Advancing Health Communication Research through the KCHC-DCHC Conference Series

描述（由申请人提供）：此R13应用程序请求支持肯塔基州健康传播会议（KCHC）-哥伦比亚特区健康传播（DCHC）系列会议，该会议目前计划于2012年4月19日至21日举行第13次会议。年度KCHC-DCHC系列会议的总体目标是促进健康传播研究和实践，以提高我们对行为和传播科学的理解;这种先进的理解将通过转化研究，随后提高旨在促进健康和预防疾病的干预措施的有效性。该R13的具体目标是通过1）扩大传播增加KCHC-DCHC的影响; 2）增加早期职业研究人员和研究生的参与; 3）增加代表性不足的群体的参与;和4）继续强调学术卓越。在所有四个目标中，我们的目标是积极影响健康传播领域，并通过加强领先研究的传播和促进早期职业科学家的职业发展，特别是那些代表性不足的群体，来增加其影响力。我们对健康信息设计和传播的重视与美国国立卫生研究院（NIH）的使命有关，因为我们的目标是应用我们的知识“增强健康，延长寿命，减少疾病和残疾的负担”[1]。这一科学重点与美国政府的目标是一致的，美国政府在其《健康人》出版物中认识到沟通在促进我国健康和福祉方面的重要性。我们的会议系列的及时性特别体现在2012年会议的主题，健康素养研究与实践，一个主题，解决头号健康的人2020 [2]健康传播目标：健康素养。我们为期三天的国际跨学科会议涵盖了代表通信，社会，行为和健康科学的几个学科。在会议上讨论的主题包括为减少健康风险行为而设计的干预措施，如癌症，糖尿病，药物滥用和艾滋病毒/艾滋病;社区，媒体和技术相关问题;以及行为/社会科学研究的方法问题。这种以健康传播为重点的调查现在被认为是促进公共卫生的工具[3]。过去的会议平均出席人数约为200人。观众主要包括研究生，博士后和学术研究人员;我们强调研究生和早期职业科学家的参与。这种观众组成允许会议系列支持NIH的目标之一：“发展，维护和更新科学的人类...这将确保国家预防疾病的能力”[1]。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This R13 application requests support for the Kentucky Conference on Health Communication (KCHC)- District of Columbia Health Communication (DCHC) conference series, which currently is planning its 13th meeting to be held April 19-21, 2012. The overall goal of the annual KCHC-DCHC conference series is to promote health communication research and practice in order to advance our understanding of behavioral and communication science; such advanced understanding will, through translational research, subsequently enhance the effectiveness of interventions designed to promote health and prevent illness. The specific aims of this R13 are to increase the impact of KCHC-DCHC through 1) expanding dissemination; 2) increasing participation by early career researchers and graduate students; 3) increasing participation from underrepresented groups; and 4) continuing emphasis on scholarly excellence. Across all four aims, our goal is to positively influence the field of health communication and increase its impact by enhancing dissemination of leading research and promoting the career development of early career scientists, particularly those from underrepresented groups. Our emphasis on health message design and dissemination is relevant to the mission of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) given our goal to apply our knowledge "to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce the burdens of illness and disability" [1]. This scientific focus is consistent with the aims of the U.S. government, which has recognized the importance of communication in promoting the health and well-being of our nation in its Healthy People publications. The timeliness of our conference series is especially reflected by the theme the of 2012 conference, Health Literacy Research and Practice, a theme that addresses the number one Healthy People 2020 [2] health communication objective: health literacy. Our three- day international, interdisciplinary conference encompasses several disciplines representing communication, social, behavioral, and health sciences. Topics addressed at the conference include interventions designed for health risk behavior reduction in areas such as cancer, diabetes, substance abuse, and HIV/AIDS; community, media, and technology-related issues; and methodological issues in behavioral/social science research. Such health communication-focused inquiry is now recognized as instrumental in promoting public health [3]. Past conference attendance has averaged approximately 200 participants. The audience primarily includes graduate, postdoctoral, and academic faculty researchers; we emphasize participation by graduate students and early career scientists. This audience composition allows the conference series to support one of NIH's goals: "to develop, maintain, and renew scientific human...resources that will ensure the Nation's capability to prevent disease" [1].