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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™

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Theses/Dissertations

2015

Health communication

Articles 1 - 7 of 7

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Framing Death: Politics, Meaning, And The Strategic Communication Of Organ Donation Messages In South Carolina, Jeremy T. Vanderknyff Dec 2015

Framing Death: Politics, Meaning, And The Strategic Communication Of Organ Donation Messages In South Carolina, Jeremy T. Vanderknyff

Theses and Dissertations

This study applies framing theory within a critical-interpretive anthropological context to understand how organ procurement organizations (OPOs) design messages to promote organ donation registration and how cultural factors including notions of embodiment and structural inequalities influence audiences’ processing of those messages. The first part of the study employs content analysis to deductively identify OPO-produced message frames. The second part of the study uses focus groups across South Carolina to explore audience reactions to different message frames. Themes from donors and non-donors alike reflected a mistrust of the medical establishment, a keen awareness of structural inequality, and complex notions of embodiment …

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Understanding Access To Health Information: The Role And Measurement Of Social Location, Megan S. Kelley Aug 2015

Understanding Access To Health Information: The Role And Measurement Of Social Location, Megan S. Kelley

Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to explore how application of social location theory may improve data collection on health information access in order to better inform and improve the effectiveness of health communication and messaging. This dissertation proposes a framework to understand how people obtain health information based on the idea of social location, Ritzer and Bell’s (1981) levels of social reality, and Dahlberg & Krug’s (2002) social ecological model. This research addressed the extent to which three studies of health information access support the use of such a framework, and if so, how its application could improve our …

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Prostate Cancer Education In The African American Community: Implcations For Community-Based Health Communication Strategies, Barry Charles Hill Jul 2015

Prostate Cancer Education In The African American Community: Implcations For Community-Based Health Communication Strategies, Barry Charles Hill

Open Access Theses

This paper examines the social milieu of African American barbershops by exploring health discussions and information transfer between barbers and barbershop clients. This paper examines associations between peer helper and health promotion intervention variables, and peer helper intervention effectiveness in increasing knowledge and health discussion frequency. Study findings suggest barbers with higher education are significantly more effective as peer helpers in discussing health topics more frequently (OR 4.64; CI 1.00 - 21.49) and in increasing client knowledge (β 0.94; CI 0.26 - 1.63). Additionally, barbershop health educational materials were significantly associated with increased barber health discussion (OR 4.13; CI 1.32 …

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Identity Disclosure In Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Patient-Provider Communication, Nicole Hudak May 2015

Identity Disclosure In Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Patient-Provider Communication, Nicole Hudak

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals have encountered barriers in accessing healthcare. Barriers to accessing medical care can stem from discrimination within healthcare, which includes the medicalization of homosexuality. Literature demonstrates that both providers and LGB patients recognize that there are inefficiencies in the current healthcare system for LGB patients. This thesis sought to find how LGB individuals navigated the disclosure of their sexual identities with their providers and what types of communication barriers existed between them. Qualitative, in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 LGB identified participants. The recorded interviews were transcribed and analyzed using a constant comparative method. Four themes …

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Promoting Healthy Behavior Change: Communication Interventions To Lower Risk Of Type Ii Diabetes In Men And Women Under 30, Jessica A. Bruns Apr 2015

Promoting Healthy Behavior Change: Communication Interventions To Lower Risk Of Type Ii Diabetes In Men And Women Under 30, Jessica A. Bruns

Masters Essays

Diabetes is a chronic disease in which one’s blood glucose, more commonly known as sugar, rises to above average levels (American Diabetes Association [ADA], 2015). According to the 2014 National Diabetes Statistics Report, in 2012, 29.1 million Americans age 20 and older have diabetes, up from 25.8 million in 2010, with 90-95% of those diagnosed cases being Type II diabetes (ADA, 2014). As of 2010, diabetes remains the seventh leading cause of death in America (ADA, 2014). Several studies have found regular physical activity and maintaining a normal body mass index (BMI) can significantly reduce one’s risk of developing Type …

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Quality Of Life And Mental Health Outcomes In Implanted Cardioverter Defibrillator Treatment: Potential Effects Of Informational Media History And Treatment Knowledge, Christopher E. Knoepke Jan 2015

Quality Of Life And Mental Health Outcomes In Implanted Cardioverter Defibrillator Treatment: Potential Effects Of Informational Media History And Treatment Knowledge, Christopher E. Knoepke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social workers in all care venues are increasingly responsible for clinical and case management services for people being treated with sophisticated medical interventions. Unfortunately, opportunities to aid in the promotion of quality of life (QOL), mental health, and informed consent are often not understood by social workers, other care providers, or patients. These missed opportunities may lead to attenuated effectiveness of medical interventions and negative impact on patients' QOL. One such technological treatment is the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), a lifesaving therapy which carries risk to patients' QOL. Moreover, patients frequently do not accurately understand the benefits, limitations, and possible …

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The Influence Of Medical Dramas On Patient Expectations Of Physician Communication, Kayla M. Fadenrecht Jan 2015

The Influence Of Medical Dramas On Patient Expectations Of Physician Communication, Kayla M. Fadenrecht

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The present investigation applies para-social contact theory to better understand the role of viewing a medical drama on patients’ expectations towards physician’s empathic communication. Results demonstrate that overall, participants form para-social relationships with television characters. Exposure to the stimulus in the current study did not influence participants’ communicative expectations or para-social interaction with characters on the medical drama used. A positive correlation was found between para-social interaction with televised characters and patient expectations. Results are discussed with an emphasis on how Cultivation theory describes the role between exposure to medical dramas and patient expectations, as well as para-social interaction theory.

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