COMM 720: Consumer-Provider Health Communication

COMM 720-001: Consumer-Provider Hlth Comm
(Spring 2019)

04:30 PM to 07:10 PM W

Northeast Module 107

Section Information for Spring 2019

The Consumer/Provider Health Communication course will examine the powerful roles performed by interpersonal communication in establishing meaningful relationships that enable effective health care delivery and health promotion efforts. This involves examining interpersonal interactions between health care consumers (patients, as well as their family members and significant others), informal caregivers (such as family caregivers), health care professionals, support staff, and others in a broad range of public and private health settings. We will study the use of a variety of different communication channels, to serve both health information and support needs. We will explore the applications of communication practices to promote disease prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment decision making, the delivery of care, informed consent, social support, health education, health promotion, risk communication, palliative care, successful disease survivorship, end-of-life care, and the promotion of personal and psycho-social well being.

The course will examine multiple levels of human communication (intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, organizational, and societal) and the use of a variety of different communication channels, media, and digital communication technologies. We will discuss many complex and challenging health issues in this class, although cancer care will be a frequently used application area for examining consumer/provider communication.  We will also examine opportunities for extending health communication knowledge and enhancing applications.  It is my hope that this class will be meaningful for class participants both professionally and practically to guide health research and applications in making important health decisions.

Course Information from the University Catalog