When I tell people I study health communication the response is generally the same: “Oh cool… what’s that?”
Indeed, this subject seems to take two pretty generic terms and smash them together to form some strange hybrid. So, let’s break it down!
What’s health?
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being. It is not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
I love this definition because it points out a key idea that many don’t realize: Just because you are not sick does not actually mean you are healthy.
So, in this blog, you will find information on many health topics, such as food, exercise, and ways to improve your mental well-being, including how to communicate better with others.
What’s communication?
Communication, in it’s most basic form is the study of sending and receiving messages between people.
More specifically, communication researchers seek to improve how people talk to one another, as well as listen to each other. So, communication studies is really about relationships.
Now you might be thinking, I’ve been communicating my whole life, what else is there to know? A whole lot! And just because you can communicate doesn’t mean you are necessarily doing it as well as you could be.
There are many sub-divisions of communication studies (i.e. comm for short). Interpersonal comm looks at interactions between two people, then there is small group comm, business comm, public speaking, and many other segments. The really cool (aka nerdy) thing about health comm is that it can overlap with almost all other types of comm studies, making it relevant in many contexts (think public health and public speaking).
Putting it all together
So, this blog is about research that has been conducted on how to improve your health by communicating better with others. I will read the long journal articles so you don’t have to and then only bring you the key points that matter most to improve your health and relationships.
Some examples to look out for are:
- How to improve doctor-patient communication
- Ways to increase social support
- How to talk to your kids about drugs and alcohol
- How to read (and actually understand) food labels
- What exactly gluten is and why you may or may not have to go free
- The latest news on organic foods and GMOs
- How to have better interactions with your significant other, family, friends, and coworkers
- And much more…
This blog is dedicated to you! So please feel free to send me a message letting me know what health communication topic you would like to learn about and I will bring that information to you. And if you aren’t sure your topic fits into health comm, just remember, if it’s about being healthier, or about improving relationships, it’s fair game!