COMM 304: Foundations of Health Communication

COMM 304-DL1: Fnd Health Communication
(Fall 2021)

01:30 PM to 02:45 PM MW

Online

Section Information for Fall 2021

Course Overview

Health communication is about improving health outcomes by encouraging behavioral modification and/or social change. It is increasingly considered an integral part of most community and public health interventions. With the audience always at the core of each health communication intervention, models, theories and strategies are ultimately employed to: 1) reach "people's hearts;" 2) secure their involvement in the health issue and, most importantly, its solutions and, 3) support and facilitate their journey on a path to better health. With such a diverse society, reaching these goals is more complex and multi-faceted than ever.

So, why learn health communication through theoretical lenses? It is important to understand the operative frameworks through which health communication practice takes shape to interrogate underlying assumptions. It is through this approach that we will critically discern how to achieve the three previously mentioned goals. During our course, we will survey health communication theories, models, processes, strategies, and techniques as applied to public/community health, health disparities, and medical inequities and related to a variety of issues, such as perceptions of health, provider-patient relationships, health organizations, health campaigns, intercultural issues, and the use of new communication technologies.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

  1. Define health communication and its role in promoting health and improving behaviors.
  2. Identify strategies, techniques, variables, processes of health communication theories and practice
  3. Analyze the application of health communication in health promotion
  4. Critique health communication applicability to health disparities, health inequities, and health social justice
  5. Describe the strengths and limitations of health communication for use across communication channels and contexts including digital media, face-to-face, community health, and public health.  
  6. Apply a health communication theory to targeted intervention development
  7. Identify, target, create and evaluate health communication materials designed to improve the health of specific intended populations.

COMM 304 DL1 is a distance education section.

Tags:

Course Information from the University Catalog

Credits: 3

Explores health communication research practice: the role of communication in health care delivery, health promotion and disease prevention, risk communication, and personal as well as psychological well-being. Examines interpersonal, organizational, team, family, and intercultural relationships. Limited to three attempts.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.

The University Catalog is the authoritative source for information on courses. The Schedule of Classes is the authoritative source for information on classes scheduled for this semester. See the Schedule for the most up-to-date information and see Patriot web to register for classes.