Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Trailblazing Healthcare: Institutionalizing And Integrating Complementary Medicine, Barbara F. Sharf, Patricia Geist Martin, Kevin-Khristián Cosgriff-Hernández, Julia Moore

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

Objectives — This study examines three integrative health centers to understand their (1) historical development, organizational goals, and modalities, (2) the processes and challenges of integrating complementary and allopathic medicine, while encouraging staff collaboration, and (3) how each center becomes institutionalized within their community.

Methods — We focus on three organizational case studies that reflect varying forms of integrative health care practices in three U.S. cities. Participant-observation and in-depth interviews with center directors were analyzed qualitatively.

Results — Important patterns found within the three cases are (1) the critical role of visionary biomedical practitioners who bridge complementary and allopathic practices, …

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Campaign 2012 And Beyond: Awareness And Participation For Behavioral Change, Ebony Chetto

Journalism

The following study investigates how to develop and maintain a health outreach program in order to make a behavior change in participating in the breast cancer movement. The number of women becoming affected by breast cancer is increasingly growing, and the students who developed the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Campaign saw the need to raise awareness of this disease on campus and in the community. The campaign’s focus was to create and publicize an outreach event called Rock the Tatas, a fundraising concert to support the fight against breast cancer. With scholarly research, the design of the campaign attempts …

Incorporating Digital Health Literacy Into Adult Esl Education On The Us-Mexico Border, Erika Mein, Francisco Soto Mas

Francisco Soto Mas

The increasing digitization of information and communication has undoubtedly impacted the ways in which people in the United States access and interpret health information. Although the traditional emphasis of health literacy research has been the comprehension of health-related texts such as patient information forms, prescriptions, and medicine labels, the increased use of electronic means to locate health information requires more critical engagement with texts beyond basic comprehension. In accessing electronic health information, patients need to be able to navigate the vast amount of online health information and to interpret and synthesize health information across multiple sources (i.e. websites) while also …

The Effects Of Message Quantification: The Modearing Role Of Numeracy, Ilwoo Ju

Annual Research Symposium of the College of Communication and Information

Although the numerical information effects has been reported in persuasive contexts, little research has investigated how numeric information in the drug efficacy appeals may affect consumers' evaluation of DTC advertising. Based on an experiment, the current study revealed that: (a) consumers reported more positive perceived message effectiveness of and attitude toward advertising toward numeric DTC advertising; (b) when consumers were lowly numerate, the persuasive effects of numeric information was stronger. When consumers were highly numerate, however, the persuasive effects of numeric information was significantly reduced; and (c) perceived message effectiveness was found to be a valid indicator of actual DTC …

Stages Of The Diabetes 'Roller Coaster': A Textual Analysis Of Tudiabetes.Org (R), Jodi Lynn Rightler-Mcdaniels, Lisa Metzer

Annual Research Symposium of the College of Communication and Information

Online virtual health communities have recently emerged to engage people with common medical conditions and experiences. Tudiabetes.org® is an example of a peer-to-peer virtual health community that provides an online social platform to exchange ideas, fears, knowledge, and support about the diabetes experience. This study explored the communication of parents within this non-moderated virtual health community surrounding the diagnosis of a child with type 1 diabetes by analyzing the dialogue of a particular tudiabetes.orgâ discussion thread. Textual analysis revealed four emerging stages of the narrative, which structurally resembled a “roller coaster” ride: catastrophic, social support, cathartic release, and “new normal.” …

Motherhood As Salvation: The Experience Of Young Appalachian Mothers, Betsy D. Dalton

Annual Research Symposium of the College of Communication and Information

This study explored the meaning of teenage motherhood to young Appalachian mothers using a phenomenological approach. In-depth interviews with 14 mothers between the ages of 18-22 from the southern central Appalachian region were conducted. Findings indicate that the experience of teenage motherhood can be described in terms of filling a void and the pervasive drug culture. Analysis of these findings indicates that the experience of motherhood is characterized by salvation. The salvation of motherhood is shaped by the emotional chasm it fills, as well as the protective barrier it provides between the mother and the drug culture surrounding her. Implications …

