Epilogue

Abstract

In the epilogue to this special issue of JLSP, the author notes that the five articles presented in this special issue show the usefulness of a language and social psychology approach. While the topics and perspectives of the articles are different, several key themes emerge, particularly involving communication in complex health contexts. The articles taken together provide health communication scholars with a common research agenda for the next few years. These articles address hard health problems, all of which can be understood as grounded in intergroup relationships. They show the importance of large-scale interdisciplinary projects that can have a significant impact on the quality of health care and outcomes.