Recognizing health communication as a crisis discipline:Taking health communication inquiry seriously

Yıl 2025, Sayı: 69, 152 - 158, 12.01.2026

Gary L. Kreps

https://doi.org/10.26650/CONNECTIST2025-256912

https://izlik.org/JA56RW93ET

Öz

This commentary article describes the crucial role of health communication research and education for improving the delivery of care and the promotion of health. While health communication research programs and publications have continued to grow rapidly over the past 50 years, this important work may not always be well designed and directed to be optimally useful for improving health outcomes. In this article I argue forcefully that future health communication inquiry should be intentionally conducted to examine and help resolve serious emergent societal challenges to effective health communication that are needed to guide evidence-based refinements in health care services to enable the best possible informed health decisions to achieve desired health outcomes. The engaged communication research approach recommended here is based upon the thesis presented in an important article by Cox (2007) describing how the field of environmental communication should develop as a “crisis discipline” to help solve serious challenges to environmental communication. I borrow and apply this insightful ‘crisis discipline’ phrase to describe the dire need to conduct health communication research purposefully and strategically to help improve health outcomes by refining health communication programs, policies, practices, and technologies. Ultimately, this article proposes that health communication scholars need to identify major current challenges to effective health communication, carefully study these issues, and use the relevant data collected in these studies to guide development, implementation, and evaluation of evidence-based interventions to help address and resolve the communication problems examined. In this way, health communication scholars can make important contributions to promoting public health and wellbeing.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Health communication , crisis discipline , engaged communication research , transdisciplinary translational research , evidence-based interventions

Kaynakça

• Cox, R. (2007). Nature's “crisis disciplines”: Does environmental communication have an ethical duty? Environmental communication, 1(1), 5-20. google scholar
• Kreps, G. L. (2023). The central role of relevant health information for promoting cancer prevention and control. Medical Research Archives, 11(2). google scholar
• Kreps, G.L. (2022). Addressing challenges to effectively disseminate relevant health information. World Medical and Health Policy, 14(2), DOI: 10.1002/wmh3.528 google scholar
• Kreps, G. L. (2020a). The value of health communication scholarship: New directions for health communication inquiry. International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 7(Suppl 1), S4. google scholar
• Kreps, G. L. (2020b). Engaged communication scholarship: The challenge to translate communication research into practice. The handbook of applied communication research, 93-102. google scholar
• Kreps, G. L. (2020c). Translating research into practice on a global scale: The Health Information National Trends Survey global research program. In D. S. Anderson (Ed.), Leadership in drug and alcohol abuse prevention: Insights from long-term advocates (pp. 235–238). Routledge. google scholar
• Kreps, G.L. (2017). Transdisciplinary health communication research across the continuum of care. In C. Lambert & M. Grimm (Eds.), Health communication as a transdisciplinary field (pp. 13-22). Baden Baden, Germany: Nomos Verlag. google scholar
• Kreps, G. L. (2012a). The evolution and advancement of health communication inquiry. In Communication yearbook 24 (pp. 231-253). Routledge. google scholar
• Kreps, G. L. (2012b). Health communication inquiry and health outcomes. Comunicação e Sociedade, 22. google scholar
• Kreps, G. L. (2012c). Translating health communication research into practice: The importance of implementing and sustaining evidence-based health communication interventions. Atlantic Journal of Communication, 20(1), 5-15. google scholar
• Kreps, G.L. (Ed.) (2010a). Health communication, Volume 1 (The Sage Benchmarks in Communication Series), Health communication in the delivery of health care. London: Sage Publications. google scholar
• Kreps, G.L. (Ed.) (2010b). Health communication, Volume 2 (The Sage Benchmarks in Communication Series), Health communication and health promotion. London: Sage Publications. google scholar
• Kreps, G.L. (Ed.) (2010c). Health communication, Volume 3 (The Sage Benchmarks in Communication Series), Health risk communication. London: Sage Publications. google scholar
• Kreps, G.L. (Ed.) (2010d). Health communication, Volume 4 (The Sage Benchmarks in Communication Series), Health communication and new information technologies (e-Health). London: Sage Publications. google scholar
• Kreps, G.L. (Ed.) (2010e). Health communication, Volume 5 (The Sage Benchmarks in Communication Series), Health communication and health care systems. London: Sage Publications. google scholar
• Kreps, G.L., & Neuhauser, L. (2015). Designing health information programs to promote the health and well-being of vulnerable populations: The benefits of evidence-based strategic health communication. In: C.A. Smith & A. Keselman (Eds.), Meeting health information needs outside of healthcare: Opportunities and challenges (pp. 3-17). Waltham, MA: Chandos Publishing. google scholar