In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the role of argumentation in the health care domain. Argumentation and Health is a collection of essays by argumentation theorists reflecting on the way in which the institutional context of health care shapes the argumentative interaction. The volume provides for the first time an overview of the most important recent developments and achievements of the study of argumentation in medical and public oriented health communication. In Argumentation and Health , attention is paid to argumentation in different forms of health communication, such as the medical consultation, direct-to-consumer drug advertising, health brochures and health risk communication. This book is of interest to argumentation theorists, (health) communication scholars, healthcare practitioners, students of medicine and health-related fields, and all other researchers and practitioners interested in the function and characteristics of argumentation in health communication. Originally published in Journal of Argumentation in Context, Vol. 1:1 (2012).

Contrary to popular opinion, one of the main problems in providing uniformly excellent health care is not lack of money but lack of knowledge -- on the part of both doctors and patients. The studies in this book show that many doctors and most patients do not understand the available medical evidence. Both patients and doctors are "risk illiterate" -- frequently unable to tell the difference between actual risk and relative risk. Further, unwarranted disparity in treatment decisions is the rule rather than the exception in the United States and Europe. All of this contributes to much wasted spending in health care. The contributors to Better Doctors, Better Patients, Better Decisions investigate the roots of the problem, from the emphasis in medical research on technology and blockbuster drugs to the lack of education for both doctors and patients. They call for a new, more enlightened health care, with better medical education, journals that report study outcomes completely and transparently, and patients in control of their personal medical records, not afraid of statistics but able to use them to make informed decisions about their treatments.

Now in its fifth edition, Communicating About Health: Current Issues and Perspectives continues to live up to its long-standing reputation as the most dynamic and current exploration of health communication on the market. The book offers rich, current research and in-depth analysis of thecultural, social, and organizational issues that influence health communication and health advocacy.Communicating About Health is an indispensable resource for readers seeking to improve their communication abilities in fields related to health. This text explores health communication through the eyes of patients, care providers, health care leaders, campaign designers, and more. Readers willlearn how culture, media, personal identity, technology, social networks, and other factors contribute to health and healing.

Rethinking Culture in Health Communication An interdisciplinary overview of health communication using a cultural lens--uniquely focused on social interactions in health contexts Patients, health professionals, and policymakers embody cultural constructs that impact healthcare processes. Rethinking Culture in Health Communication explores the ways in which culture influences healthcare, introducing new approaches to understanding social relationships and health policies as a dynamic process involving cultural values, expectations, motivations, and behavioral patterns. This innovative textbook integrates theories and practices in health communication, public health, and medicine to help students relate fundamental concepts to their personal experiences and develop an awareness of how all individuals and groups are shaped by culture. The authors present a foundational framework explaining how cultures can be understood from four perspectives--Magic Consciousness, Mythic Connection, Perspectival Thinking, and Integral Fusion--to examine existing theories, social norms, and clinical practices in health-related contexts. Detailed yet accessible chapters discuss culture and health behaviors, interpersonal communication, minority health and healthcare delivery, cultural consciousness, social interactions, sociopolitical structure, and more. The text features examples of how culture can create challenges in access, process, and outcomes of healthcare services and includes scenarios in which individuals and institutions hold different or incompatible ethical views. The text also illustrates how cultural perspectives can shape the theoretical concepts emerged in caregiver-patient communication, provider-patient interactions, social policies, public health interventions, and other real-life settings. Written by two leading health communication scholars, this textbook: Highlights the sociocultural, interprofessional, clinical, and ethical aspects of health communication Explores the intersections of social relationships, cultural tendencies, and health theories and behaviors Examines the various forms, functions, and meanings of health, illness, and healthcare in a range of cultural contexts Discusses how cultural elements in social interactions are essential to successful health interventions Includes foundational overviews of health communication and of culture in health-related fields Discusses culture in health administration, moral values in social policies, and ethics in medical development Incorporates various aspects and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic as a cultural phenomenon through the lens of health communication Rethinking Culture in Health Communication is an ideal textbook for courses in health communication, particularly those focused on interpersonal communication, as well as in cross-cultural communication, cultural phenomenology, medical sociology, social work, public health, and other health-related fields.