Looking back at 2015

This has been a big year in global health communication, with the Ebola crisis, health equity, population health, climate change, social and technological innovation, cultural competence, as well as the role of communication in mobilizing communities, engaging patients, improving quality of care, bringing together different stakeholders in health and social issues, creating policy change, controlling risk, and/or strengthening health systems dominating much of the discussion. This is a year in which the field of health communication has emerged stronger, bolder, and much more difficult to ignore. Spanning across topics and country settings communication has been engaged with the process of changing behaviors and shifting rituals, social norms, organizational mindsets, and policies, while also reiterating the need for rigorous evaluation processes and measures of health communication interventions.

As a testimonial to the progress that our intersectoral and interconnected health communication community made this year, as well as our renewed emphasis on social and behavioral change as a key outcome of communication interventions, the first ever International Social and Behavior Change Communication Summit 2016: Elevating the Science and Art of SBCC (February 8–10, 2016) was announced in 2015.¹ Moreover, scientific sessions organized by the American Public Health Association (APHA) PHEHP Health Communication Working Group (HCWG),² a leading voice in the field of health communication, for the 2015 APHA Annual Meeting received a record number of 217 abstracts of which 110 were accepted as part of 18 scientific sessions all dedicated to current issues, strategies, and topics in health communication, social marketing, and media.³ Finally, a new Society for Health Communication was launched in 2015. ‘International. Interdisciplinary. Interactive. Interconnected.⁴’ is their slogan…just as health communication theory and practice is or should be…just as we regard our efforts with this Journal.

Covering topics from quality improvement to health disparities, health literacy, narrative health communication, risk communication, and more, the Journal’s top most read articles in the last 12 months reflect many of the big debates of 2015 (see list at http://www.maneyonline.com/action/showMostReadArticles?journalCode=cih). Among other topics, the most read articles ‘highlights the benefits of creating a culturally grounded narrative intervention, and underscores the powerful potential of narrative/storytelling in eliminating health disparities in the United States and around the world;⁵ or examines communication and procedural barriers to transgender health care and suggests practical steps to help ameliorate disparities and unequal treatment⁶’ among this ‘generally ill-served or underserved population⁵’; or discusses communication evaluation scales to simplify the process of selecting ‘an instrument to measure communication in intervention studies’;⁷ or provides insights on provider–patient communication in primary-care settings in the case patients show signs of distress as well as related implications for mental health interventions;⁸ or analyzes reported ‘information behaviors and information orientation’ among so-called information ‘seekers and avoiders’ to ‘facilitate the development of targeted health communication and information engagement’ approaches and to address communication inequities both offline and online.⁹

The list below features the top 10 most read papers we published in 2015 until now and purposely excludes from the list my own editorials, which touched upon future directions for the field of health communication, as well as strategies to address health disparities in clinical settings by focusing on population health and quality of care improvement,^10,11 among others.

(1)	Exploring the role of communications in quality improvement: A case study of the 1000 Lives Campaign in NHS Wales12

Recognizing the importance of communication in large-scale quality improvement (QI) interventions within clinical settings and the wider patient safety agenda, this case study features ‘the development, application, and impact of a communications strategy embedded in a large-scale QI initiative’ in the United Kingdom.¹²

(2)	The evolving concept of Health Literacy: New Directions for health literacy studies13

In the last decade, health literacy has emerged as an important determinant of health outcomes. This Commentary provides a brief overview of the evolving concept of health literacy and offers suggestions for future research directions. This includes considering a definition of health literacy ‘that shifts attention to the capacity of professionals and health institutions to support access to information and the active engagement of people’; concurrent assessment of the readability, accessibility, and usability of health information; and attentiveness to the communication skills of health professionals in addition to the literacy skills of individuals.¹³

(3)	Utilizing the Community Health Worker Model to communicate strategies for asthma self-management and self-advocacy among public housing residents14

This paper describes a year-long asthma intervention implemented in public housing by Community Health Workers, and discusses its effectiveness in improving asthma management, as well as lessons learned from the intervention. The paper provides useful insights in support of a community engagement approach to addressing health disparities with a specific focus on asthma disparities among non-Hispanic Black children who live in public housing settings in the United States.

(4)	Gender, health, and communication15

This Inside Commentary argues that the interconnectedness of communication, health, and gender should be always considered in health communication programing as it could improve program efficiency, coverage, and gender equity. A gender-based approach to public health communication, the author writes, should consider ‘ways in which gender influences health needs and concerns, as well as how women perceive and act upon health messages, and access to and control over health communication.¹⁵’

(5)	Better measures needed on the impact of health communication16

Examining communication in the publicly funded healthcare setting of the National Health Service, this Inside Commentary calls for increasing the awareness of the impact that communication – ‘the root of shared clinical decision making, of care planning, of person-centred care¹⁶’ – can have over clinical and quality-of-life outcomes. Suggestions offered include creating mechanisms to measure the health and financial outcome of communication, and understanding patients’ non-clinical needs and restructuring interventions around both clinical and non-clinical needs.

