Health communication, as a theory and practice, includes rich dimensions at both a conceptual and methodological content level. In such a context, the ICH approach to research concentrates on the integration of contributions from human sciences and humanistic traditions (in particular, philosophy, linguistic and argumentation theory) with empirical analysis bound to social sciences, including social psychology, sociology and decision-making theories. The multidisciplinary research of the ICH warrants an excellent background for the idea of optimal health and supports conceptual and praxis-oriented dialogue with the different stakeholders involved in the health sector and in health promotion.
The Institute of Communication and Health trains researchers in the field of health communication through its doctoral program: pro*doc communication&health.
The ICH research concentrates on three main areas:
Health Professionals – Patient Communication explores the theory and practice of health communication in medical encounter with an attention for:
- Doctor – patient relationship, communication and argumentation
- Informed consent and decision-making
- Health literacy
- Self – management of chronic diseases
- Genetic counseling
Health and the Media focuses on effective message dissemination for health promotion, disease prevention and health-related messages transmitted through mediated channels. Within this area, we perform activities including:
- Content analysis of media messages
- Development and analysis of health promotion campaigns
- Risk communication and management
- Health advertising (in particular, Direct-to-Consumer-Advertising)
New Communication Technologies includes theoretical and empirical investigations on the use and impact of the internet as an instrument for health communication. In particular, we focus on:
- e-Health for patient education
- Online instruments for risk-assessment
- Online instruments for health information tailoring
- e-Learning for health professionals and students