Communication Strategies and New Media Platforms: Exploring the Synergistic Potential of Health and Environmental Communication

Abstract

Environmental communication and health communication are often intertwined. The complex connections between health and environmental issues can be seen in groundwater pollution, natural resource extraction disasters, and myriad others. While these academic areas are often interconnected, strategies that attempt to influence attitudes and behaviors in one area are not often conveyed to the other. This commentary explores the synergistic potential of health and environmental communication by examining two new media strategies previously applied in health communication—the use of video games and the use of mobile devices for behavior change—and providing examples on how these strategies may be applied to environmental communication.