Communication Strategies and New Media Platforms: Exploring the Synergistic Potential of Health and Environmental Communication
Abstract
Environmental communication and health communication are often intertwined. The complex connections between health and environmental issues can be seen in groundwater pollution, natural resource extraction disasters, and myriad others. While these academic areas are often interconnected, strategies that attempt to influence attitudes and behaviors in one area are not often conveyed to the other. This commentary explores the synergistic potential of health and environmental communication by examining two new media strategies previously applied in health communication—the use of video games and the use of mobile devices for behavior change—and providing examples on how these strategies may be applied to environmental communication.
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Biographies
Jessica Fitts Willoughby is an assistant professor at The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University. Her research examines how media influences health, including how communication strategies can be used for health promotion.
Hollie Smith is an assistant professor at the University of Rhode Island Harrington School of Communication and Media. She studies the intersections of science, policy, and media as they relate to sustainability challenges in a variety of contexts.
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Article first published online: May 13, 2016
Issue published: August 2016
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Published online: May 13, 2016
Issue published: August 2016
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