Conceptualization

Philosophy

Pure mathematics

Dialogic

Field (mathematics)

Scholarship

Pedagogy

Economics

Computer science

Reflexivity

Management science

Systematic review

Axiology

Psychology

Mathematics

Political science

Epistemology

Sociology

Artificial intelligence

MEDLINE

Agency (philosophy)

Social science

Communication Theory

While the influence of the culture-centered approach (CCA; Dutta, 2008 ) on health communication scholarship is undeniable, there has been no evaluation of its application in the field. Guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines for systematic reviews (Moher, Liberati, Tetzlaff &amp; Altman, 2009), we analyzed a corpus of empirical, peer-reviewed literature (n = 47) that used the CCA. Our findings demonstrate that (a) the ontological axis of the CCA (culture, structure, and agency) was widely used as a heuristic for defining health problems; and (b) studies varied widely in their adoption of the CCA’s epistemological axis (that of dialogic co-construction with marginalized communities), either at the level of problem definition, problem interpretation, and/or community participation. Finally, while most studies reported self-reflexivity in design, we coded for methodological and philosophical reflexivity to assess fidelity to the CCA axiology. Based on the variations and consistencies in its use, we offer a refined, “nested” conceptualization of the CCA.

A Meta-Theoretical Systematic Review of the Culture-Centered Approach to Health Communication: Toward a Refined, “Nested” Model