Health Communication Summary
WEEK 1
Health communication =
Health communication is the study and practice of sharing health information with
different groups of people. It aims to inform, engage, and support individuals in making
healthy choices, ultimately improving both personal and public health
○ Health communication can help tackle the roots of (chronic) illness, help promote
healthy lifestyles, and thus significantly reduce the societal burden of disease
Key characteristics of health communication
○ What do we want to achieve? → changing/influencing behavior
○ Ways to influence behavior? → financial instruments, direct regulation, social regulation
Islagiatt = It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time
This term is used critically in health communication to describe communication strategies
or campaigns that are based on good intentions, but not grounded in theory, evidence, or
research.
○ The single theoretical framework that has informed the most health
communication activities in history
→ e.g. a campaign that says "Just say no to drugs" might seem like a good idea
— it's short and clear. But without understanding why people use drugs (peer
pressure, stress, etc.), this kind of messaging is unlikely to work — that's
ISLAGIATT in action.
Vulnerable populations =
These are groups at higher risk of harm, due to physical, mental, social, economic, or
environmental factors (e.g. elderly people, people with chronic illnesses or disabilities,
pregnant women)
Underserved populations =
These are groups that lack adequate access to basic services and resources (e.g.
healthcare, education, internet, safe housing).
Maatschappelijke last van healthy behaviours and chronic illness
○ Life Expectancy (LE) and Healthy Years
○ Life expectancy ≠ Healthy years
, DALY =
Disability Adjusted Life Years
○ This measures the total impact of disease by counting the years lost due to
illness or early death.
→ e.g. (no disability so YLD = 0)
One woman suddenly dies in childbirth
from postpartum haemorrhage at age 26,
when the ideal life expectancy is 86. She’s
lost 60 years of life. DALY is 60 years.
One child suddenly dies from malaria at
age 3, when the ideal life expectancy is 86.
So he lost 83 years of life. DALY is 83
For this town, the DALY is 143
DALYs calculation =
Years of life lost due to premature
mortality(voortijdige sterfte) (YLL) +
years lives with disability (YLD)
→ e.g. a woman has cancer for 3
years and she dies at the age of
65, the life expectancy is 86 → YLL
+ YLD = (86-65=21) + 3 = 24
GDP =
BBP = bruto binnenlands product =
totale toegevoegde waarde van alle
in een land geproduceerde
goederen
NCD (Non-Communicable
Disease) =
A disease that is not caused
by infections and cannot
spread from person to person
→ e.g. heart disease,
diabetes, cancer
Factors that threaten Life
Expectancy (LE) =
1. Eating habits
2. Smoking
3. Sleep
4. Substance abuse
5. Air quality
6. Genetics
, In developing countries =
Predominantly structural factors (child mortality rate, diseases, bad housing,
malnutrition)
In developed countries =
Predominantly lifestyle factors (smoking, eating habits)
○ Chronic conditions are responsible for ~86% of the total years live in
disability/illness (e.g. cancer, diabetes, etc.)
Medical services and pharmacological interventions are useful, but have limitations (3)
1. Financial costs
2. Adverse effects
3. Contraindications (reasons to avoid a treatment, medication, or procedure
because it could be harmful)
The role of communication and behavior science =
○ For people who are not ill and do not engage in unhealthy behavior
Prevention =
Prevent people from engaging in unhealthy behavior
→ e.g. try to create conditions to not starting to smoke
Promotion =
Promote healthy behavior
○ For people who are not ill and do engage in unhealthy behavior
→ Behavior change, though…
○ Education
○ Persuasion
○ For people who are ill
→ Empower and encourage
→ Managing their disease
In short → to tackle the problems of…
○ Not engaging in healthy behavior
○ Engaging in healthy behavior
○ Not adhering to medical treatments
…study the social-psychological causes of behavior, and investigate ways to influence behavior
for the better (e.g. through training, education, persuasion, etc.)
