This book explores the development of a new theoretical perspective, the socio-cultural model for communicating health via community radio (CR) as an alternative critical perspective to mainstream approaches to health communication. The SMCHCR model is based on three 'intangible' pillars: Community members' access to CR's health programming; Social capital among communicatively marginalised communities, and Community participation in health programming via CR. This book presents some of the critical thinking, new insights and questions that remain in the research and practice of community radio's relevance and impact towards long-term sustainability, social change, and health-related social change communication, focusing on long-term intangible outcomes, specifically through examples from pandemics such as COVID-19 and HIV/AIDS in Africa. Emmanuel Essel is a Ghanaian Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Centre for Communication, Media and Society, Durban, South Africa. He holds a PhD in culture and media studies from the UKZN. Emmanuel's primary research interest is in development communication, emphasizing community radio and health communication. He is also interested in new media, community development, and sports journalism issues. Eliza Govender is an Associate Professor and Academic Leader of the Centre for Communication, Media and Society (CCMS) in the School of Applied Human Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

She teaches social change and health communication. Her research interests include entertainment education, communication for social and behavioural change, and participatory culture-centred methodologies for health communication and implementation science research. Her specific research centres on using a participatory action research approach (PAR) and a culture-centred approach to advance HIV combination prevention.