ABSTRACT
Health communication is a central field of health prevention and health care. The field embraces any type of communication about health and illness that either occurs incidentally, for example in the transmission of health information via soap operas on television, or is initiated with the intention to inform or educate, promote health or prevent diseases. Health communication has been defined in various ways. Due to its broad scope it seems reasonable to define the area rather broadly. In the words of Jackson and Duffy (1998, p. ix-x), the “study of health communication focuses on the interaction of people involved in the health care process and the elucidation and dissemination of health-related information.”
