Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Prevalence And Correlates Of Invitation To Participate In Clinical Trials Among Us Adults, Aurora Occa, Allison Leip, Allison S. Merritt, Jerod L. Stapleton

Communication Faculty Publications

Clinical trials are essential to modern medicine, but several barriers, including poor communication, hamper their successful completion. We examined the prevalence and correlates of invitation to participate in clinical trials among a nationally-representative sample of US adults using survey responses from the 2020 HINTS (Cycle 5). Analyses were conducted in 2021.

Overall, 9% of respondents reported being invited to a clinical trial, a prevalence that is nearly half of previously reported rates in convenience samples recruited from health care settings. Compared to non-Hispanic Whites, Black respondents reported the higher prevalence of invitation (16.0%) whereas Asian respondents reported the lowest (2%). …

Effects Of Website Interactivity On Skin Cancer-Related Intentions And User Experience: Factorial Randomized Experiment, Zhaomeng Niu, Jessica Fitts Willoughby, Elliot J. Coups, Jerod L. Stapleton

Health, Behavior & Society Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Digital media technologies provide users with the ability to interact with content and to receive information based on their preferences and engagement.

OBJECTIVE: We used skin cancer and sun protection as a health topic to explore how modality interactivity, interface tools that afford users greater activity, resulting in greater depth and breadth of mentally representing and experiencing mediated content, and message interactivity, the extent to which the system allows users to exchange messages back and forth on health websites, influenced users' attitudes, knowledge, behavioral intentions, and experience.

METHODS: We employed a 2×2 (modality interactivity: high vs low; message interactivity: …

Toward Improving Physician/Patient Communication Regarding Invisible Chronic Illness (Ici): The Potential Of Mhealth Technology In Instructional Communication, Jami Leigh Warren, Karen Clancy, Christy F. Brady, Kendall Rump, Tayla New-Oglesby

Health and Clinical Sciences Faculty Publications

Patients that suffer from invisible chronic illness (ICI) such as autoimmune conditions, neurological conditions, and gastrointestinal problems often struggle to obtain a proper medical diagnosis due to a lack of objective indicators to help health-care providers diagnose patients with ICIs. Thus, researchers conducted interviews with 21 participants with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) to determine what messages they received from health-care providers as they pursued a diagnosis, how they interpreted those messages, and what role mHealth technology may play in improving patient/provider communication and effective diagnosis/treatment of ICIs. Several themes regarding potential instructional communication intervention content emerged from the interview …

Developing A Health Communication Campaign For Disposal Of Unused Opioid Medications, Kathleen L. Egan, Mark Wolfson, Kaylee M. Lukacena, Carina Mazariegos Zelaya, Monique S. Mcleary, Donald W. Helme

Communication Faculty Publications

Introduction

Communities throughout the United States have implemented medicine disposal programs to prevent diversion of unused opioid analgesics from homes but a general lack of awareness may contribute to low rates of utilization. The objective of this study was to develop and test community-based campaign messages promoting appropriate disposal of unused opioids at disposal programs.

Methods

In Fall 2019, 491 residents (79% female, 97% White, mean age: 40 years) of five rural, Appalachian counties (3 in Kentucky and 2 in North Carolina) completed a web-based, experimental survey. Participants were randomly exposed to two of four messages and rated each message …

Misinformation More Likely To Use Non-Specific Authority References: Twitter Analysis Of Two Covid-19 Myths, Joseph Mcglynn, Maxim Baryshevtsev, Zane A. Dayton

Communication Graduate Research

This research examines the content, timing, and spread of COVID-19 misinformation and subsequent debunking efforts for two COVID-19 myths. COVID-19 misinformation tweets included more non-specific authority references (e.g., “Taiwanese experts”, “a doctor friend”), while debunking tweets included more specific and verifiable authority references (e.g., the CDC, the World Health Organization, Snopes). Findings illustrate a delayed debunking response to COVID-19 misinformation, as it took seven days for debunking tweets to match the quantity of misinformation tweets. The use of non-specific authority references in tweets was associated with decreased tweet engagement, suggesting the importance of citing specific sources when refuting health misinformation.

Impact Of Tobacco-Pack Pictorial Warnings On Youth And Young Adults: A Systematic Review Of Experimental Studies, Diane B. Francis, Nia Mason, Jennifer Cornacchione Ross, Seth M. Noar

Communication Faculty Publications

Introduction:
We conducted a systematic review of the experimental literature on the impact of tobacco-pack pictorial warning labels (PWLs) on youth and young adults.

Methods:
We systematically searched computerized databases and the reference list of relevant articles. We included studies that used an experimental protocol to assess PWLs. Studies had to report findings for youth or young adult samples (aged < 30 years). Thirty-one studies met the inclusion criteria, with a total sample size of 27506. Two coders independently coded all study characteristics and outcomes.

