Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Influence Of Patient-Provider Interaction, Self-Concept, And The Socio-Physical Environment On Pelvic Exam Seeking Behavior, Anxiety, And The Health Care Experience, Julie Lasslo

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Regular gynecological screenings are critical for women in promotion of health and preventing diseases like cervical cancer. Despite the importance of such examinations, many women fail to adhere to recommended screening protocols. As a result, women experience an increased disease risk. The current study examined the relationship between patient-provider communication quality, skill, and empathy on pelvic exam seeking behavior and exam-related anxiety and satisfaction. Additionally, negative self-concept, perceived poor genital self-image, and various elements of the socio-physical clinic environment were explored to better understand their impact on a women’s care seeking behavior.

A total of 350 women 19 through 80 …

“It’S Hard To Get Your Head Around Something Like This”: Figurative And Intense Language For Sensegiving During Severe Weather Coverage, Robert W. Prestley

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

During high-impact weather events like Hurricane Harvey, broadcast meteorologists take on the role of sensegiver, as they develop frameworks to help their viewers make sense of the storm. These frameworks are communicated through rhetorical choices evident in the language the meteorologists use to describe the storm’s threat and impact. This study investigates the rhetorical choices of KHOU broadcast meteorologists during Hurricane Harvey in order to make sense of the disaster, using an inductive thematic analysis. The results indicate that the KHOU broadcasters framed Harvey figuratively as an all-encompassing monster and a heat-seeking machine. The meteorologists used emotionally intense language to …

Navigating The Michelle P. Waiver: A Narrative Examination Of The Impact Of Parent Caregiver-Related Uncertainty And Decision Making For Children With Disabilities, Whittney H. Darnell

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

The Michelle P. Waiver (MPW) is the primary means of health insurance for more than 10,000 people in the state of Kentucky. The waiver is especially popular among families with young children with disabilities because it is robust in its benefit offerings and also one of the few Medicaid resources that does not include parental income as a qualifying factor in eligibility. Through the waiver, children receive a medical card as well as additional coverage for medical expenses that fall beyond the scope of traditional health insurance. For these young children to gain access to the comprehensive offerings of the …

A Descriptive Analysis Of Health Influencer Videos On Youtube In The Ostomy Community, Sarah Irenke Sophia Bell

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

The expansion of YouTube into the mainstream media and its place as the second most-used website in the world makes it a prime place for health information seeking. However, content can be created and uploaded by anyone and thus, the threat of misinformation on YouTube is high. Medical researchers have established that videos created by health professionals on YouTube promote accurate information whereas videos by non-professionals promote generally inaccurate or misleading information. Yet, videos created by non-professionals have more views and higher relevance rankings on YouTube. To begin to understand this phenomenon, a descriptive study is used to lay a …

“Standing On The Front Lines And Down In The Trenches With Her”: An Exploration Of The Dialectical Tensions And Competing Goals Of Adult Children Of Mentally Ill Parents, Kelley Hodgson

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Mental illness is a pervasive health epidemic in the United States and worldwide, and available data suggest that mentally ill adults are statistically more likely to be parents than non-parents. The prevalence and continued growth of parental mental illness means that millions of children in the United States have a parent with some form of mental health issues.

This dissertation contributes to and extends existing literature on children of mentally ill parents by exploring 15 adult children’s subjective perspectives on how they navigate the tension-wrought experience of having a mentally ill parent, and how this has implications for the management …

“I Want To Feel What They Feel”: Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Emotional Flow In Narrative Health Blogs, Sarah Elizabeth Sheff

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Emotion has long been implemented in persuasive messages and campaigns to influence attitudes and health behavior. Research demonstrates that messages often evoke more than one emotion during and after exposure, and this was previously viewed as an undesirable outcome; however, the literature suggests that the intentional inclusion of multiple emotions, or emotional flow, could positively impact persuasive outcomes, such as attitudes and behavioral intention.

The proposed study employs the concept of emotional flow, the intentional inclusion of more than one discrete emotion, in the context of narrative health blogs addressing mental health topics relevant to college students. The study specifically …

Factors That Influence Maternal Feeding Decisions For Toddlers: Extending The Theory Of Planned Behavior, Elizabeth Lucas Combs

Theses and Dissertations--Kinesiology and Health Promotion

Establishing healthy eating behaviors is vital in the early years to help combat the development of obesity and other chronic diseases. Mothers play an invaluable role in shaping their children's eating habits through controlling what and when children eat as well as the overall food environment, which is why a better understanding of what influences mothers’ decisions about these behaviors is important.

The purpose of the dissertation was to gain a better understanding of what impacts maternal feeding decisions regarding toddler nutrition behaviors. This was a two-phased mixed methods study. The aim of the initial study was to explore, using …