The Role of Culture in Health Communication Flashcards

Flashcards covering the key definitions, theoretical models, and strategies regarding the influence of culture on health communication as discussed by Kreuter and McClure.

Culture

A learned, shared, and intergenerationally transmitted complex system of meaning reflected in a group’s values, beliefs, norms, practices, patterns of communication, and social regularities.

Audience segmentation

The process of partitioning large and heterogeneous populations into smaller, more homogeneous subgroups based on demographic, behavioral, psychosocial, geographic, and risk-factor characteristics.

Targeted communication

A comprehensive communication approach that involves the use of a single, multifaceted approach for all members of a specific audience segment.

McGuire’s communication/persuasion model

A planning framework identifying five input variables—source, message, channel, receiver, and destination—that influence communication effectiveness.

Source credibility

A source factor defined by two primary dimensions: expertise and trustworthiness.

Demographic similarity

Likeness between source and receiver based on variables like age, race, sex, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status; also known as structural similarity or group membership.

Attitudinal similarity

Perceptions of shared interests, feelings, opinions, values, or beliefs between the source and the receiver.

The Witness Project®

A program in rural Arkansas designed to promote cancer screening among low-income African-American women using local cancer survivors as role models.

Witness role models

Local cancer survivors who talk about their faith-based cancer stories in church and community settings to influence health behaviors.

Peripheral approaches

A method of achieving cultural appropriateness by using specific colors, images, fonts, or pictures to overtly convey relevance to a target audience.

Evidential approaches

A strategy to enhance perceived relevance by presenting epidemiological or other data specific to a population subgroup to show a health issue's impact on that group.

Linguistic strategies

Approaches that make health communication materials accessible by providing them in the dominant or native language of the audience segment.

Sociocultural approaches

A strategy that presents health messages in the context of the social and cultural characteristics—such as values and beliefs—of the intended audience.

Deep structure

A term for cultural sensitivity that incorporates a group’s cultural values, beliefs, and behaviors to provide meaningful context to health information.

Behavioral construct tailoring (BCT)

Customizing messages based on an individual’s status concerning psychosocial constructs derived from theories of individual behavior change.

Culturally relevant tailoring (CRT)

Customizing messages based on an individual’s status on cultural constructs like spirituality, collectivism, and racial pride.

Digital Divide

The gap between those with and without access to information and computer technologies, often affecting individuals with lower incomes and minority populations.

Uses and gratification theory

A theory of mass media consumption proposing that different people use various media to satisfy specific needs, such as a sense of community or cohesiveness.

Agenda-setting research

Research that tracks media news coverage over time to determine which issues are covered and assesses how this influences what the public perceives as important.

Cultural Sensitivity Assessment Tool (CSAT)

An evaluation tool used to assess health communication materials, particularly the development of peripheral approaches like formatting and visual presentation.