WEEK 2
Health communication cannot…
○ Effectively compensate for inadequate infrastructure/services
○ Work in absence of adequate policy, regulation, practice, and programs to support
desired behavior
○ Be equally effective in addressing all aspects of complex problems
WEEK 1
Health communication =
Health communication is the study and practice of sharing health information with
different groups of people. It aims to inform, engage, and support individuals in making
healthy choices, ultimately improving both personal and public health
○ Health communication can help tackle the roots of (chronic) illness, help promote
healthy lifestyles, and thus significantly reduce the societal burden of disease
Key characteristics of health communication
○ What do we want to achieve? → changing/influencing behavior
○ Ways to influence behavior? → financial instruments, direct regulation, social regulation
Islagiatt = It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time
This term is used critically in health communication to describe communication strategies
or campaigns that are based on good intentions, but not grounded in theory, evidence, or
research.
○ The single theoretical framework that has informed the most health
communication activities in history
→ e.g. a campaign that says "Just say no to drugs" might seem like a good idea
— it's short and clear. But without understanding why people use drugs (peer
pressure, stress, etc.), this kind of messaging is unlikely to work — that's
ISLAGIATT in action.
Vulnerable populations =
These are groups at higher risk of harm, due to physical, mental, social, economic, or
environmental factors (e.g. elderly people, people with chronic illnesses or disabilities,
pregnant women)
Underserved populations =
These are groups that lack adequate access to basic services and resources (e.g.
healthcare, education, internet, safe housing).
Maatschappelijke last van healthy behaviours and chronic illness
○ Life Expectancy (LE) and Healthy Years
○ Life expectancy ≠ Healthy years
, DALY =
Disability Adjusted Life Years
○ This measures the total impact of disease by counting the years lost due to
illness or early death.
→ e.g. (no disability so YLD = 0)
One woman suddenly dies in childbirth
from postpartum haemorrhage at age 26,
when the ideal life expectancy is 86. She’s
lost 60 years of life. DALY is 60 years.
One child suddenly dies from malaria at
age 3, when the ideal life expectancy is 86.
So he lost 83 years of life. DALY is 83
For this town, the DALY is 143
DALYs calculation =
Years of life lost due to premature
mortality(voortijdige sterfte) (YLL) +
years lives with disability (YLD)
→ e.g. a woman has cancer for 3
years and she dies at the age of
65, the life expectancy is 86 → YLL
+ YLD = (86-65=21) + 3 = 24
GDP =
BBP = bruto binnenlands product =
totale toegevoegde waarde van alle
in een land geproduceerde
goederen
NCD (Non-Communicable
Disease) =
A disease that is not caused
by infections and cannot
spread from person to person
→ e.g. heart disease,
diabetes, cancer
Factors that threaten Life
Expectancy (LE) =
1. Eating habits
2. Smoking
3. Sleep
4. Substance abuse
5. Air quality
6. Genetics
, In developing countries =
Predominantly structural factors (child mortality rate, diseases, bad housing,
malnutrition)
In developed countries =
Predominantly lifestyle factors (smoking, eating habits)
○ Chronic conditions are responsible for ~86% of the total years live in
disability/illness (e.g. cancer, diabetes, etc.)
Medical services and pharmacological interventions are useful, but have limitations (3)
1. Financial costs
2. Adverse effects
3. Contraindications (reasons to avoid a treatment, medication, or procedure
because it could be harmful)
The role of communication and behavior science =
○ For people who are not ill and do not engage in unhealthy behavior
Prevention =
Prevent people from engaging in unhealthy behavior
→ e.g. try to create conditions to not starting to smoke
Promotion =
Promote healthy behavior
○ For people who are not ill and do engage in unhealthy behavior
→ Behavior change, though…
○ Education
○ Persuasion
○ For people who are ill
→ Empower and encourage
→ Managing their disease
In short → to tackle the problems of…
○ Not engaging in healthy behavior
○ Engaging in healthy behavior
○ Not adhering to medical treatments
…study the social-psychological causes of behavior, and investigate ways to influence behavior
for the better (e.g. through training, education, persuasion, etc.)
WEEK 2
Health communication cannot…
○ Effectively compensate for inadequate infrastructure/services
○ Work in absence of adequate policy, regulation, practice, and programs to support
desired behavior
○ Be equally effective in addressing all aspects of complex problems
