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HealthComm KEY is a database of health communication literature,
focusing on communication research and practice in the context of public health.
The database, developed by CDC's Office of Communication, is designed for
researchers and program staff within CDC, and also for professionals, students,
and others outside of CDC who are interested in health communication. |
HealthComm KEY contains comprehensive summaries of more
than 200 articles. The articles selected for the database focus on public health
interventions that have communication as a major component.
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What is in the HealthComm KEY
database?
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The database contains comprehensive summaries of more than 200 articles
about health communication research and practice. Articles selected for the
database were published between 1986 and 1996 and describe U.S.-based
public health interventions that have communication as a major component.
Articles summarized in HealthComm KEY describe programs consistent with the
CDC definition that health communication is "the study and use of
communication strategies to inform and influence individual and community
decisions that enhance health." The programs described may be primarily
health communication interventions or multi-component programs that include
health communication. Purely theoretical articles or articles that describe
meta-analytic studies are not included in HealthComm KEY. (The Additional Sources of Information section lists
many excellent references in these areas.)
Articles are drawn from a variety of health communication, public health,
health education, and other journals including American Journal of Health
Promotion, American Journal of Public Health, Health Communication, Health
Education Quarterly, Journal of School Health, and Public Health
Reports.
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How are articles summarized for the
HealthComm KEY database?
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HealthComm KEY contains comprehensive summaries of journal
articles. The summaries highlight the following information from each article:
- Health risk or disease topic addressed
- Health behavior targeted
- Broader population to which study results may be generalized
- Specific target audience
- Setting or context of the intervention
- Communication medium or channel used
- Source of communication messages
- Theoretical basis of the intervention
- Intervention objectives
- Intervention methods used
- Length of the intervention
- Research design used
- Size and characteristics of the sample
- Formative research methods used
- Summative evaluation methods used
- Results of the study, including qualitative and quantitative results
- List of any related articles
- Contact information for the lead author
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