Closing the Intention Health Behavior Gap

Communication involves the process of information exchange or even information, thoughts or ideas transfer from one individual to another. McFarland defines communication as the process that involves interactions between human beings that are meaningful. Specifically it’s the process through which understanding is achieved and meanings perceived among the human beings. Summer and Newman also defined communication as the process which involves the exchange of ideas, facts, emotions or opinions between people. (McFarland, 2014) According to Corcoran Communication plays a major role in ensuring improvement in health and it’s a process that is multidimensional and it’s affected by a variety of factors. Communication complaints are the 3rd most common issues that arise in the course of healthcare delivery. These complaints include poor attitude, inadequate information, misleading information and information that fails to accommodate the special needs of the patients.

According to the Australian Commission on safety and Quality Healthcare (ACH) complex healthcare information and concepts are poorly understood by almost 60% of the population therein. (Corcoran, 2007) To assist in ensuring that there is effective communication, health care providers ought to recognize how people are unfamiliar with information pertaining to health care and be able to address this issue based on a specific understanding of each patient. They should also adopt different strategies of communication to ensure smooth flow of information to the patient and also be able to provide information that is adequate for the patient and present it in a very compassionate manner. Messages conveyed through such signals were limited to space and they were used for conveying pre-arranged signals such as victory or danger.

Some systems that are non-verbal are highly sophisticated for instance the whistled language used in Canary Island by Gomerians to convey messages across the deep valleys. This form is well adapted to those living on the island however it is unable to send messages that are very accurate and this form of communication has remained indispensable. In the 6th BC, the ability of a government to send messages effectively indicated its power and ability to conquer in wars. For instance some archaeologists discovered that the during times of war communicating effectively with the battle men would cause more victory. In 1439 -1457 there was the development of western and Gutenberg printing and an impressive print out of a book were developed that was able to convey much information to the people.

This printing spread all over European a press was founded in Italy in 1464 and at the end of that century, there was the great establishment of the craft in each European kingdom. The rise of this printing press brought changes in communication as it was now easier to communicate by use of printed materials. From this printing press era there was an increased affinity and interest in mass communication and in 1525 this mass communication was largely embraced. (Narasimhan, 2011) The 17th century was mostly characterized by the development of newspapers and due to the 30 years' war in Europe, there was the creation of anxiety and eagerness to know the latest information. This has made communication more effective between all people globally. These mobile platforms have effected communication by creating a better connection with everyone via the mobile whereby even any information including diagnostic information can be shared via mobile platform.

Social media and social network has also emerged where people from all over the globe are able to connect via theses social platforms such as Facebook and they are able to communicate effectively in an n easy way. (Leontovich, 2014) Purpose of Communication The purpose of communication involves creation of awareness, building of consensus and trust. It also plays a role in education, influencing attitudes, perceptions and beliefs and it promotes actions and changes the behaviors of individuals. (Richard M. , 2010) Persuasion is an attempt which implicates that it can fail. It does not entail deliberate efforts to persuade but the persuader must have the intentions to change the behavior and attitudes. This is exemplified by example of how young children persuade their mothers to get milk.

It shows that in persuasion there is conscious attempts to influence the other party and being aware that persuade has high susceptibility to change mentally and this makes persuasion a social influence. The use of mobile phones have made this easy due to their pervasiveness and their availability at the right time and the right place. McGraa (2010) employed several strategies such as social strategies to improve the effectiveness of persuasion in text message communication. According to him people respond to text messages based on reciprocity, scarcity, consistency, authority consensus and liking and they are obligated to give back a favor after liking the message in the text message. (McGraa, 2010) The studies also showed that while text messages designed to influence persons to alter their behavior (snacking) and their attitudes towards health the changes mostly depend on whether the proper choice of the influence tactic was used on the right partaker.

Its therefore evident that for successful influence on behavior change by use of text messages the text messages should be more personalized and development of text messages to impart persuasion should be created using set of implications which will then be evaluated by experts and also considering the social influence factors. The aim of health communication is to change the people's attitudes, behavior, and knowledge that includes the perception risk, social norms influences, support services and the empowerment of the individuals and also improving the health conditions. In the design of health communication, there is a need to consider the overall aim of that intervention. There is also a need for understanding the population that is being targeted such that every content that is created will be highly relevant to that specific population.

