A health communication expert, Nathaniel Godwin, has said that increased focus on advancing health communication and literacy will significantly boost health and wellbeing in individuals and communities.
According to Nathaniel, who is a graduate of the West Virginia University, United States of America, organisational and individual health communication and literacy is a social determinant of health; and as such, there is a need to advance and promote increased health literacy through strategic health communication globally.
He told Society Plus, “Health literacy has been defined as the level to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. A lot of people don’t understand information from their doctors and can’t take actionable decisions on their health. Through organisational and personal health literacy, we have a responsibility to advance this phenomenon for better health outcomes globally.”
Godwin, who has undertaking research in the health communication/literacy space, noted that organisational health communication played a major role in the adoption of COVID-19 vaccine. He maintained that organisations had to play a more active role in using communication for issues of public interest.
Meanwhile, he has continued to play an influential role in the field of health communications, using his expertise to advance communication for social good.
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