Communication, power, and praxis in health: examining the critical turn in health communication scholarship
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This review examines Critical Health Communication: Theory and Practice, an edited volume by Shaunak Sastry, Heather M. Zoller, and Ambar Basu that consolidates and advances the critical turn in health communication scholarship. Organized into thirteen chapters, the book foregrounds power, culture, and structural inequality as constitutive forces in communicative processes, challenging dominant functionalist and behaviorist paradigms. The contributors reconceptualize communication not merely as a tool for improving health outcomes but as a site where inequalities are produced, negotiated, and contested. Drawing on frameworks ranging from critical race theory and feminist scholarship to decolonial approaches, the book represents a meaningful bridge between academic critical scholarship and applied health communication. The review evaluates the volume’s contributions and identifies areas for further development, particularly regarding deeper engagement with Global South contexts, digital health infrastructures, new media ecologies, and ethnographic methods, while affirming the book as an essential resource for scholars, students, and practitioners working at the intersection of communication, health, and social justice.
Source: Health & New Media Research
Author: Aniruddha Jena
Institution: Indian Institute of Technology Mandi
Language: English
Subfield: General Health Professions
Field: Health Professions
Domain: Health Sciences
SDG: Reduced inequalities
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W7165025264
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