Results:
Twenty-eight studies experimentally evaluated PWLs for cigarette packs while three studies evaluated PWLs for smokeless tobacco packs. Generally, PWLs led to higher attention, stronger cognitive and affective reactions, more negative pack attitudes and smoking attitudes, and increased intentions not …

A Stress Management App Intervention For Cancer Survivors: Design, Development, And Usability Testing, Elin Børøsund, Jelena Mirkovic, Matthew M. Clark, Shawna L. Ehlers, Michael A. Andrykowski, Anne Bergland, Marianne Westeng, Lise Solberg Nes

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

Background: Distress is prevalent in cancer survivors. Stress management interventions can reduce distress and improve quality of life for cancer patients, but many people with cancer are unfortunately not offered or able to attend such in-person stress management interventions.

Objective: The objective of this study was to develop an evidence-based stress management intervention for patients living with cancer that can be delivered electronically with wide reach and dissemination. This paper describes the design and development process of a technology-based stress management intervention for cancer survivors, including the exploration phase, intervention content development, iterative software development (including design, development, and formative …

Care Transitions From Patient And Caregiver Perspectives, Suzanne E. Mitchell, Vivian Laurens, Gabriela M. Weigel, Karen B. Hirschman, Allison M. Scott, Huong Q. Nguyen, Jessica Martin Howard, Lance Laird, Carol Levine, Terry C. Davis, Brianna Gass, Elizabeth Shaid, Jing Li, Mark V. Williams, Brian W. Jack

Communication Faculty Publications

PURPOSE: Despite concerted actions to streamline care transitions, the journey from hospital to home remains hazardous for patients and caregivers. Remarkably little is known about the patient and caregiver experience during care transitions, the services they need, or the outcomes they value. The aims of this study were to (1) describe patient and caregiver experiences during care transitions and (2) characterize patient and caregiver desired outcomes of care transitions and the health services associated with them.

METHODS: We interviewed 138 patients and 110 family caregivers recruited from 6 health networks across the United States. We conducted 34 homogenous focus groups …

Reducing Symptom Distress In Patients With Advanced Cancer Using An E-Alert System For Caregivers: Pooled Analysis Of Two Randomized Clinical Trials, David H. Gustafson, Lori L. Dubenske, Amy K. Atwood, Ming-Yuan Chih, Roberta A. Johnson, Fiona Mctavish, Andrew Quanbeck, Roger L. Brown, James F. Cleary, Dhavan Shah

Health and Clinical Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Symptom distress in patients toward the end of life can change rapidly. Family caregivers have the potential to help patients manage those symptoms, as well as their own stress, if they are equipped with the proper resources. Electronic health (eHealth) systems may be able to provide those resources. Very sick patients may not be able to use such systems themselves to report their symptoms but family caregivers could.

Objective: The aim of this paper was to assess the effects on cancer patient symptom distress of an eHealth system that alerts clinicians to significant changes in the patient’s symptoms, as …

Design And Validation Of Patient-Centered Communication Tools (Pact) To Measure Students' Communication Skills, Gloria R. Grice, Nicole M. Gattas, Theresa Prosser, Mychal Voorhees, Clark D. Kebodeaux, Amy Tiemeier, Tricia M. Berry, Alexandria Garavaglia Wilson, Janelle Mann, Paul Juang

Pharmacy Practice and Science Faculty Publications

Objective. To develop a comprehensive instrument specific to student pharmacist-patient communication skills, and to determine face, content, construct, concurrent, and predictive validity and reliability of the instrument.

Methods. A multi-step approach was used to create and validate an instrument, including the use of external experts for face and content validity, students for construct validity, comparisons to other rubrics for concurrent validity, comparisons to other coursework for predictive validity, and extensive reliability and inter-rater reliability testing with trained faculty assessors.

Results. Patient-centered Communication Tools (PaCT) achieved face and content validity and performed well with multiple correlation tests with significant findings for …

Sensemaking, Stakeholder Discord, And Long-Term Risk Communication At A Us Superfund Site, Anna Goodman Hoover

Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Introduction: Risk communication can help reduce exposures to environmental contaminants, mitigate negative health outcomes, and inform community-based decisions about hazardous waste sites. While communication best practices have long guided such efforts, little research has examined unintended consequences arising from such guidelines. As rhetoric informs stakeholder sensemaking, the language used in and reinforced by these guidelines can challenge relationships and exacerbate stakeholder tensions.

Objectives: This study evaluates risk communication at a U.S. Superfund site to identify unintended consequences arising from current risk communication practices.

Methods: This qualitative case study crystallizes data spanning 6 years from three sources: 1) local newspaper coverage …

Perspectives Of Healthcare Practitioners: An Exploration Of Interprofessional Communication Using Electronic Medical Records, Shoshana H. Bardach, Kevin Real, David R. Bardach

Graduate Center for Gerontology Faculty Publications

Contemporary state-of-the-art healthcare facilities are incorporating technology into their building design to improve communication and patient care. However, technological innovations may also have unintended consequences. This study seeks to better understand how technology influences interprofessional communication within a hospital setting based in the United States. Nine focus groups were conducted including a range of healthcare professions. The focus groups explored practitioners’ experiences working on two floors of a newly designed hospital and included questions about the ways in which technology shaped communication with other healthcare professionals. All focus groups were recorded, transcribed, and coded to identify themes. Participant responses focused …