Dtc Advertising And Perceived Importance Of Illness: Two-Sided Message And The Moderating Role Of Dtca Skepticism, Ilwoo Ju

Annual Research Symposium of the College of Communication and Information

To better understand consumers' coping mechanisms of DTC advertising and to address socially important health issues, the current study examined whether perceived importance of sleep disorders is influenced by DTC advertising. Two-sided message order and DTCA skepticism were hypothesized as predictors of the perceived importance. The results showed that there is interaction between order effects and DTCA skepticism. Theoretical, practical, and regulatory implications are discussed.

The Effects Of Statistical Information In Pharmaceutical Product Advertising, Ilwoo Ju

Annual Research Symposium of the College of Communication and Information

In the contexts of prescription drug (DTC) advertising, statistical information has been frequently used. However, little is known about how the statistical information affects consumer attitude toward the advertisement and perceived importance of an advertised illness. Based on an experiment, the present study explored the mechanism of consumers' DTC advertising information processing using structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. The findings revealed that: (a) the use of statistical information in DTC advertising positively related to perceived message effectiveness; (b) perceived message effectiveness positively related to attitude toward the advertisement and perceived importance of an advertised illness; and (c) message framing (gain …

Supporting Healthy Lives And Vibrant Places: Learning About And Living The Collaborative Leadership Model, Lisa Deangelis, Maureen A. Scully, Andrea Wight

Emerging Leaders Program Team Projects

The 31 fellows in the 2012 UMass Boston Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) worked with community partners to investigate the theme, “Supporting Healthy Lives and Vibrant Places.” They worked in peer self-managed teams, in order to learn collaborative leadership skills first-hand, while engaging with stakeholders and issues where collaboration makes a difference. Their team projects addressed: best practices in corporate wellness initiatives, outreach to support health care access for homeless people, ways to grow awareness of the wide need for affordable housing, ideas for arts-based local economic development, broader funding sources to support innovative research on poverty, and ways to continue …

Lost In Translation Teaching, Translation, And Transliteration Of Amchi Medicine In Nepal, Hannah Mcgehee

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As both school and mentsikhang, Lo Kunphen faces the full range of issues encountered by amchi in Nepal today. Youth are migrating to the cities for work, high mountain communities are transforming into cash-economies, and the Nepali government refuses to recognize amchi medicine, making the amchi profession less and less sustainable. Lo Kunphen must work tirelessly to confront these challenges and to preserve their tradition. While trying to educate the new generation of amchi, they must reach out to foreign sponsors and to the Nepali government for support. However, these interactions cannot occur without translation. During November, 2012 the author …

Integrating Health Literacy And Esl : An Interdisciplinary Curriculum For Hispanic Immigrants, Francisco Soto Mas

Francisco Soto Mas

Adult Hispanic immigrants are at a greater risk of experiencing the negative outcomes related to low health literacy, as they confront cultural and language barriers to the complex and predominately monolingual Englishbased U.S. health system. One approach that has the potential for simultaneously addressing the health, literacy, and language needs of Hispanics is the combination of health literacy and English as a second language (ESL) instruction. The purpose of the project was to evaluate the feasibility of using ESL instruction as a medium for improving health literacy among Hispanic immigrants. Objectives included the development, implementation, and evaluation of an interdisciplinary …

Introducing Mobiles To Dana Medical Library: Successes & Challenges, Fred C. Pond, Alice Stokes, Lesley Boucher

UVM Libraries Conference Day

The Dana Medical Library mounted a webpage of health-sciences information sources for mobile apps in early 2011, followed later by a lending system for iPads. We offered workshops on "Mobile Apps" and promoted them at orientations, usually including a few words while teaching other topics.

