From the dynamics of interpersonal communication between health professionals and clients to global command-and-control during public health emergencies that cross international borders, the field of health communication bridges many disciplines and involves efforts from the micro to the macro. It involves navigating personal, cultural, and political complexities and an ability to distill complex technical science into quickly and easily understood terms for ready distribution by the mass media--or to an individual patient or to the parent of an ailing child.

Despite an abundance of textbooks, specialized monographs, and academic handbooks, this is the first encyclopedic reference work in this area, covering the breadth of theory and research on health communication, as well as their practical application.