Identifying the Field of Health Communication

This empirical investigation addresses four paradigmatically framed research questions to illuminate the epistemological status of the field of health communication, systematically addressing the limitations of existing disciplinary introspections. A content analysis of published health communicatio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of health communication 2015-05, Vol.20 (5), p.521-530
Main Authors: Hannawa, Annegret F., García-Jiménez, Leonarda, Candrian, Carey, Rossmann, Constanze, Schulz, Peter J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Collaboration
Communication
Communication research
Content analysis
Empirical Research
Epistemology
Health
Health behavior
Health Communication
Health technology assessment
Humans
Knowledge
Paradigms
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Summary:This empirical investigation addresses four paradigmatically framed research questions to illuminate the epistemological status of the field of health communication, systematically addressing the limitations of existing disciplinary introspections. A content analysis of published health communication research indicated that the millennium marked a new stage of health communication research with a visible shift onto macro-level communication of health information among nonhealth professionals. The analysis also revealed the emergence of a paradigm around this particular topic area, with its contributing scholars predominantly sharing postpositivistic thought traditions and cross-sectional survey-analytic methodologies. More interdisciplinary collaborations and meta-theoretical assessments are needed to facilitate a continued growth of this evolving paradigm, which may advance health communication scholars in their search for a disciplinary identity.
ISSN:1081-0730
1087-0415
DOI:10.1080/10810730.2014.999891