ABSTRACT
Health public relations is defi ned for this chapter as the strategic planning, implementation, and evaluation of communication tactics for purposes of infl uencing health attitudes, knowledge, behaviors, and decision making. While typically the practice of public relations is constrained within an organizational domain, Bardhan (2002) asserted that today’s global health arena has reconstituted health public relations as any planned communicative action that aims to develop mutually benefi cial relationships between multiple stakeholders (p. 224). Some relevant stakeholders include national governments, international health organizations, pharmaceutical companies, activist groups, health service facilities, people living with a health risk or disease, and family and friends.
