This call for papers is for publication of a special issue of Connectist. It is combined with a call for submissions to a virtual conference on the same theme, which may precede publication.
Participants in the virtual conference on Health Communication will benefit from feedback and an opportunity to refine or develop work, prior to submission to the associated journal. Also, it will be a great opportunity to network with other researchers from different parts of the world to open a discussion on various emerging topics, compare practices in different communities, and develop research networks.
Successful submission to the journal does not depend upon participation in the conference, and nor does participation in the conference guarantee publication, but we aim that these two activities will support each other, and our participants, as they develop work for publication in the Connectist special issue
Health Communication
If you would like to be considered as a participant for the virtual conference, please submit a word document containing:
- title of the project
- author(s) name
- author(s) affiliation(s)
- author(s) organization(s)
- 500-word abstract.
Submission Deadline: September 22, 2024
Email submissions to connectist@istanbul.edu.tr
Notification of acceptance: October 27, 2024.
Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences is an open access, peer-reviewed and international journal, which has been indexed by ProQuest, EBSCO, Erihplus, TrDizin, DOAJ, SOBIAD and ranked Q4(WoS). There will not be a registration fee to attend the virtual conference or Article Processing Fee (APC) to publish in the journal. ConnectIST is published biannually and uses double-blind peer review for all articles it publishes.
CALL FOR PAPERS: ConnectIST Special Issue
"We are not just fighting the pandemic; we are fighting the infodemic"
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Health has perhaps become a fundamental issue that needs to be addressed together with many different concepts and developments than ever before. Within this requirement, basic concepts such as health communication and health literacy began to need to be evaluated with more up-to-date research and definitions. We see that the concept of communication, technology, cultural diversity, individualized tools and many other topics is prominently included in the evaluation of health-related issues. Traditional definitions need to be framed once again with current approaches, handled together with new concepts and even new definitions need to be put forward.
When we look at Health Communication, we see that it is a discipline that examines the health-related information exchange and interaction of individuals, societies and health professionals.
While this field covers topics such as the prevention and treatment of diseases and the promotion of healthy lifestyles; Health communication aims to understand and improve health-related communication processes by bringing together scientific, cultural and ethical dimensions.
Health communication is a discipline that has a wide scope and includes various communication areas. This scope includes health-related information exchange, health service communication, patient-relative communication, communication of health policies and other dimensions. Interactive and effective management of each area is important for health communication to be successful.
On the other hand, it also includes concepts such as transparency, empathy and cultural sensitivity, which are expected to be carefully maintained between people. It is also seen that it creates the basic values of health communication by encouraging effective communication between individuals.
Health literacy includes the ability to access correct information and services and to use this information and services in order to improve both one's own and the public's health. It also strengthens the correct use of resources, the creation of quality conditions in health services, and thus the individual's competence over his own health and public health to the extent that he can change his lifestyle. For quality healthcare, patients must first be able to describe their complaints accurately and describe the symptoms as they are.
Ideally, patients are expected to ask appropriate questions about the subject and understand medical recommendations and treatment instructions. Therefore, low levels of health literacy can negatively affect people's health and therefore their personal, social and cultural development. Indirectly, starting from the individual, it can also gain a social dimension. In this context, people need to be sufficiently health literate. In order to define the level of health literacy, the framework of health literacy is drawn by taking into account basic factors such as education, health and society.
The concepts of health communication and health literacy have become much more diverse, comprehensive and much more interdisciplinary with the new developments (pandemics, crises and the like), concepts (infodemic, disinformation and others) and especially technological developments (digital health, skin technologies and others) needs to be discussed together with transdisciplinary and intersectional approaches. In this regard, the aim of this issue is to present current approaches, discussions and research in the field within these dimensions and variables.
The issue of the journal aims to focus on eight central areas mainly related with health and communication/literacy can be seen below:
Health and human communication
Health and strategic aspects
Health and media
Health and technology
Health and communities
Health and patient-provider relations
Health and intercultural aspects
Health and emerging concepts
According to the defined central areas, topics stated below may work as a guidance for potential submissions but not limited with these are:
Health communication
Health literacy
Health campaigns
Health information
Infodemic
Digital addiction
Digital fatigue
Health and disinformation
Health and fake news
Health and risk communication
Health and crisis communication
Health and media literacy
Health and technology literacy
Health and visual literacy
Health and agenda setting
Health and public opinion
Health and new media
Health and communication technologies
Health and vulnerable groups
Health and behavior change
Health and public relations
Health and intercultural communication
Health and community engagement
Health and creative industries
Health and journalism