Online Program

Oral

Local neighborhoods and communities bear a large influence on residents’ health outcomes. While some of this influence can be attributed to structural and economic forces, social forces play a similarly important role. This panel focuses on communication as a fundamental social process through which such neighborhood effects on health are exerted. More than just a process through which information is transmitted to local residents, communication sculpts social norms and creates shared understandings and meanings. Communication bonds local residents to each other, creating social capital and collective efficacy. In this way, communication is a constitutive component that transforms neighborhoods from geographically-bound places to socially-bonded communities. As such, it is impossible to understand how place affects health without considering the influence of communication. This panel explores the ways in which communication affects the health of local communities and presents innovative approaches for using health communication and marketing to work with local communities and create opportunities for better health.

Session Objectives: Articulate the roles of communication in the formation and maintenance of health-related social norms. Describe how communication and social ties between residents, local organizations and local media can be leveraged to improve health within communities. Incorporate community- and place-based strategies into health communication and marketing interventions.

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH) , Masters Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES)