"This text illustrates the importance of effective communication in disease prevention and health promotion by building theory-based messages while being responsive to diverse audience needs. This book clearly explains core health communication principles and processes for designing effective messages for health communication interventions and campaigns while integrating perspectives from multiple areas including psychology, public health, and social marketing. Key features: &• theory-based message design links theory and practice by explaining how psychosocial theories of behaviour change can be used to design effective health communication messages &• audience-centered message design provides clarity on how diverse audiences' cultures, beliefs, barriers, and needs can be effectively addressed &• suggested further readings guide students through additional theory and research &• end-of-chapter discussion questions encourage critical thinking about the implication of each chapter on future theory, research, and practice relevant to health communication message design and evaluation "--Pubisher.

The first section covers theory-driven approaches and includes content and linguistic considerations, the role of fear in content, and using positive affect. Part II discusses audience-centered strategies and looks at the "America responds to AIDS" campaign and the cancer communication's "5 a day for better health" program. This comprehensive volume concludes with recent developments and policy and administrative practices for health message design

Brings the perspective of advertisers to the broader health communication world. The book gives straightforward overviews of relevant health communication theories, a discussion of principles of visual communication, and guidelines for plain language and clear communication.

This book is a must have for anyone designing or developing a campaign in health promotion or public health. It is the only textbook which takes the reader right through the planning, implementation and evaluation of a health communication campaign.

Leaflets, information sheets and written materials designed to influence people′s health-related behaviours often fail to achieve their aims. To improve such written materials we need to understand: (i) how people read and process information, (ii) how to design persuasive messages, (iii) how to make written text easy to use and (iv) how to change behaviour. Writing for Health Communication: An Evidence-Based Guide for Professionals is a practical guide to producing effective written materials. The book presents easy-to-understand, evidence-based guidance on providing information, presenting persuasive messages and promoting behaviour change. Topics include: - Message framing, - Use of fear appeals, - Tailoring messages, - Using graphics, - Behaviour change Each chapter is illustrated with examples - including both good and bad practice and covering a range of health topics. For students and professionals in healthcare, health psychology, health education and promotion, and public health, Writing for Health Communication: An Evidence-Based Guide for Professionals is an invaluable guide to best practice.

This work identifies successful tactics for mass media campaigns to convince people to obey doctors' orders. The emphasis is on substance abuse, but AIDS, smoking, teenage pregnancy, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, and seat belts are also considered.

This important collection presents a comparative synthesis of what works and what does not in mass media health campaigns. High priority is given to coverage of substance abuse prevention campaigns, but programmes on AIDS, smoking, teenage pregnancy, heart disease, Alzheimer's Disease and vehicle seat belt use are also reviewed. Designing Health Communication Campaigns deepens our understanding of how to design, implement and evaluate mass media campaigns by highlighting the contributions of media experts who add a human element to the various campaign experiences they describe.

Through the use of new technologies, researchers, and practitioners in health education and health communication can now provide health information and behavior change strategies that are customized based on the unique needs, interests, and concerns of different individuals. These tailored health messages can be highly effective in assisting individuals in understanding and responding to health concerns. In this volume, Matthew Kreuter, David Farrell, and their colleagues define the process of tailoring and describe its uses in health communication programs. They present a theoretical and public health rationale for tailoring and support their position with empirical evidence. They also lay out the steps involved in creating and delivering tailored health communication programs, which can then be applied in practice. Practitioners, researchers, and students in health communication, health psychology, public health, and related areas will find this book to be a vital and invaluable resource for improving communication about health issues.

Through the use of new technologies, researchers, and practitioners in health education and health communication can now provide health information and behavior change strategies that are customized based on the unique needs, interests, and concerns of different individuals. These tailored health messages can be highly effective in assisting individuals in understanding and responding to health concerns. In this volume, Matthew Kreuter, David Farrell, and their colleagues define the process of tailoring and describe its uses in health communication programs. They present a theoretical and public health rationale for tailoring and support their position with empirical evidence. They also lay out the steps involved in creating and delivering tailored health communication programs, which can then be applied in practice. Practitioners, researchers, and students in health communication, health psychology, public health, and related areas will find this book to be a vital and invaluable resource for improving communication about health issues.

We are what we eat. That old expression seems particularly poignant every time we have our blood drawn for a routine physical to check our cholesterol levels. And, it's not just what we eat that affects our health. Whole ranges of behaviors ultimately make a difference in how we feel and how we maintain our health. Lifestyle choices have enormous impact on our health and well being. But, how do we communicate the language of good health so that it is uniformly received-and accepted-by people from different cultures and backgrounds? Take, for example, the case of a 66 year old Latina. She has been told by her doctor that she should have a mammogram. But her sense of fatalism tells her that it is better not to know if anything is wrong. To know that something is wrong will cause her distress and this may well lead to even more health problems. Before she leaves her doctor's office she has decided not to have a mammogram-that is until her doctor points out that having a mammogram is a way to take care of herself so that she can continue to take care of her family. In this way, the decision to have a mammogram feels like a positive step. Public health communicators and health professionals face dilemmas like this every day. Speaking of Health looks at the challenges of delivering important messages to different audiences. Using case studies in the areas of diabetes, mammography, and mass communication campaigns, it examines the ways in which messages must be adapted to the unique informational needs of their audiences if they are to have any real impact. Speaking of Health looks at basic theories of communication and behavior change and focuses on where they apply and where they don't. By suggesting creative strategies and guidelines for speaking to diverse audiences now and in the future, the Institute of Medicine seeks to take health communication into the 21st century. In an age where we are inundated by multiple messages every day, this book will be a critical tool for all who are interested in communicating with diverse communities about health issues.