.S. residents chose the Internet to gather health information (74.9%), Germans most often turn to health professionals (48.0%). Socio-structural and health(care)-related predictors were found to contribute to the explanation of HISB in both countries, whereas information-related predictors were only relevant in Germany. The results indicate the need to engage in patient-provider communication to initiate HISB and to improve the access to information for residents with lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Communicating Health to Young Adults Using Social Media: How, Where, and When?

Communication with young adults about healthy lifestyle behaviours needs to result in improvements in dietary choices to impact the prevalence of diet-related diseases. This paper presents the health beliefs, behaviours, and communication practices in young Australian adults (n = 2019) by their pre-defined psycho-behavioural characteristics: Lifestyle Mavens, Health-Conscious, Aspirational Healthy Eaters, Balanced-All Rounders, Contemplating Another Day, or Blissfully Unconcerned. The Lifestyle Mavens and Health-Conscious groups were more likely to actively seek out health information on social media (p < 0.05). Lifestyle Mavens were the most likely to engage with health and food content on social media, whereas the Blissfully Unconcerned were the least likely to engage (p < 0.05). Lifestyle Mavens are more likely to report creating food and health-related content for social media, whereas Aspirational Healthy Eaters are more likely to report searching for food and health-related content online, but are less likely to share or create content. Contemplating Another Day are more likely to report interactions with commercial content. This paper defines how psycho-behavioural segments communicate about health, where they look for information, how they may prefer to receive health messages, and when they are most receptive to messages. By applying existing robust market segmentation techniques, this paper provides nuanced information that challenges the assumption that online social media health information is preferred by all young adults.

Does Social Media Promote or Hinder Health Learning? The Roles of Media Attention, Information Discussion, Information Elaboration, and Information Seeking Experience

ABSTRACT Social media has become an important avenue for learning. However, the mechanisms underlying social media use and its influence on knowledge are not clear. Based on the cognitive mediation model, this study explored the pathways through which social media use was linked to health knowledge, taking into account different information acquisition patterns (e.g., media attention vs. information discussion), information processing (e.g., elaboration), and information seeking experience. With a cross-sectional survey conducted in China (N = 1,350), this study found that paying attention to health information on social media had a direct and positive relationship with health knowledge. However, discussing such information was negatively associated with knowledge. Media attention also had a positive relationship with information discussion. Both media attention and information discussion were positively related to information elaboration, which in turn, had a positive association with health knowledge. Also, the poor quality of health information seeking experience weakened the relationship between social media use and elaborative processing. This study provides important implications for health communication research and practice in the digital era.

Addressing the Health Literacy Needs and Experiences of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations in Australia during COVID-19: A Research Embedded Participatory Approach

ABSTRACT Communicating health information quickly and effectively with diverse populations has been essential during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, health communication practices are often top down and poorly designed to rapidly meet diverse health literacy, cultural and contextual needs of the population. This paper describes a research and practice partnership focused on health literacy, multicultural health, and community engagement to address COVID-19 in Australia. The partnership became influential in the local and state-based response to the COVID-19 Delta outbreak in Western and South Western Sydney, an area of high cultural and socioeconomic diversity. Our approach, bringing together academic researchers and frontline health staff working with multicultural populations using a model of co-design and community engagement and action via the “4 M model,” has been successful. It supported the Western Sydney community to achieve some of the highest vaccination rates in the world (>90%). There is an ongoing need to engage respectfully and responsively with communities to address specific challenges that they face and tailor communications and supports accordingly for successful pandemic management. Combining co-designed empirical research with community engagement and action ensures needs are robustly identified and can be appropriately addressed to support an effective public health response.

‘Healthy Publics’ and the pedagogy of It’s a Sin

The UK television series It’ s a Sin (2021) emerged alongside ongoing cultural projects that re-script acquired immunodeficiency syndrome crisis narratives and contribute to a broader ‘post-acquired immunodeficiency syndrome’ media culture. In this Cultural Commons piece, we consider how community health promoters have adapted the imagery from It’ s a Sin to create new human immunodeficiency virus educational materials. We situate these media practices in relation to an ongoing practice to think about the ‘end of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome’ through strategic health communication practices and question the cultural significance of adapting It’ s a Sin for health advocacy initiatives. We argue that more attention needs to be paid to the exchanges between popular culture and health promotion imagery. Critical health and media scholars should develop more complex cultural health criticism to capture the exchanges between health promotion and melodrama, to create accountability and avoid re-scripting normative perspectives of health and illness within post-acquired immunodeficiency syndrome media.