Communicating Health: A Culture-centered Approach

The culture-centred approach offered in this book argues that communication theorizing ought to locate culture at the centre of the communication process such that the theories are contextually embedded and co-constructed through dialogue with the cultural participants. The discussions in the book situate health communication within local contexts by looking at identities, meanings and experiences of health among community members, and locating them in the realm of the structures that constitute health. The culturecentred approach foregrounds the voices of cultural members in the co-constructions of health risks and in the articulation of health problems facing communities. Ultimately, the book provides theoretical and practical suggestions for developing a culture-centred understanding of health communication processes.

M. Dutta, Associate Professor of Communication, Department of Communication, Purdue University