1/17/2018 1 COMM3313:  COMMUNICATION AND PUBLIC HEALTH Introduction: Putting Theory into Practice in Public Health THE HISTORY OF HEALTH COMMUNICATION AS A FIELD OF STUDY  Fields:  Interpersonal comm.  Sociology  psychology  Social Cognition  Social work  Topics of interests:  Provider‐patient comm.  Patient‐caregiver interactions  Social support  Social stigma  Information/uncertainty  management  Fields:   Organizational Comm.  Communication & Technology  Business  Management  Topics of interests:  HMOs  risk communication  Interdisciplinary health teams  Inter/intraorganizational communication in health  settings  Technology implementation Interpersonal Contexts Organizational Contexts THE HISTORY OF HEALTH COMMUNICATION AS A FIELD OF STUDY  Fields:  Persuasive communication  Interpersonal communication  Media studies  Public health  Social work  Topics of interests:  Behavioral Change  One‐time health behavior  Long‐term lifestyle change/ maintenance  Social Inequality  Policy, advocacy, & organizational changes  Interests in multi‐level interventions: individual, interpersonal, community, institutional,  policy levels Public Health: Health Education and Health Campaigns THE INCREASING INTERESTS IN PUBLIC HEALTH  Chronic illness as a long‐term life issues  Advancement in medicine  Identification of illnesses  Preventive care as standards of care  Vaccination  Genetic testing  Exercise  Awareness in cultural & environmental factors/concerns  Social stigma  Ethnic/racial/global health disparity HEALTH EDUCATION  Scope:  Individual’s behavior → System‐level concerns  Definitions:  Bringing about behavioral changes in individuals, groups, and  larger populations from behaviors that are presumed to be  detrimental to health, to behaviors that are conductive to  present and future health (Simonds, 1976)  Any combination of learning experiences designed to  facilitate voluntary adaptations of behavior conductive to  health (Green, 1990)  Emphasis:  Voluntary, informed behavior changes WHAT IS HEALTH BEHAVIOR?  Preventive health behavior  Any activity undertaken by an individual who believes  himself/herself to be healthy, for the purpose of preventing  or detecting illness in an asymptomatic state  Illness behavior  Any activity undertaken by an individual who perceives  himself/herself to be ill, to define the state of health, and to  discover a suitable remedy  Sick‐role behavior  Any activity undertaken by an individual who considers  himself/herself to be ill, for the purpose of getting well. 1/17/2018 2 PARSON’S SICK ROLE The sick person  is exempted from normal social role responsibilities  cannot get well by an act of decision or will  is obligated to get well  is obligated to seek technically competent help HEALTH EDUCATION  Health behavior is the central concern of health  education  Settings for HE: evolved from thr ...

1. 1/17/2018
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COMM3313:
COMMUNICATION AND PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduction: Putting Theory into Practice in Public Health
THE HISTORY OF HEALTH COMMUNICATION
AS A FIELD OF STUDY
comm.
Cognition
work
of interests:
comm.
interactions
support
stigma
management
Comm.
& Technology

2. of interests:
communication
health teams
communication in health
settings
implementation
Interpersonal Contexts Organizational Contexts
THE HISTORY OF HEALTH COMMUNICATION
AS A FIELD OF STUDY
communication
communication
studies
health
work
of interests:
Change
health behavior
lifestyle change/ maintenance
Inequality
advocacy, & organizational changes
Interests in multi‐level interventions: individual, interpersonal,
community, institutional,

3. policy levels
Public Health: Health Education and Health Campaigns
THE INCREASING INTERESTS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
illness as a long‐term life issues
in medicine
of illnesses
care as standards of care
testing
in cultural & environmental factors/concerns
stigma
health disparity
HEALTH EDUCATION
behavior → System‐level concerns
Bringing about behavioral changes in individuals, groups, and

4. larger populations from behaviors that are presumed to be
detrimental to health, to behaviors that are conductive to
present and future health (Simonds, 1976)
combination of learning experiences designed to
facilitate voluntary adaptations of behavior conductive to
health (Green, 1990)
informed behavior changes
WHAT IS HEALTH BEHAVIOR?
health behavior
activity undertaken by an individual who believes
himself/herself to be healthy, for the purpose of preventing
or detecting illness in an asymptomatic state
behavior
activity undertaken by an individual who perceives
himself/herself to be ill, to define the state of health, and to
discover a suitable remedy
behavior
activity undertaken by an individual who considers
himself/herself to be ill, for the purpose of getting well.
1/17/2018
2

