Research on Health Communication

An overview. In the last two decades, health communication has surfaced as a field of applied communication research that examines the influence of human communication on the delivery of health care to individuals (Arnston, 1985; Kreps, 1989; Thompson, 1984, 1994). According to leading health communication scholar Gary Kreps, health communication inquiry "is usually problem-based, focusing on identifying, examining, and solving health care and health promotion problems" (Kreps, 1999, p. 2). Communication is an important part of the process through which health care is delivered and public health issues are promoted. One aspect of health communication research is the study of the role of interpersonal communication in developing an effective health care provider-patient relationship (Thompson, 1994). This research has given considerable attention to communicative aspects of health care and clearly shows that the interpersonal communication between health care providers and consumers plays a significant role in health care delivery (e.g., Beisecker, 1990; Hall, Roter & Katz, 1988; Korsch, 1989; Pendleton, 1983; Pettegrew & Logan, 1987; Roter, 1989; Roter, Hall & Katz, 1988; Thompson, 1994; Waitzkin, 1984). Health communication research, then, can help generate knowledge about the complex influences of human interaction on health and health care and provide insights into other areas of communication study. What should you understand first about health communication?