Beyond These Walls is an invaluable collection of foundational and cutting-edge readings from top scholars in the rapidly growing area of health communication. This innovative anthology demonstrates that health care and communication about health often take place at home, at work, at school, and in recreational and social settings--not just in doctors' offices and hospitals.

Editor Linda C. Lederman has compiled essays that--through a wide range of theoretical and methodological approaches--investigate the following diverse topics:

* The historical background of health communication
* The development of patient-provider communication as a key object of study
* The prevalence of health promotion and other persuasive messages in public and individual health
* The importance of social support offered inside and outside of traditional medical experiences
* The growing importance of media literacy, particularly in a rapidly expanding information age
* The increasingly relevant relationship between health communication and the organizations that help construct it
* The future of health communication

Other subjects covered include the effects of socio-political and organizational structures on health communication, the impact of the Internet, and narrative as a significant conceptual approach to understanding health and illness.

Individual chapter introductions draw students' attention to key points in each reading, and discussion questions--designed to encourage critical thinking--follow each article. A unique topical matrix, which identifies relevant subject categories in each chapter, places the research within the larger context of health communication.