5. PARSON’S SICK ROLE
The sick person
exempted from normal social role responsibilities
get well by an act of decision or will
obligated to get well
obligated to seek technically competent help
HEALTH EDUCATION
behavior is the central concern of health
education
for HE:
from three settings: communities, school, & patient ca
re sites
also include: workplace, consumer market place, homes
for HE:
individuals, groups, organizations who share similar characteris
tics:
or at‐risk status.

6. THEORY, RESEARCH & PRACTICE IN
HEALTH BEHAVIOR & HEALTH EDUCATION
in Health Education & Health Behavior (HEHB)
improves the health of society.
must be tested in the “real world” in order to
determine efficacy.
use of theories asses the impact of interventions.
WHAT IS THEORY?
set of interrelated concepts, definitions, and
propositions that present a systematic view of events or
situations by specifying relations among variables in
order to explain and predict events”
can only be used properly when they are filled
with practical topics, goals and problems.
CONCEPTS, CONSTRUCTS, & VARIABLES
building blocks of a theory.
the “building blocks” have been accepted for use in a
theory.
s:
operational forms of a construct, how a construct is
measured in a certain situation. Variables and constructs

7. should match when a theory evaluation is being performed.
PRINCIPLES AND MODELS
guidelines for action
road and non‐specific
on precedent or history
draw on a number of theories to help understand a
specific problem in a particular setting or context
1/17/2018
3
PARADIGM IN
HEALTH EDUCATION AND HEALTH BEHAVIOR
paradigm is a “basic schema the organizes our broadly
based view of something”
they include theory, application, and instrumentation and compr
ise
models that represent traditions of scientific research
Paradigm in HE & HB: logical positivism and logical empiricis

8. m
are related to:
1.
An emphasis on use of induction, feelings, sensory experiences
or
personal judgments
2. The view that deduction is the standard or verification or
confirmation of theory, so the theory must be tested through
empirical methods and observation.
INTERPERSONAL THEORIES OH HEALTH BEHAVIOR
for Exam 1
Belief Model (HBM)
Theory of Reasoned Action and the Theory of Planned
Behavior (TRA/TPB)
Transtheoretical Model (TTM)
theory recognizes that people in different
situations need different information and intervention
makes a good theory?
6 CRITERIA USED TO EVALUATE THEORY
Scope
How general is the theory? That is, how widely applicable is it?
iateness

9. Theories are often evaluated based upon how well their epistem
ological,
ontological, and axiological
assumptions relate to the issue or question being
explained.
value
The success of a theory may rest on how readily other researche
rs may continue
to do fruitful work in reaction or support.
Are the arguments internally consistent and are its predictions a
nd claims
derived logically from its assumptions? Many also require that t
heories be
falsifiable; that is, theories that present predictions that‐‐if they
prove to be
incorrect‐‐invalidate the theory.
Theory should provide the simplest possible (viable) explanatio
n for a
phenomenon. "Aha!" moment in which an explanation feels as if
it fits.

10. Theories, perhaps paradoxically, should not exist to the absolute
exclusion of
other theories. Theory should not be dogma.
THEORY AS POINTS OF VIEW
theory is not "true," or "false”, but rather better or
worse at explaining the causes of a particular event.
within the social sciences, we may find several
different theories that each explain a phenomenon in
useful ways. There is value in being able to use theories
as "lenses" through which you can understand
communication, and through which you can understand
the world together with other scholars.
OBJECTIVES OF COMM3313
why and how individuals adopt and/or
maintain health‐facilitating/compromising behaviors
about the specific variables/constructs of different
theories
hands‐on practice in designing and executing
health campaign that are based on theories of
behavioral change
Assignment 2 Discussion
Overview

