The comprehensive popularization of digital media technology has fundamentally reshaped the operational logic and practical mode of health communication in China. Traditional health communication centers on one-way information notification by official institutions, which is plagued by single communication subjects, passive audience reception, and limited communication effects. Digital media has built a multi-dimensional interactive communication scenario, enabling the general public to actively participate in the whole process of health information production, dissemination and feedback. Health communication has completed a paradigm shift from the traditional informed communication mode to participatory empowerment communication. Taking the paradigm transformation of communication as the core research focus, this paper compares the core characteristics, operational mechanisms and practical values of informed communication and participatory empowerment communication. It sorts out the core driving factors of paradigm transformation driven by digital media, summarizes practical dilemmas including communication disorder, digital divide and uneven empowerment in the transformation process, and finally proposes optimized strategies for health communication adapted to the digital media era. The research finds that participatory empowerment communication can activate public subjectivity in health management, improve national health literacy, and support the construction of a healthy China. This research can provide theoretical references and practical implications for health communication practices and public health publicity in the new era.

Ruixi Lin, Paradigm Transformation of Health Communication in the Digital Media Era: From Informed Communication to Participatory Empowerment. International Journal of Social Sciences and Economic Management (2026), Vol. 7, Issue 2: 14-25. https://doi.doi.org/10.3807/IJSSEM.2026.070202.

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