Dr. Claudia Lampert, together with Prof. Dr. Eva Baumann and Dr. Bettina Fromm, has published an article in the handbook “Health Sciences”, which provides an overview of the field of health communication. The handbook is now in its 8th edition and is available for purchase here.
The article “Gesundheitskommunikation” [Health Communication] as well as the handbook “Gesundheitswissenschaften” [Health Sciences] are only available in German.
Abstract
Due to rapid developments in the communications and media industries, as well as the increasing presence of digital communication in professional and personal contexts, the importance of information and communication processes, and discourse dynamics related to health and illness, is growing. Consequently, the exchange of health-related information and communication between health experts, patients, and laypeople is increasingly taking place not only in direct conversation but also via the media. Mass media content and discourse on social networks offer different perspectives on health and illness. They serve as guides and sources of information and provide social and emotional support when facing health issues and limitations. Providers of health information, support, and counseling services; health and care services; and actors in education, social systems, and health profession training must therefore possess appropriate communication and mediation skills and an understanding of communication mechanisms and dynamics to act in a needs- and goal-oriented manner. This article introduces health communication as an important subject in health and communication sciences. It sketches the development of this dynamic, transdisciplinary field; identifies interfaces with other fields of research; presents selected theoretical approaches to health communication; and highlights various communication strategies for health promotion, along with their potential benefits and risks.
About the Handbook
Health sciences analyze the determinants of health and disease. From there, they develop strategies to improve the health of populations and their healthcare. Health sciences combine biomedical theories and methods with those from the social and behavioral sciences to accomplish this.
The Handbook of Health Sciences is a leading compendium, textbook, and reference work. It has contributed to establishing health sciences as an interdisciplinary field of teaching and research.
Claudia Lampert, Eva Baumann, and Bettina Fromm contributed an overview of health communication to the fifth edition of the handbook. This chapter has been thoroughly revised for the new edition.
Baumann, E.; Lampert, C.; Fromm, B. (2026): Gesundheitskommunikation [Health Communication]. In: Razum, O.; Kolip, P.; Mc Call, Timothy; Nowak, A. (eds.): Handbuch Gesundheitswissenschaften [Handbook Health Sciences]. 8th ed., pp. 499-530. Weinheim: Beltz, Juventa. https://www.beltz.de/fachmedien/sozialpaedagogik_soziale_arbeit/produkte/details/57647-handbuch-gesundheitswissenschaften.html