Summary health communication
Week 1:
Societal burden of unhealthy behaviors and chronic illness
How long do you want to live?
Life expectancy = how long is expected that you live
Healthy years = quality years of life (for example not when you’re sick, disabled, etc.)
Life expectancy healthy years!
,Factors that threaten life expectancy:
In “developing” countries: predominantly structural factors.
- E.g. child mortality rate; diseases; bad housing; malnutrition
In “developed” countries: predominantly lifestyle factors.
- E.g. smoking; dietary choices
- Chronic conditions are responsible for ~ 86% of the total years lived in
disability/illness.
o E.g. cancer, diabetes mellitus, neuropsychiatric disorders, cardiovascular and
respiratory diseases
Medical services and pharmacological interventions are useful but have
limitations.
Financial costs; adverse effects; contradictions
High rates of non-adherence to prescribed medical regimen
The role of communication and behavior sciences
Three groups where health communication on can focus:
- For people who are not ill and do not engage in unhealthy behavior
o E.g. promote them staying away from risk behavior (smoking, etc.)
- For people who are not ill and do engage in healthy behavior
o E.g. try to persuade them by stating all bad effects in a campaign.
- For people who are ill
o E.g. try to promote things people still can do with an illness.
What can health communication do?
Keywords: prevention, promotion, behavior change, education & persuasion.
In short, health communication can focus on:
- Not engaging in healthy behavior
- Engaging in unhealthy behavior
- Not adhering to medical treatments
Health communication can help tackle (some of) the roots of chronic illness and help promote
healthy lifestyles.
, Week 2
Defining health communication
Health communication is an evolving and increasingly prominent field in the public health
care, and the non-profit and private organizations. Health communication can play in
influencing, supporting, and empowering individuals, communities, health care professionals,
policy makers, or special groups to adopt and sustain a behavior or a social, organizational,
and policy change that will ultimately improve individual, community, and public health
outcomes.
Key words health communication:
- To informs and influence (individuals and community) decisions
- Motivating individuals and key groups
- Change behavior, achieve social and behavioral results
- Increase knowledge and understanding of health-related issues
- Empowers people
- Exchange, interchange of information, two-way dialogue
- Engaging
What can health communication do?
Week 1:
Societal burden of unhealthy behaviors and chronic illness
How long do you want to live?
Life expectancy = how long is expected that you live
Healthy years = quality years of life (for example not when you’re sick, disabled, etc.)
Life expectancy healthy years!
,Factors that threaten life expectancy:
In “developing” countries: predominantly structural factors.
- E.g. child mortality rate; diseases; bad housing; malnutrition
In “developed” countries: predominantly lifestyle factors.
- E.g. smoking; dietary choices
- Chronic conditions are responsible for ~ 86% of the total years lived in
disability/illness.
o E.g. cancer, diabetes mellitus, neuropsychiatric disorders, cardiovascular and
respiratory diseases
Medical services and pharmacological interventions are useful but have
limitations.
Financial costs; adverse effects; contradictions
High rates of non-adherence to prescribed medical regimen
The role of communication and behavior sciences
Three groups where health communication on can focus:
- For people who are not ill and do not engage in unhealthy behavior
o E.g. promote them staying away from risk behavior (smoking, etc.)
- For people who are not ill and do engage in healthy behavior
o E.g. try to persuade them by stating all bad effects in a campaign.
- For people who are ill
o E.g. try to promote things people still can do with an illness.
What can health communication do?
Keywords: prevention, promotion, behavior change, education & persuasion.
In short, health communication can focus on:
- Not engaging in healthy behavior
- Engaging in unhealthy behavior
- Not adhering to medical treatments
Health communication can help tackle (some of) the roots of chronic illness and help promote
healthy lifestyles.
, Week 2
Defining health communication
Health communication is an evolving and increasingly prominent field in the public health
care, and the non-profit and private organizations. Health communication can play in
influencing, supporting, and empowering individuals, communities, health care professionals,
policy makers, or special groups to adopt and sustain a behavior or a social, organizational,
and policy change that will ultimately improve individual, community, and public health
outcomes.
Key words health communication:
- To informs and influence (individuals and community) decisions
- Motivating individuals and key groups
- Change behavior, achieve social and behavioral results
- Increase knowledge and understanding of health-related issues
- Empowers people
- Exchange, interchange of information, two-way dialogue
- Engaging
What can health communication do?
