Health Communication

Catalog description

This course is designed to introduce students to the emerging interdisciplinary field of health communication. Health communication studies how health information is generated and disseminated to a specific audience; also, how that information affects individuals and communities. The two main avenues of health communication are patient-provider communication and public health. This class is designed to teach students to identify the mediums, messages, contexts, and reasons that will motivate people to adopt healthy behaviors. Students may be asked to design health communication programs, create educational materials for at risk populations, or frame a particular health policy issue for legislation. Health communication is always oriented towards healthy individual and social behavior.