We will review the successes and challenges of introducing this new technology, and offer some perspectives for the future in managing mobile apps.

Sensemaking In The Shadow Of A Superfund Site: Defining Atsdr Roles And Goals In An Agency-Saturated Community, Anna G. Hoover, Lindell Ormsbee, Stephanie W. Jenkins, Ashley M. Bush

Anna G. Hoover

By working directly in Superfund communities, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry is embedded within a complex tapestry of federal and state agencies, local government entities, and other organizations that community stakeholders encounter regularly. The diversity of statutory obligations and expertise among these organizations, particularly as they relate to stakeholders’ health concerns, presents challenges for creating shared understanding between agencies and the communities they serve. Thus, addressing key elements of individual sensemaking during engagement activities is essential for those who work in communities.

Because sensemaking helps individuals determine the seriousness of a situation, decide how to react to …

Consumers’ Optimistic Bias And Responses To Risk Disclosures In Direct-To-Consumer (Dtc) Prescription Drug Advertising: The Moderating Role Of Subjective Health Literacy, Hoyoung Ahn

Doctoral Dissertations

Despite a substantial body of research in direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) for prescription drugs, what is missing from much of the existing discussion on DTCA disclosure is a focus on the roles of consumers’ individual motivation and ability factors in processing risk disclosures. Guided by the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) and the Motivation-Ability- Opportunity (MAO) framework, this research focuses on the roles played by individuals’ optimistic bias as motivation and ones’ subjective health literacy as ability to process and evaluate risk disclosures in DTCA. Specifically, this study examined whether the degree of optimistic bias affected consumers’ risk disclosure processing in terms …

The Mother-Infant Dyad Study: A Grounded Theory Inquiry Into The Day-To-Day Experiences, Between First-Time Mothers And Their Infants, That Influence Feeding Practices, Jennifer Jean Helvey

Masters Theses

Background: Inappropriate infant-feeding practices linked to excessive, rapid, early weight gain, are potentially powerful intervention points for reducing risk of later obesity. Understanding how and why these behaviors begin is currently the topic of much research. Because breastfeeding has been found to be somewhat protective against early rapid gain, and because low-income, Southeastern U.S. populations are significantly less likely to initiate and maintain breastfeeding, it is critical to focus efforts in these populations. Grounded theory methodology provides the optimal theoretical underpinnings for exploring development of these practices.

Research Objective: The objective was to explore, using grounded theory methodology, the set …

Effectiveness Of Antismoking Campaign Strategies On Smoking Cessation Of Chinese Smokers: An Application Of Taylor’S Six-Segment Message Strategy Wheel, Xizi Cai

Masters Theses

China has the largest smoker population in the world. Since 2006, with China as a member country of WHO FCTC (World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control), the country has seen more and more antismoking campaigns on various kinds of media both national and local. However, the effectiveness of these antismoking campaigns is still not clear, especially within Chinese traditional smoking culture background.

Adopting an in-depth interview approach, this study explores how different antismoking campaign strategies in terms of Taylor’s Six-segment Massage Strategy Wheel could influence smoking cessation of Chinese adult smokers who have quitting experience. Research questions focus …

The (M)Health Connection: An Examination Of The Promise Of Mobile Phones For Hiv/Aids Intervention In Sub-Saharan Africa, Trisha M. Phippard

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis offers an examination of the complex opportunities and challenges that characterize the development of innovative, locally appropriate, sustainable, and scalable uses of mobile phones as instruments to support and advance HIV/AIDS work in sub-Saharan Africa. Drawing together the fields of ICT4D and health communication, this thesis establishes a theoretical framework for mobile health (mHealth) interventions in developing countries from a critical media studies perspective. It interrogates the varied applications of mobile phones vis-à-vis health that have been identified, promoted, or piloted in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere in the Global South, focusing on the potential for mobile phones to …

How Do Parents Use Health Information With The Aid Of A Knowledge Broker When Living With And Caring For Their Young Children With Cerebral Palsy?, Stephanie E. Lagosky

