Health Communication in India

Strategies and Digital Innovations
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-041-31838-5
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 306 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

India accounts for 20% of the global disease burden despite having only 17% of the world’s population, underscoring the critical need for effective health communication. This volume delves into how the world’s most populous democracy addresses health communication challenges across its vast linguistic, cultural, and socioeconomic diversity, offering vital insights for global health practitioners.

Organized into three sections, the book traces the evolution of health communication in India. The first section establishes theoretical foundations from psychology, sociology, and mass communication that shape Indian practices. The second examines specific diseases—cancer, tuberculosis, leprosy, and COVID-19—through traditional media such as print, broadcast, and film. The third explores cutting-edge digital advancements, including mHealth tools for primary health workers, artificial intelligence, and the growing challenge of health misinformation. Featuring contributions from national and international scholars, practitioners, journalists, NGO workers, and a bureaucrat, the book presents diverse perspectives. Case studies highlight innovative approaches like Positive Deviance for malnutrition, destigmatization campaigns for leprosy, and patient navigation systems that enhance provider-patient communication.

As India confronts persistent health inequities alongside notable achievements, this volume is essential for postgraduate students, researchers, practitioners, policymakers, journalists and government officials. This will be of interest to those in the fields of health communication, public health, digital health and technology, journalism, media studies, sociology of health and illness, and psychology.

Zielgruppe

Academic, Postgraduate, and Professional Reference

Autoren/Hrsg.

Narayanan, Shalini

Narayan, Sunetra Sen

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Stadt- und Regionalsoziologie
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften Interdisziplinär Regionalwissenschaften, Regionalstudien
• Medizin | Veterinärmedizin Medizin | Public Health | Pharmazie | Zahnmedizin Medizin, Gesundheitswesen Public Health, Gesundheitsmanagement, Gesundheitsökonomie, Gesundheitspolitik
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Regierungspolitik Umwelt- und Gesundheitspolitik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of figures. List of tables. List of contributors. Foreword Section 1: Theoretical Frameworks and Policy Dimensions 1. Introduction to Health Communication in India 2. Public Health in the Changing Media Scenario: Implications for health communication policy 3. Health Communication Strategy Approaches: Insights from a practitioner Section 2: Communicating Health: Legacy Media, Challenges and Change 4. Unearthing and Amplifying Hidden Possibilities: Positive Deviations for Health and Wellbeing 5. Health Journalism at a Crossroads 6. Public Service Broadcasting for Health: Television and Radio's significance in communicating health information in India 7. Tragedy and Resilience: A study on Hindi cinema’s caregivers and chronic health ailments 8. Effective Health Communication Strategies for Tuberculosis Prevention and Management 9. Patient Navigation: An Innovation in Patient-Provider Communication in India 10. Destigmatization of Leprosy: Participatory and other Approaches 11. Centre-staging behaviour change communication within health emergency management- Glimpses from COVID in India  Section 3: Digital Innovations and Emerging Challenges in Health Communication 12. Digital Health Communication: Enhancing Healthcare Outcomes 13. From Challenges to Solutions: Leveraging mobile technology in healthcare 14. Navigating Health Misinformation: Strategies for Identification and Combating Misinformation 15. Communicating Health in India: Harnessing the Power of Artificial Intelligence. Index.

Über Autor(innen)

Shalini Narayanan, D. Phil. is a former Indian Information Service officer with over 35 years of experience in the media and communication sector of which two decades were with the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. She has co-authored two significant titles: India Connected: Mapping the Impact of New Media (SAGE, 2016) and The WhatsApp India Story: Inside the Digital Maya Sphere (Routledge, 2024). Currently, she is serving as the course coordinator for the health communication module of the Master’s program in Patient Navigation at the Tata Memorial Centre.

Sunetra Sen Narayan, Ph.D, has over 35 years’ experience in communications. She was awarded a Doctorate in Mass Communications from the Pennsylvania State University, U.S.A. She is currently Professor, Indian Institute of Mass Communications where she serves as Head of the Department of Health Communications. She is the author of Globalisation and Television, a Study of the Indian Experience 1990-2010 (2014) Oxford University Press. She is the co-editor of India Connected: Mapping the Impact of New Media (2016) Sage Publications. She is the co-author of The WhatsApp India Story: Inside the Digital Maya Sphere (2024). Routledge.