This volume is based upon a review of available literature and intervention experiences selected from modern and traditional societies. It is augmented by the lessons learned through the editors' experience in teaching courses on health communication and foundation of health behavior in graduate public health programs at several leading universities in the United States and abroad over two decades. Examples and implications are also drawn from extensive involvement in diverse health and health communication projects, such as the on-going community-based public health project in South Central Los Angeles, sponsored by UCLA and the Kellogg Foundation. This particular project is designed to develop health promotion communication interventions from a multicultural perspective and provides unmatched opportunities to focus on the dynamics of a multicultural community as they affect health communication interventions.