Crossing Borders in Health Communication Research: Toward an Ecological Understanding of Context, Complexity, and Consequences in Community-Based Health Education in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands

In the past 15 years, researchers in health information dissemination have made significant strides in addressing context, complexity, and consequences (Sharf's “3 Cs”) in theory, research, and praxis. The goal of integrating the 3 Cs in this field, however, remains a challenge. In this article, the authors present 6 principles of a postmodern ecological approach to health information dissemination that attempts such integration. The authors outline proposed principles and use a multiyear, interdisciplinary, and inter-institutional collaboration along the U.S.–Mexico border to illustrate this postmodern ecological approach. The goal of this article is to provide a framework for understanding other projects and communities in which efforts are undertaken to cross physical, social, cultural, economic, and political borders.