Health Communication Settings

Understanding the full range of health communication settings helps put into perspective the systems notion of health and communication. Most of this site is dedicated to understanding the doctor-patient relationship. That kind of relationship is called an interpersonal relationship. As noted in the previous section on communication, the communication found in the physician-patient relationship emphasizes different goals from other kinds of health communication. However, there are other interpersonal relationships in the health care setting that make them important to consider. For instance, nurses, dentists, physical therapists, social workers, and other support staff in hospitals and offices communicate daily in order to accomplish their jobs.