Health communication as an important field of study

Tesfahun Thomas^*
*Correspondence: Tesfahun Thomas, Department of Health Communication, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia, Email:

Received: 25-Mar-2022, Manuscript No. IJMSA-22-58552; Editor assigned: 28-Mar-2022, Pre QC No. IJMSA-22-58552 (PQ); Reviewed: 12-Apr-2022, QC No. IJMSA-22-58552; Revised: 19-Apr-2022, Manuscript No. IJMSA-22-58552 (R); Published: 26-Apr-2022

About the Study

Health communication is a multidisciplinary area of study and practice that uses communication evidence, strategy, theory, and creativity to encourage people and populations to engage in behaviors, policies, and practices that improve their health and well-being. Over the last four decades, the field of health communication research, teaching, and application has exploded as a significant multidisciplinary area of study, education, and outreach. Research work in the subject of health communication blends communication science knowledge with other disciplines (including the sub-fields of interpersonal, group, organizational, intercultural, family, political, strategic, and environmental communication, rhetorical studies, journalism, mass media, and computer-mediated communication inquiry) to examine the powerful influences of communication on health and illness in the social sciences (with fields such as psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, and political science), the physical sciences (with disciplines such as biology, pharmacology, and chemistry) and professional fields of study (including Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Health Administration, Public Health, Public Policy, Epidemiology, and Health Informatics). The study of health communication may be divided into five primary interconnected areas, each of which covers several professional and academic disciplines:

• Communication in the delivery of care that links health communication science to interpersonal and group communication, intercultural communication, verbal and nonverbal communication, organisational communication and natural and social sciences like biology, health technologies, health psychology and medical sociology, as well as health care professional fields like medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, social work, and clinical psychology, Health administration, therapy disciples (counseling, physical therapy, occupational therapy, psycho-therapy, etc.).

• Health communication science is linked to communication subfields like mass communication, journalism, strategic communication, and campaign communication, as well as natural and social sciences like health psychology, social marketing, nutrition, exercise physiology, addiction sciences, and public policy, as well as professional fields like public health, health education, health promotion, counselling, social work, and public policy.

• Health risk communication links health communication science to communication subfields like environmental communication, public affairs, international communication, intercultural communication, journalism, strategic communication, and campaign communication, as well as natural and social sciences like health psychology, social marketing, political science, risk analysis, and public policy, as well as professional fields like risk management, social wrangling, and risk management.

• E-health communication links health communication science to communication subfields like computer-mediated communication, digital communication, information sciences, media studies, journalism, and strategic communication, as well as natural and social sciences like computer science, technology studies, machine learning, robotic systems, psychological counseling, and government policy, as well as professional fields like engineering, computer programming, risk management, and political administration.

• Communication in managing health care systems that links to health communication science with communication subfields such as organizational communication, group communication, public relations, and strategic communication, with natural and social sciences such as industrial psychology, organizational sociology, political science, and public policy, as well as with professional areas such as public administration, health administration, medical records management, accounting, supervision, public health, health education, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, other health educational areas of research.

Strategic health communication can assists in reducing health risks, incidence, morbidity, and mortality, as well as enhance quality of life, according to research in these five primary areas of health communication inquiry.