The messages should be tailored to that channel for communication that is being used and also use of multiple communication and the media strategies will help in ensuring that there will be a broader and a greater reach. The target population should also be able to access the communication channels that are being used. (Ratzan, 2011). In the literature, studies have shown the impact of use of text messages where they function to inform, involve and entertain the receivers all participate in persuasive and informative action. These text messages also contain specialized information that pertains to concrete issues, topics and subject matters. Studies have showed that texts have temporary validity as the information is highly changeable and this makes their lifespan short.

Therefore to execute effective change the content in the message should be easily understood by those receiving it and it should convince them enough to change before the lifespan of the text can end by deletion. ("M-Theory of Communication: Search for Superstructure and Substructure Nature of Communication Including Models", 2013) Theories are very important in communication as it helps in the generation of different ideas that will be adopted. There are various theoretical models that help in the identification of the influences of the change in behavior and these are further selected and this is based upon what the medical practitioner will decide. The theory has a purpose of ensuring that there is a successful conveyance of information in between the audience that is being targeted and the health promoters.

This process is highly affected by various variables such as interrelationship between the audience and the communicator, the message, how the information is conveyed, the audiences' values, beliefs and attitudes (Corcoran, 2007). Theory, therefore, helps in the prediction of the impact of the information. Allen claimed that healthcare providers needed a special framework that will help them in making clear selections and justifiable choices. It also provides the basis for effective health care delivery. Example of this theory is the Elaboration likelihood model (ELM). This model was developed by John T. Caciopo and Richard Petty in the early 1980s. the patient should show interest to the health information and the subject matter and failure to understand the message will hinder a person from using this route effectively.

(Perbawaningsih, 2012) The other route is the peripheral route and here the receiver's involvement is low. There is no cognitive analysis of the subject matter in the text message and there is ambiguity as to whether the patient should disagree or agree to the health information provided. Eventually, persuasion to go along with the message will be from factors that are not related to the message while another look for an alternative in order to be fully persuaded. Text messages can either be instrumental or effective and this is based on how they affect the behavior of individuals. In the search for how to narrow the gap existing in health care Ratzan recommended the need for determining the effectiveness level of the different types of the social media and developing mechanisms to be used for monitoring reliability and quality of the healthcare information presented to the patient.

(Ratzan, 2009) According to a study done by Haupt, in 2016 there is a preference for the new technology of text messages communication, especially with the adolescent age group. This is based on the fact that adolescents make very few visits to the clinics to receive healthcare and thus use of text message to remind them of their dosage or even vaccine is highly effective. New technology methods such as e-mails, emails, phone and personal health records (PHR) can also be used. The study also showed that parents were willing to use electronic communications (text message and e-mail) for the sake of the healthcare of their adolescents. This peer-peer communication greatly affects health behavior through informational sharing, instrumental and emotional social support and also peer modeling (Ratzan, 2009).

Technology is, therefore, a powerful tool in promoting communication in the health sector and should be fully accommodated. References Bick, D. Communication, communication, communication. Midwifery, 26(4), 377-378.  Vestnik Volgogradskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta. Serija 2. Jazykoznanije, (5), 121-126. doi: 10. 15688/jvolsu2. Frontiers in Communication, 1. doi: 10. 3389/fcomm. 00008 Ratzan, S. 21st Century Opportunities in Health: E-health and Technology. G. Rethinking Risk: Prospective theory application in health message framing research. Journal of Health communication Perbawaningsih, Y. Menyoal Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) dan Teori Retorika.  Jurnal ILMU KOMUNIKASI, 9(1). Objectives of a Communications Program: The Report of Workshop No.  College Composition and Communication, 5(3), 106. doi: 10. 2307/354395 Boda, I. Lavinia Grumeza, Sarmatian Cemeteries from Banat F (Late 1ST - Early 5th Centuries AD). , Sanci, L. , Patton, G. , & Sawyer, S. Text message communication in primary care research: a randomized controlled trial.