Bridging the Gap between Communication Research and Practice: How We See Our Role

This editorial, included as an opening piece to one issue of the Journal of Communication in Healthcare: Strategies, Media, and Engagement in Global Health, examines the challenge that the health communication field (and other fields) face in bridging the gap between research and practice.

Amongst the questions Schiavo raises in this editorial are the following: "How can academia become more engaged with practice and community settings? How can practice and communities, the ultimate beneficiaries of health communication interventions, become more engaged with research and academic settings?" When communicating about immunisation, HIV/AIDS, cancer research, and many other health and social issues, Schiavo says, "the ability to influence health policy is strictly related to how well we can support our arguments with research findings and data that are expressed in plain language." Perhaps some of these linkages could be rectified by building capacity and offering professional training in research or programme design, implementation, and evaluation within complementary professional sectors. Schiavo also discusses factors such as: the complexity of health and social issues and related research questions and interventions; lack of awareness and limited use of dissemination strategies and tools; and non-supportive organisational or policy environments.

Within this context, Schiavo suggests that a peer-reviewed publication, such as the Journal of Communication in Healthcare: Strategies, Media, and Engagement in Global Health, could, in itself, be a strategy for engaging with both academicians and practitioners in the sense of encouraging increasing connections between communication research and practice. Suggestions include (footnote numbers have been removed):

• "Insisting on the clarity of the writing...so that research findings, lessons from the field, and opinions may reach a broader audience. This entails focusing on precision and conciseness, providing definitions of all key concepts in plain language, and overall, 'eliminating redundancy, wordiness, jargon, evasiveness, overuse of the passive voice, and clumsy prose'."
• "Creating a climate that would encourage both authors and reviewers to make sure that most research findings clearly discuss implications for practice, and conversely, that the discussion of lessons from the field and outcome results from case studies also point to research questions and unmet needs that should be further investigated to improve upon specific communication interventions or existing theories and planning frameworks."
• "Providing a forum for the discussion of relevant topics, trends, and issues that are on the mind of researchers and/or practitioners." The Journal's Letters: Viewpoints on Current Issues section features letters-to-editors and op-ed pieces in an attempt to "take the pulse of different issues and opinions within both the research and practice settings, ultimately contributing to facilitate a vibrant dialogue among different health communication stakeholders and other professionals."