Positive Communication in Health and Wellness (Health Communication)

Inspired by recent work in positive psychology, Positive Communication in Health and Wellness gives scholarly attention to what’s going right in people’s communication lives. The book harnesses a dispersed – but powerful – body of communication scholarship that has at its center a focus on building healthy communication contexts and generating wellness. By organizing and representing contemporary communication scholarship in the area of positive communication in health and wellness, the essays in this book will inspire collective action and further scholarship that highlights the potential for flourishing health, enhanced well-being, and greater human fulfillment through positive communication. This book will be useful in health communication courses as well as those in relational and organizational communication.

Margaret J. Pitts (PhD in communication, Penn State) is Assistant Professor of Communication at the University of Arizona. She researches interpersonal communication patterns and processes during lifespan transitions such as ageing, end-of-life communication, and health/wellness decision-making. She has published in Health Communication, Journal of Applied Communication Research, and Journal of Language and Social Psychology.
Thomas J. Socha (PhD in communication, University of Iowa) is ODU University Professor of Communication at the Old Dominion University. He publishes extensively on communication and children, families, groups, and positive communication, and has coedited or coauthored 5 books. He was founding editor of the Journal of Family Communication, a recipient of a national research award, numerous teaching awards, and a national advising award.