HCRL research

Our Mission

The Health Communication Research Laboratory at the Saint Louis University School of Public Health seeks to enhance the health of individuals and populations through the research, development, and dissemination of innovative and effective health communication programs. At the same time, it seeks to support the academic pursuits and graduate education of students by providing opportunities for experiential learning and the conduct of independent research.

Experimental research	We will develop and conduct smaller scale experimental research projects to understand how individuals process health information, identify key elements of effective health communication, understand processes and mechanisms for communication effectiveness, and explore new applications of advanced communication technologies.
Field trial research	We will develop and conduct larger scale longitudinal research projects which apply findings from our experimental research to determine the effects of state-of-the-art health communication interventions on health-related outcomes.
Program development	We will collaborate with other researchers and with non-research institutions to develop health communication programs and materials to be applied outside the Health Communication Research Laboratory.
Dissemination of knowledge	We will help advance the knowledge base in health communication by regularly sharing results of our work through research articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals and presentations at national scientific meetings. Where it will help accelerate the pace of new knowledge acquisition, we may also make available to researchers and practitioners the programs and materials we have developed.