Understanding Communication

in Public Health
M. Ali Sodik, MA
 Understanding Communication in
Public Health
THE NATURE OF COMMUNICATION

COMMUNICATION SOURCES

COMPONENTS OF COMMUNICATION

CHANNEL TYPES AND CHARACTERISTICS

THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS

BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

APPROACHES TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

 THE NATURE OF COMMUNICATION
Communication involves the transfer of
information from a human sender to a human
receiver, for the purpose of increasing the
receivers knowledge, enabling him to carry out
tasks, or influencing his attitudes and behavior.
 THE NATURE OF COMMUNICATION
Health communication can be used to:
Initiate actions
Make known needs and requirements
Exchange information, ideas, attitudes or
beliefs
Establish understanding
Establish and maintain relations
 COMMUNICATION SOURCES
Communication can be generated by a wide variety
of sources, and the source is often critical to the
acceptability of the message.
1. Informal Sources
2. Formal Sources
3. Impersonal Sources

Whatever the source, the effectiveness of a message

depends to a large extent on the audiences perception of
the source. Perception is critical since perceptions rather
than reality may determine the manner in which the
message is received. The communicators job is to control
and determine the audiences perceptions.
COMPONENTS OF COMMUNICATION
Communication involves a number of components
each of which is critical for a successful
communication effort
1. Context
The context is a consideration in the examination of any
communication event. The context or environment is the
situation in which the communication occurs and
includes the physical context, social context, number of
people involved, relationship of participants, surrounding
events, culture, rituals, and noise
COMPONENTS OF COMMUNICATION
2. Message
In the communication field, a message represents
information that is sent from a source to a receiver.
The message includes any thought or idea expressed
briefly in a plain or secret language prepared in a
form suitable for transmission by any means of
communication. The message is the explanation,
response, set of instructions, or recommendations
that help accomplish the aim of the communication
process.
COMPONENTS OF COMMUNICATION
3. Channels
Communication occurs through a specific channel or
channels. Channels are also referred to as the
medium, hence references to mass media or to
the media as a collective term for journalists
working in any form of mass media.
COMPONENTS OF COMMUNICATION
4. Timing
People use the expression: Timing is everything,
and that applies especially to communication. Timing
can be thought of in a variety of ways. In a
mechanical sense, timing could refer to the day of
the week or time of the day at which communication
occurs.
 CHANNEL TYPES AND CHARACTERISTICS

Although informal channels are certainly an

important consideration in the study of health
communication, this section will focus on formal
channels. Formal channels can be categorized in
terms of the level at which they are focused.
They involve communication at the
interpersonal, small group, organizational,
community, and mass media levels. Each of these
will be discussed in turn
 CHANNEL TYPES AND CHARACTERISTICS

1. Interpersonal channels

2. Organizational and community channels

3. Mass media channels

 THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS

A number of communication models have

been developed for application to marketing, and
Berkowitz (1996) has adopted one of these for
healthcare.
While Berkowitz focuses on marketing
communication, this model can be readily applied
to health communication. An understanding of each
of these nine components is important for effective
communication.
 THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS

1. The sender is the party sending the message to

another party. Also referred to as the communicator
or the source, the sender is the who of the process
and takes the form of a person, company or
spokesperson for someone else.
2. The message refers to the combination of symbols
and words that the sender wishes to transmit to the
receiver. This would be considered the what of the
process and indicates the content that the sender
wants to convey.
 THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS

3. Encoding refers to the process of translating the

meaning to be transmitted into symbolic form
(words, signs, sounds, etc.). At this point a
concept is converted into something
transmittable.
4. The channel refers to the means used to deliver
a marketing message from sender to receiver.
This indicates the how of the process or what
connects the sender to the receiver.
 THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS

5. The receiver is the party who receives the

message, also known as the audience or the
destination. It is the receiver toward whom the
communication effort is directed.
6. Decoding refers to the process carried out by
the receiver when he converts the symbols
transmitted by the sender into a form that
makes sense to him. This process assumes that
the receiver is using the same basis for decoding
that the sender used for encoding.
 THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS

7. The response refers to the reaction of the

receiver to the message. This is the point at
which the effect of the message is gauged, and
relates to the meaning that the receiver attaches
to it.
8. Feedback refers to the aspect of the receivers
response that the receiver communicates back
to the sender. The type of feedback will depend
on the channel, and the effectiveness of the
effort is gauged in terms of the feedback.
 THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS

9. Noise refers to any factor that prevents the

decoding of a message by the receiver in the
way intended by the sender. Noise can be
generated by the sender, the receiver, the
message, the channel, the environment and
so forth.
 BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

The communication process could be unsuccessful for

any number of reasons.
Factors that might influence this process include selective
attention on the part of the receiver, selective distortion on the
part of the receiver (e.g., changing the message to fit
preconceptions),
Selective recall whereby the receiver only absorbs part of
the message, and message rehearsal whereby the receiver is
reminded by the message of related issues that tend to distract
the receiver from the point of the message.
APPROACHES TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Communications experts indicate that effective

communications requires certain attributes.
The communication must contain value for the receiver,
be meaningful, relevant and understandable, and capable of
being transmitted in a few seconds.
Further, the communication must lend itself to visual
presentation if possible, be relevant to the lives of real
people, and stimulate the receiver emotionally.
It is also important that the communication be
interesting, entertaining and stimulating.
APPROACHES TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Research indicates that effective health promotion and

communication initiatives adopt an audience-centered
perspective, with promotion and communication
activities reflecting audiences preferred formats,
channels, and contexts.

These considerations are particularly relevant for racial

and ethnic populations, who may have different
languages and sources of information.
APPROACHES TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

In these cases, public education campaigns must be

conceptualized and developed by individuals with specific
knowledge of the cultural characteristics, media habits, and
language preferences of intended audiences.
Direct translation of health information or health
promotion materials should be avoided. Credible channels of
communication need to be identified for each major group.
Television and radio channels serving specific racial and
ethnic populations can be effective means of delivering health
messages when care is taken to account for the language,
culture, and socioeconomic situations of the intended
audiences.