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research aims to understand how parents use health information (such as those developed from the Move & PLAY study) with the aid of a knowledge broker when living with and caring for young children with cerebral palsy. This research was conducted under a qualitative case study methodology and used questionnaires and in-depth interviews to collect data. Findings include the complexity of both parental use of health information and the desire to use a knowledge broker. A provisional model has been created to help describe information use of parents with young children with cerebral palsy. This provisional model is an …

Mother–Daughter Communication About Sex: The Influence Of Authoritative Parenting Style, Natasha Askelson, Michelle Campo, Sandi Smith

Michelle L. Campo

Parent–child communication about sex has been shown to delay sexual activity and increase contraceptive and condom use. The influence of authoritative parenting style and mothers' perception of daughters' risk on communication about sex was examined in this study. Mothers in a random sample (n = 283) with daughters aged 9–15 years were mailed surveys asking about communication with their daughters regarding 11 sex-related topics. Multivariate linear regression was used to assess the influence of authoritative parenting style and mothers' perceptions of risk on the number of topics communicated about and age of the daughter at time of communication for a …

Mother–Daughter Communication About Sex: The Influence Of Authoritative Parenting Style, Michelle Campo, Natasha Askelson, Sandi Smith

Michelle L. Campo

Parent–child communication about sex has been shown to delay sexual activity and increase contraceptive and condom use. The influence of authoritative parenting style and mothers' perception of daughters' risk on communication about sex was examined in this study. Mothers in a random sample (n = 283) with daughters aged 9–15 years were mailed surveys asking about communication with their daughters regarding 11 sex-related topics. Multivariate linear regression was used to assess the influence of authoritative parenting style and mothers' perceptions of risk on the number of topics communicated about and age of the daughter at time of communication for a …

The Effects Of Diagrams And Relational Complexity On User Performance In Conditional Probability Problems In A Non-Learning Context, Vincent J. Kellen

College of Computing and Digital Media Dissertations

Many disciplines in everyday life depend on improved performance in conditional probability problems. Most adults struggle with conditional probability problems and several prior studies have shown participant accuracy is less than 50%. This study examined user performance when aided with computer-generated Venn and Euler type diagrams in a non-learning context. Despite the prevalence of research into diagrams and extensive research into conditional probability problem solving, this study is one of the only studies to apply theories of working memory to predict user performance in conditional probability problems with diagrams. Following relational complexity theory, this study manipulated problem complexity in computer …

The Process Of Informed Decision-Making About Prenatal Screening: Patient Education Materials, Policy, And Pregnant Women's Perspectives, Meredith G. Vanstone

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis examines the process of informed decision-making for low-risk women in their first pregnancies as they consider whether or not to participate in non-invasive, non-diagnostic prenatal screening.

Using a social constructionist approach with a theoretical lens of feminist bioethics, data from three sources were used to consider different aspects of the process of informed decision-making about prenatal screening. Data obtained from patient education materials, Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada policy documents, and interviews with pregnant women were examined using the principles of constructivist grounded theory.

Findings are presented in the form of four integrated articles, addressing the …

Designing An Information-Experience Using Creativity Science & Tools, Stephanie Belhomme

Stephanie Belhomme

An “information-experience” encapsulated by a technological/digital audio-visual tool presents data and potentially meaningful information to prompt actionable knowledge concerning: “unspoken creative process elements;” their profound impacts on both how well our “physiology of creativity” functions but also; how well foundational creative thinking and behavioral prerequisites (energy, motivation, imagination, and ownership) are leveraged.

