Creating a formal partnership between EACH and the International Communication Association (ICA)

Learning from each other
To begin, our partnership conversations started dis-entangling some fundamental assumptions, strengths, and limitations of communication theory and methods as understood by members from the Health Communication Division of ICA and to connect those strengths to EACH. From a practical perspective, ICA members are Communication scholars and students who most often work in departments of Communication or Media, within Colleges of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. In contrast, while some EACH

Relational benefits of the partnership
Overall, we think the partnership between EACH and ICA will be beneficial to members of both organizations. EACH is a global organization dedicated to exploring and improving the ways in which healthcare professionals, patients, and family members communicate with one another. And while EACH focuses on many of the health communication issues that people in ICA examine, including public health communication, patients’ experiences with illness, shared decision-making, personalized health

Partnering opportunities at conferences
Mark your calendars and look for a call for a co-sponsored panel to be included at the annual ICA conference in Paris in May 2022. The panel will focus on making connections for research partnerships. Beyond that, look for ongoing future opportunities on both organizations’ websites and your inbox.

Also, the ICA Health Communication Division has adopted EACH’s Pairing with Colleagues Mentoring Program and we hope this partnership will strengthen opportunities for graduate students and early

Organizational benefits of the partnership
As mentioned, EACH has chosen to become an affiliate organization to ICA to leverage common interests, perspectives, and expertise in communication in healthcare. At this point, formalizing the relationship translates into panel presentations at annual meetings shared across the organizations. Yet, we are working on how this formal relationship can be institutionalized in additional ways such that members benefit from membership in both organizations. Moreover, we are in conversation about