The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines health communication “as the study and use of communication strategies to inform and influence decisions and actions to improve health.”

According to the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP), health communication is important to the health care system as a whole for myriad reasons, including the following:

• Improves the overall health literacy of a population
• Improves the quality of existing materials about health and wellness available to the public
• Increases the number of prevention and risk messages to prevent illness and increase life expectancy
• Changes social norms to be more health focused
• Increases the availability of hospitals and medical services
• Empowers positive change or health improvement for individuals and groups