Health Communication

“My excitement for this book cannot be overstated. As our society more fully grapples with the complexities of health communication laid bare during the COVID-19 pandemic, and students from all disciplines want to become more knowledgeable about issues of health communication, this text will provide a solid, informed, and sensitive look at our field. This book, which nicely incorporates both the breadth and depth of our field, will serve as a useful resource for faculty teaching upper level health communication classes to students from all backgrounds. It is one that not only mentions but also deeply and actively grapples with issues of diversity, discrimination, medical ethics, and access issues across its fifteen chapters. Nowhere is this more clear than in the inclusion of the Montgomery family story, a companion narrative to accompany the textbook chapters that will be a phenomenal pedagogical feature for engaging with undergraduates. I look forward to adopting this book the next time I teach health communication.”

Katharine J. Head, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, USA

“I have been using the first edition of this book since it was published, and I am eager to adopt the second edition, Health Communication: Research and Practice for a Diverse and Changing World. Health communication is a diverse, dynamic, and rapidly developing field of study. To capture the many facets of our field and translate them within a context of higher education is no small feat. Having thoroughly reviewed this second edition, I believe that Drs. Nancy Harrington and Rachael Record have developed a textbook that will accomplish that feat. One of the ways the authors address the conundrum of competing against material that becomes rapidly outdated is to center chapters within more overarching theoretical approaches, which are then supported by individual research studies. For example, I may be biased as a scholar of technology and media adoption, but nothing seems to lose its shelf life quite so quickly as “new” communication technology research, unless the research is well supported theoretically. Thus, although media consumption, technology use, broadband access, etc. are deeply interwoven with health and communication, chapters about these topics (e.g., “new technologies in health communication,” “internet and eHealth”) quickly become outdated. The authors have addressed this issue in multiple ways, for example, focusing on health information seeking (online and offline), which will ensure usability for many years to come. Finally, Health Communication: Research and Practice for a Diverse and Changing World follows the lead of the subtitle change. In the second edition authors both add and reorder information to prime readers to think about how others may experience health and engaged a strategy that I hope will help those of us who adopt this textbook to inspire discussion and action that will achieve each decade of the U.S. government’s Healthy People goals – “improve the health and well-being of people.” All people.”

Kate Magsamen-Conrad, The University of Iowa, USA

“Health Communication: Research and Practice for a Diverse and Changing World, piloted in my 300-level Introduction to Health Communication course, was very well received by a large and diverse group of students ranging from communication to kinesiology majors. The students particularly appreciated the relevant and timely content, health justice-based case studies, and the narrative flow of the text. I am confident and excited about utilizing this textbook as a resource for my future classes.”

Rati Kumar, San Diego State University, USA