Thematic and Scholarly Trajectories in the Journal Health Communication.

Abstract

As health communication grapples with urgent challenges, including the politicization of health issues, global public health crises, and accelerating technological change, there is a growing need to understand how the field has evolved and where it is heading. Existing studies have laid important groundwork in analyzing Health Communication's content and influence. Building on that work, this study offers a longitudinal perspective that captures broader thematic and authorship trends across more than three decades. This study explores thematic shifts and research trends in 2,648 original articles published in Health Communication between 1989 and 2023. Using a topic model, we identified five dominant themes: health campaigns, patient care and support, public health and risk communication, digital media in health, and behavior change interventions. Cohort analyses showed strong author retention and increasing diversity among contributors. Visualization techniques, including 3- and 5-year moving averages and heatmaps, revealed consistent growth in publication output and a broadening of research topics over time. Among several unexpected findings included the limited exploration of global health communication issues. These core findings demonstrate the journal's critical role in advancing health communication scholarship and provide insights into evolving research priorities and their implications for public health.