Abstract

Health communication is an emerging field within the broader study of communication. Health communication occurs in various contexts; intrapersonal, interpersonal, small group, organisational, mass and public. This chapter focuses on and operationalises communication for health as interpersonal when occurring between healthcare provider and patient; small group among teams of healthcare professionals; within organisational settings such as hospitals, clinics or health promotion and education organisations and at mass or public level often involves the media. This chapter mostly addresses the interpersonal, organisational and mass contexts, because communication in these core appears to affect most of Africa’s population in relation to existing health needs.