Florence Dujardin's List: health communication

Pedometers are increasingly used in physical activity research and health promotion initiatives. This pilot study examines the efficacy of pedometers as motivational tools for increasing daily physical activity and exploring the practical issues related to pedometer use in research and intervention studies. A mixed-method design is used to collect data on the level of activity and in-depth information about participants’ experiences wearing the pedometers. Participants are 10 midlife women between the ages of 45 and 64 (mean age = 52.9). Analysis indicates pedometers function as important motivational tools for increasing daily physical activity and improving the awareness of activity patterns for participants. Findings provide new insights into participants’ experiences using the pedometers and understanding how these devices function as research tools. Several important methodological considerations for future research and intervention designs using pedometers are discussed.

Since its inception in 2005, articles in Health Promotion Practice’s social marketing department have focused on describing social marketing’s unique contributions and the application of each to the practice of health promotion. This article provides a brief review of six unique features (marketing mix, consumer orientation, segmentation, exchange, competition, and continuous monitoring) and then presents two case studies—one on reducing stigma related to mental health and the other a large-scale campaign focused on increasing HIV testing among African American youth. The two successful case studies show that social marketing principles can be applied to a wide variety of topics among various population groups

While experts agree the U.S. recession is over, many employees feel that they are still being asked to do more work for less pay. This concept of less compensation for employees is not surprising, but no one has addressed how volunteers in organizations might also be affected by the economy. Are volunteers also expected to do more work for (literally) no monetary compensation? This case study explains how the duties asked of hospital volunteers are evolving and ends with a discussion of ethics relating to the volunteer descriptions used at a not-for-profit organization

Native Hawaiians have a high cancer burden, but few culturally targeted cancer education brochures exist. The authors followed a participatory four-step protocol, involving more than 200 health providers and clients, to develop and test culturally targeted brochures on skin, oral, cervical, prostate, and testicular cancers. The final products featured Hawaiian faces, scenes, words, and activities. They proved more attractive than existing materials, in particular to younger Hawaiians, and posttests suggested good comprehension of intended messages. This protocol may have application in other communities that want to develop brochures that are attractive, acceptable, readable, and useful to minority clients and their providers.

I added this article because it shows an example of an extremely detailed rhetorical analysis, and could be of interest to students working in the health sector.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, health communication is “the study and use of communication strategies to inform and influence individual and community decisions that enhance health.” The purpose of this article is to look at how health educators can use communication theory to create messages that are innovative, relatable, and motivating to intended audiences. Three specific communication theories are presented, along with examples of how they have been successfully used in behavior change initiatives. These three theories are offered in an effort to stimulate further investigation into how theory supports the creation of targeted, tailored, and effective communication strategies.

This paper describes a literature review, institutional audit and analysis of practice in the area of digital literacy provision, based on research across the UK Higher Education sector. It concludes that institutions need to place greater value on 'literacies of the digital', and better prepare their students and their own organizational processes to thrive in an age of digital knowledge practices. It extends the debate about individual entitlement and provision to ask whether digital literacy offers an opportunity for the academy to redefine its relationship to knowledge in society.