Strategic Health Communication in Urban Contexts

Strategic Health Communication in Urban Contexts

(Call for abstracts of chapters in a book titled Strategic Health
Communication in Urban Contexts, as part of the 2009 International
Conference on Urban Health, Nairobi, Kenya, October 19 to 23).



As part of the activities of the 2009 International Conference on Urban
Health (ICUH), which will be hosted by the African Population and Health
Research Center (APHRC) and the Government of the Republic of Kenya, in
partnership with the International Society for Urban Health (ISUH), we
hereby invite you to submit abstracts of chapters for a book titled
Strategic Health Communication in Urban Contexts.

Contributions can be based on research, theory, practice or experience. Send
a 500-word abstract with your short biosketch to Professor Charles Okigbo,
Head, Policy Engagement and Communication, APHRC, PO Box 10787, 00100,
Nairobi, KENYA. cokigbo@aphrc.org. Fax: 254-20-2720-380. The deadline for
all abstracts is July 1. Notifications of acceptance will be announced on
July 15. Complete chapters of about 5,000 words, excluding references and
tables, will be expected no later than October 1, 2009.

Submission format: Follow the guidelines in the Publication
Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th edition.

The Age of Urbanization: This is the age of urbanization worldwide, and the
21st century is the century of the city because now more than at any other
time in human history, we have about half the world’s population living in
urban areas. Although all regions of the world are affected, the rate of
change is higher in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.

During the next four decades, the total urban population of the developing
world will increase by more than 100%, that is, from 2.3 billion in 2005 to
5.3 billion in 2050. Altogether, cities in the developing world will absorb
95% of the world’s urban population growth in the next 40 years (UN-Habitat,
2008).

This continuing development has serious implications for public health. In
some developing countries, for example, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS among
urban dwellers is twice the rate in the rural areas. Additionally, the
growth of urban populations in developing countries will be associated with
growth in slums, with their collateral health problems.

Strategic Health Communication: The situation calls for strategic planning
and interventions by various sectors at key levels of health and
communication services delivery systems. It is for this reason that
UN-Habitat (2008) calls for targeted and consistent investments in
communication infrastructure which is necessary to achieve balanced urban
and regional development.

New developments in society demand new multifaceted approaches to health
communication, with the aim of strategically influencing people’s knowledge,
beliefs, and attitudes in favor of healthy behaviors (Schiavo 2007).

The forthcoming book is designed to address issues of urbanization, local,
national, regional, and global health, and strategic uses of communication
in local urban contexts. Our focus is on the triangular interplay among the
three components of health, behavior, and strategic communication in urban
contexts.

Possible areas of interest include the following:

1. The challenges of urbanization and health
2. The new health communication
3. Strategic communication in general
4. Urban health communication strategies
5. Urban communication and behavioral change
6. Health communication theories (in urban contexts)
7. Health communication campaigns in urban environments
8. The (new) media in urban health communication
9. Globalization and urban health communication
10. Training in urban health communication
11. Policy engagement and evidence research
12. The future landscape of urban health and communication
13. An annotated bibliography on urban health communication

Send all inquiries to:
Charles Okigbo, Policy Engagement and Communication, APHRC, PO Box 10787,
00100 GPO, Nairobi, KENYA. cokigbo@aphrc.org Fax: 254-20-2720-380.
Deadline for all abstracts: July 1, 2009. Deadline for complete papers:
October 1, 2009.