New Partnership of IRCAHC Leading to Book Connecting Eastern and Western Medical Perspectives
Eastern and Western medical knowledge can inform each other in the treatment of people in Asia across a wide range of health issues. A new book, Expanding Horizons in Health Communication: An Asian Perspective, brings together health communication scholars from diverse disciplines to present an innovative investigation of Eastern and Western perspectives on healthcare.
The book is the result of a partnership between the International Research Centre for the Advancement of Health Communication (IRCAHC) and the STEM Translational Communication Center (STCC) at the University of Florida. Prof Bernadette Watson, director of the IRCAHC, and Prof Janice Krieger, director of the STEM Center, edited the publication.
The book is the first of its kind in that it focuses exclusively on health communication research and clinical practice in Asia. The chapters present research from diverse geographic locations, methodologies, and theoretical frameworks to provide a portrait of the expanding horizons of healthcare in Asia. The authors use a range of analytic approaches that include traditional qualitative and quantitative methodologies, as well as cutting-edge computer diagnostics that digitally visualize health interactions across time.
“The goal of this book is to highlight the richness and diversity of health communication research and practice across the globe,” Krieger said. “The authors did an excellent job of describing the relationship between culture and communication practices to promote health and well-being. We hope this book will make a positive contribution to disseminating the vibrant health communication research being conducted in Asia.”