The Center for Health and Risk Communication (CHRC) will host its third biennial D.C. Health Communication Conference at the Hyatt at Fair Lakes Hotel and Conference Center on April 16-18, 2015.
According to Dr. Gary Kreps, director of CHRC, the conference is “a forum for presenting cutting-edge health communication research that can inform health care and health promotion practices, as well as to advance health communication knowledge.”
Kreps said the conference will also be a time for new and experienced health communication scholars to collaborate on research and learn from one another.
The title of the conference is “Communication Competence and Health Promotion,” so sessions will focus on how health communication research, education, technologies, and policies can promote health and well-being.
Kreps said topic was chosen from previous attendees’ recommendations.
“At the end of the second DCHC conference we handed out conference evaluation questionnaires that, among other things, asked conference participants what they wanted to focus on in future DCHC conferences,” Kreps said. “The conference theme of "Communication Competence and Health Promotion" was one of the recommendations. The pre-conference theme of "Translating Health Communication Research into Public Health Practice" was also recommended by conference participants on the evaluation questionnaire. These themes also resonate with the primary research activities of the CHRC”.
The conference will also feature competitive papers, posters, and panels focusing on cutting edge health communication research and applications. Topics will include sensitive communication in the delivery of care, strategic communication campaigns, evolving health information technologies, interactive health interventions, powerful media representations of health issues, and relevant new health communication programs, policies, and practices.
The third Translational Health Communication Scholar Award will be presented at the conference. This award is for an eminent scholar who has made major contributions to health communication research, practice, and policy. Nominations for this award will be accepted until February 1, 2015 and should be submitted to gkreps@gmu.edu.
November 19, 2014
