The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #64042

Dabney P Evans, MPH, CHES¹, Jay Bernhardt, PhD², Melissa Shepherd, ABJ², and Paula Frew, MA, MPH³. (1) Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1525 Clifton Road, Office 108, Atlanta, GA 30322, 404-727-3061, devan01@sph.emory.edu, (2) Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Road, Office 524, Atlanta, GA 30322, (3) Behavioral Sciences & Health Education, Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, 1518 Clifton Road, Room 528, Atlanta, GA 30322

Health communication is the “crafting and delivery of messages and strategies based on consumer research, to promote the health of individuals and communities” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1996). This definition explains health communication as a process in which health educators and other health professionals develop health messages and disseminate them to the public. Increasingly health communication strategies are being used in public health program planning and evaluation. Yet there is a dearth of literature about health communication educational programs that have been specifically developed for practitioners to gain core competencies in this field. Even less has been written about standards and benchmarks for teaching health communication either in academic settings or as a part of continuing education efforts. The information presented in this session will provide an overview of the development and history of health communication as a part of public health efforts. Existing academic and continuing education programs in health communication will be presented including a description of course content, sequence and structure. Existing competencies and benchmark skills iterated by public health and communication professional organizations will be described. In addition, a model for the development of a set of public health communication competencies will be described with an opportunity for feedback from the participants.

Learning Objectives:

• By the end of the session participants will be able to:
• Describe existing training programs in the area of health communication;
• Critique the advantages and disadvantages of existing programs and standards; and Describe the need for the development of competencies for public health professionals in this area.

Keywords: Health Communications, Risk Communication

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.