(6)	Making sense of communication interventions in public health emergencies – an evaluation framework for risk communication17

This paper proposes a new evaluation framework for risk communication that builds ‘on an understanding of risk communication as an interactive, holistic, continuous and engaging activity that focuses on dialogue, intelligence gathering, building relationships over time with a knowledge base informed by new and accessible communication technologies and supportive environments.’ Given the prominence risk communication interventions have been assuming after the recent Ebola crisis, this paper has implications for both future research and practice.

(7)	The myth of linear discovery: A call for cross-discipline exploration in our research and careers18

This Guest Editorial seeks to dispel the prevailing idea that professional growth is primarily the result of linear planning, suggesting, instead, that ‘we must intentionally expose ourselves to new people, fields, and ideas. If we do not, our innovation falters, our creativity rusts, and our activities become rote.’ It also offers suggestions for cross-disciplinary and professional exploration, which is a very relevant topic in health communication and beyond.

(8)	The Impact of Teach-Back on Comprehension of Discharge Instructions and Satisfaction among Emergency Patients with Limited Health Literacy: A Randomized, Controlled Study19

This article evaluates the effectiveness of teach-back (defined as when ‘a patient is prompted to ‘teach back’ to a provider the information conveyed and receive clarifying feedback’) in improving the ‘comprehension and perceived comprehension of discharge instructions and satisfaction among patients with limited health literacy (LHL) in the Emergency Department (ED)’ via a randomized, controlled study of adult patients. The article has implications for provider–patient communication especially in low health literacy and underserved settings.

(9)	Making Healthcare Reform Matter to American Patients20

This Inside Commentary starts by discussing current public understanding and perception of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and segues into the role of patients in becoming drivers of change, asserting that ‘better focus on patient needs and engagement can and should help shape future communications and the overall direction of healthcare reform.’ The Commentary also includes recommendations for potential solutions to improve patient engagement as well as key communication processes on the ACA.

(10)	Effect of Combining Attribute and Goal Framing within Messages to Change Vaccination Behavior21

Research on public acceptance of vaccination recommendations is critical in promoting public health as ‘criticism of vaccines and media portrayals of potential side effects of vaccinations have increased while voluntary vaccination rates have decreased.’ This paper looks at how message framing – presentation of information in a positive or negative light – alters parental attitudes and response to health messages, therefore encouraging immunization practices.

This issue and beyond…

Focusing on many current health communication topics, this issue of the Journal also includes a special themed section on digital health, which was developed in collaboration with our esteemed editorial board member, Dr Thanakorn Jirasevijinda (T.J.) from the Weill Medical College of Cornell University. As part of this section, Dr Jirasevijinda also authored the Inside Commentary on strategies to help patients navigate health information technology. Our heartfelt thanks go to Dr Jirasevijinda as well as to Dr Sandra Yingling from New York University School of Medicine for participating in an interview on Using Digital Health Tools for Innovation in Medical Education. Given the rapid pace of innovation and the ever-increasing importance of digital media in global health communication, this is a topic we are interested in continuing to explore in our Journal, so we invite you all to submit relevant articles in 2016!

Other papers in this issue provide insights on very diverse topics including socioeconomic and socio-ecological determinants of AIDS stigma and the mediating role of AIDS knowledge and media use; health communication and rhetorical challenges for the anti-smoking policy in Russia; and the design and evaluation of pictographs illustrating patient discharge instructions. Together, the articles in this issue offer our readers global as well as local perspectives, information, and data from and/or about different countries, including the United States, Russia, Belgium, and Ethiopia.

Our increasing global focus also reflects the diversity of our editorial board that, as of 2015, enlists esteemed colleagues from Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Rwanda, South Africa, The Netherlands, Trinidad, United Kingdom, and the United States, among others. We are grateful to you all!

This issue also makes official our transition to the Taylor & Francis Group, which as many of you may already know, recently acquired Maney Publishing. We are excited about becoming part of the Taylor & Francis publishing family and look forward to continuing to grow the influence and relevance of our Journal, thanks to the input and contributions of our community – our readers, authors, editorial board members, and expert reviewers. We look forward to working with you all in 2016! Warm wishes for the holiday season and for a healthy, joyful, and successful 2016! Thank you for your support in 2015!