The product: 1) introduces the user to one component of the CPS (Creative Problem Solving) Facilitation Process - Exploring the Challenge; 2) features a content specific component which prompts exploration of the many correlations between societal, organizational / community, human physiological / behavioral data, and the direct relationships …

Speech Perception In Children With Autism, Caitlin Louise Weber

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

This study involved a) a detailed analysis of current research regarding speech perception in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), b) a literature review on current approaches to therapy for children with ASD, and c) a series of observations in clinic and school settings. Observations were made at the Independence Academy and Riley Children's Hospital. The review of current research showed that while children with ASD are less influenced by visual cues than typically developing children, they still benefit from the addition of visual cues to speech perception and do not lack auditory-visual integration skills. Two approaches to therapy, the …

San Antonio High School Food Justice Program: A Handbook And Evaluation Of Edible Education, Katherine B. Tenneson

Pitzer Senior Theses

This senior environmental studies thesis explains and analyzes edible education through a food and gardening program at a continuation high school in Claremont, California. The first chapter situates the program-specific analysis by providing background information of the edible education movement, a history of the Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley, California, and an explanation of why food is a powerful teaching tool. The second chapter delineates the program by describing all of its components and compiling essential resources and teaching documents. The third chapter is based on interviews with 9 of 12 involved students and 7 teachers, and thoroughly explains the outcomes …

“Make Your Move, Choose Your Food”: A Healthy Lifestyles Empowerment Campaign, Michelle Child

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This thesis documents the campaign “Make Your Move. Choose Your Food.” This healthy lifestyles empowerment campaign was one of six conducted in Bowling Green, Kentucky during February 2012 for the Public Relations Student Society of America’s (PRSSA) 2011-2012 Bateman Case Study Competition through the public relations capstone courses Journalism 454 and 456. The objective of this campaign was to encourage children, teenagers, parents, educators and community organizations to improve their individual health and the health of the community. My team, consisting of four public relations seniors and myself, created three overall objectives grounded in research, planned strategies specific to our …

Planned Parenthood Takes On Live Action: An Analysis Of Media Interplay And Image Restoration Strategies In Strategic Conflict Management, Leslie Lynn Rasmussen

Dissertations

On February 1, 2011 the pro-life organization Live Action released videos that appeared to show Planned Parenthood clinic staff disregarding statutory rape and abortion reporting laws and aiding sex traffickers. The videos posted online quickly garnered over a million views and placed Planned Parenthood at the forefront of national news. The Federal government intervened and threatened to remove funding to the Title X organization. Planned Parenthood launched a campaign to retain funding using social media and controlled online media, and attempted restore its image as a reputable healthcare provider while engaged in conflict with Live Action.

A content analysis was …

Legal Impediments To The Diffusion Of Telemedicine, Diane E. Hoffmann, Virginia Rowthorn

Diane Hoffmann

No abstract provided.

Social Media Networking Strategies For The Yale New Haven Center For Emergency Preparedness And Disaster Response (Ynh-Cepdr)/ Yale New Haven Health System Center For Healthcare Solutions (Ynhhs-Chs), Amanda Smith

Masters Theses

This paper investigates the uses and gratification of social media for both personal and organizational usage among employees at the Yale New Haven Center for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response/Center for Healthcare Solutions in New Haven, Connecticut. The purpose of this thesis is to assess and evaluate the relationship between YNH-CEPDR/CHS' usage of social media tools and the organization's employees' personal attitudes, beliefs and usage of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Employees of CEPDR/CHS were surveyed regarding the function of social media for emergency management communication and the promotion of products and services. Results suggest that while employees generally agree …

I'M Ok, You're Not: Assessing Variable Influence On Perceptions Of The Mentally Ill Among College Students, Phillip Wagner

Masters Theses

Due to the alarming level of stigma associated with individuals with a mental illness, this present study seeks to understand the variables that influence perceptions of the mentally ill. The research questions for this study are as follows: RQ1: What are the latitudes of acceptance, rejection and non-commitment that college students identify in their perceptions of the mental health community?, RQ2: Does gender influence college student perceptions of the mentally ill?, and RQ3: Does the level of religious involvement that college students identify correlate to their perceptions of the mentally ill? The 257 participants completed an online survey that assessed …