Offline Social Relationships And Online Cancer Communication: Effects Of Social And Family Support On Online Social Network Building, Namkoong Kang, Dhavan V. Shah, David H. Gustafson

Community & Leadership Development Faculty Publications

This study investigates how social support and family relationship perceptions influence breast cancer patients’ online communication networks in a computer-mediated social support (CMSS) group. To examine social interactions in the CMSS group, we identified two types of online social networks: open and targeted communication networks. The open communication network reflects group communication behaviors (i.e., one-to-many or “broadcast” communication) in which the intended audience is not specified; in contrast, the targeted communication network reflects interpersonal discourses (i.e., one-to-one or directed communication) in which the audience for the message is specified. The communication networks were constructed by tracking CMSS group usage data …

Cognitive Aid Use Improves Transition Of Care By Graduating Medical Students During A Simulated Crisis, Brooke Bauer, Annette Rebel, Amy Dilorenzo, Randall M. Schell, Jeremy S. Dority, Faith Lukens, Paul A. Sloan

Anesthesiology Faculty Publications

Background: Residents are expected to have transition of care (ToC) skills upon entering graduate medical education. It is unclear whether experience and training during medical school is adequate.

Objective: The aim of the project was to assess: 1) graduating medical students' ability to perform ToC in a crisis situation, and 2) whether using a cognitive aid improves the ToC quality.

Methods: The authors developed simulation scenarios for rapid response teams and a cognitive aid to assist in the ToC during crisis situations. Graduating medical students were enrolled and randomly divided into teams of three students, randomly assigned into one …

Colorectal Cancer Prevention: Perspectives Of Key Players From Social Networks In A Low-Income Rural Us Region, Nancy E. Schoenberg, Kathryn Eddens, Adam Jonas, Claire Snell-Rood, Christina R. Studts, Benjamin Broder-Oldach, Mira L. Katz

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

Social networks influence health behavior and health status. Within social networks, “key players” often influence those around them, particularly in traditionally underserved areas like the Appalachian region in the USA. From a total sample of 787 Appalachian residents, we identified and interviewed 10 key players in complex networks, asking them what comprises a key player, their role in their network and community, and ideas to overcome and increase colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. Key players emphasized their communication skills, resourcefulness, and special occupational and educational status in the community. Barriers to CRC screening included negative perceptions of the colonoscopy screening procedure, …

Testing A Risky Sex Behavior Intervention Pilot Website For Adolescents, Randall Starling, Don Helme, Jessica A. Nodulman, Angela D. Bryan, David B. Buller, Robert Lewis Donohew, W. Gill Woodall

Communication Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Each year, teenagers account for about one-fifth of all unintended pregnancies in the United States. As such, delivering sexual risk reduction educational materials to teens in a timely fashion is of critical importance. Web-based delivery of these materials shows promise for reaching and persuading teens away from risky sexual and substance abuse behaviors. The purpose of this study was to pilot test a web-based program aimed at reducing risky sexual behavior and related outcomes among adolescents in a high school setting.

METHODS: A beta-test of the website was conducted in three public schools in New Mexico, USA …

Illegal Yet Developmentally Normative: A Descriptive Analysis Of Young, Urban Adolescents' Dating And Sexual Behaviour In Cape Town, South Africa, Aník Gevers, Cathy Mathews, Pam Cupp, Marcia Russell, Rachel Jewkes

Communication Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: In South Africa, it is illegal for adolescents under age 16 years to engage in any sexual behaviour whether kissing, petting, or penetrative sex, regardless of consent. This cross-sectional study investigated the extent to which young adolescents engage in various sexual behaviours and the associations between dating status and sexual behaviours.

METHOD: Grade 8 adolescents (N = 474, ages 12--15 years, mean = 14.14 years) recruited from Cape Town schools completed surveys providing information about their sociodemographic backgrounds, dating experience, sexual behaviour, and substance use.

RESULTS: Lower hierarchy sexual behaviours, such as kissing (71.4% of girls; 88.4% of boys), …

The Impact Of The Internet On The Sexual Health Of Adolescents: A Brief Review, Julia Springate, Hatim A. Omar

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

The object of this review is to summarize the impact of the Internet on the sexual health of adolescents. This article examines the use of websites, blogs and chat rooms as sources for sexual health information for adolescents. The influence of Internet pornography on sexual behaviors and attitudes is addressed. The use of the Internet as a place to find sexual partners is also assessed. During a time of great physical, emotional and sexual change, the Internet is playing a huge role in the decisions adolescents are making, both positive and negative.

Intention To Seek Information On Cancer Genetics, James E. Andrews, J. David Johnson, Donald O. Case, Suzanne L. Allard, Kimberly Kelly

Communication Faculty Publications

Objective. The public has a high interest in seeking personal genetic information, which holds implications for health information seeking research and health care policy. Rapid advances in cancer genetics research promise early detection, prevention and treatment, yet consumers may have greater difficulty finding and using the information they may need to make informed decisions regarding their personal health and the future of their families.

Design. A statewide telephone survey was conducted of non-institutionalized Kentucky residents 18 years of age or older to investigate factors associated with the intention to seek cancer genetics information, including the need for such information seeking …