11. You will participate in a discussion activity to the sick role
model to examine a specific illness (e.g., ADHD medication
addiction, opioid
addiction, diabetes, a broken leg, or the flu). In this exercise, I
would like you to be able to apply these four specific constructs
(i.e., two rights
and two obligations) of the Sick Role model to an actual illness
and generate a complex understanding of the phenomenon of
interest. You
may want to write your answers on a word processor before
posting the answers on the forum. Let’s get started.
Assignment Description
In the last few weeks, we have discussed how people with
addictions may face unique challenges seeking support from
their social network
and the larger society. In this assignment, we will watch a video
(i.e., a lecture) on Parsons’ Sick Role and develop a deeper,
structured
understanding of a person’s illness experience.
In our readings and lectures, we have carefully examined the
different constructs held by the three theories, exploring their
similarities and
differences. Please identify a real-life health campaign and
answer the following questions.
1. First, watch the lecture on Parsons’ Sick Role:
https://youtu.be/XzEZCJnwpC4
2. Second, identify the illness of your choice and explain why
the illness is a good fit for the analysis for Parsons’ Sick Role
model.*Using
an illness you have or familiar with may help you think through
the four constructs better.

12. 3. Using the four constructs in Parsons’ Sick Role Model (i.e.,
the two rights and two obligations) to explain how they may be
reflected or
experienced by a person with the illness of your choice.
4. Finally, based on what you have learned about the theory,
give a critical analysis reflection about the extent to which
Parsons’ Sick Role
Model is useful or not useful to understand the person’s illness
experience.
5. Word Count: I expect a word count of 800-1000.
Instructions
https://youtu.be/XzEZCJnwpC4
Submit posts by clicking the Add new discussion topic button
below.
Grading
This assignment is worth 15 points.
Discussion Board Rubric
Criteria Excellent Good Average Fair Poor
Content (10 points)
• Shares thoughts,
ideas, or opinions.
• Specific details are

13. offered to support
the views expressed
in the post (there is
evidence to show
this isn't just "off the
top of your head").
• Has a "So What?"
theme, lesson, or
specific point that
attracts the readers'
attention; it also
addresses all the
questions posed in
the exercise, but
goes beyond just
(8 points)
• Shares thoughts,
ideas, or opinions.
• Details are offered to
support the views
expressed in the post
(there is evidence to
show this isn't just
"off the top of your
head").
• Has a "So What?"
theme, or lesson;
addresses all
questions posed in

14. the exercise.
• Demonstrates
understanding of the
topic.
(6 points)
• Shares thoughts,
ideas, or opinions.
• The opening part of
the post introduces
the main point.
• Details are offered to
support views
expressed in the
post, but they may
be vague or the
connections are not
completely clear.
• Has a point; has
something to do with
questions posed.
(4 points)
• Shares a thought,
idea, or opinion.
• The opening part of
the post introduces

15. the main point.
• Limited details are
offered to support
the views expressed
in the comment.
• Point of post is
unclear; does not
relate to questions.
• Shows some
understanding of the
topic.
(0 points)
• Main point is not
clearly introduced.
• Lacks supporting
details.
• Point of post is
unclear; does not
relate to questions.
• Post does not reveal
an understanding of
the topic.
answering them to

16. reflect on larger
themes.
• Demonstrates
understanding of the
topic.
• Shows some
understanding of the
topic.
Style (5 points)
• Concise (4-5
paragraphs; each
paragraph 200
words) with a
specific focus.
• Opening grabs the
reader's attention
while introducing
the point of the post.
• Positive tone
engages the reader.
• Spelling,
punctuation, and
capitalization are
correct.
(4 points)

17. • Concise (2- 3
paragraphs; each
paragraph 250
words) with a
focus.
• Opening grabs the
reader's attention
while introducing
the point of the post,
but perhaps not as
strongly as the style
in an "A" posting.
• Positive tone
engages the reader.
• Spelling,
punctuation, and
capitalization are
largely correct.
(3 points)
• Entries are short (1-
2 paragraphs) with a
focus.
• Positive tone.
• Spelling,
punctuation, and
capitalization are

18. largely correct.
(2 points)
• Entries are short (1
paragraph) and may
or may not have a
focus.
• Positive tone.
• Spelling,
punctuation, and
capitalization have
mistakes.
(0 points)
• Entries are short (1
paragraph) and lack
focus.
• Tone may not be
appropriate.
• Spelling,
punctuation, and
capitalization
contain numerous
mistakes.
OverviewAssignment DescriptionInstructionsGrading