Health Communication Commons^™

“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 …

A Study Of Art Therapy-Based Approaches To Communication Between Physicians And Pediatric Patients, Carrie Carowan

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

Miscommunication between physicians and child patients about perceived pain results in problems with diagnosis and treatment of childhood illness. This study used an art therapy-based approach to explore physician perceptions and understanding of child patients’ pain as compared to the pediatric patients’ perceptions of their own pain. Body Outline Forms (BOFs) and Magnified Pain Drawings (MPDs) (Barton, 1995) were completed by participants, and compared using a qualitative content analysis. Visual results reflected a difference in perception of pain by the physician and child participants in areas of color, size, shape, location, and movement. Verbal results collected from the physician participant …

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 …

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 …

Sick With Fear: Popular Challenges To Scientific Authority In The Vaccine Controversies Of The 21st Century, Ellen Watkins

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

In the 20th century, vaccines were heralded as one of the greatest medical inventions in history. In the late 1990’s, however, the myth of vaccine-caused autism caught fire. Despite mountains of evidence disproving the link, panicking Americans eschewed vaccines and turned against their physicians. Why did Americans turn their backs on doctors, scientists, and the health industry? This paper follows the vaccine controversy of the last thirty years, looking in particular at the relationship between science and the media. This paper analyzes the contrast between discussion of the hypothesized link in scientific circles and in popular news sources, seeking to …

The Drawn-Out Battle Against Stigma: Mental Health In Modern American Comics And Graphic Novels, Swee Khee Brenda Seah

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

The discussion of mental health issues in the media significantly shapes public perceptions, most notably in negative portrayals that contribute to the stereotyping of mental health patients. Perhaps surprisingly, comics and graphic novels are forms of media that have potential to mitigate such stigma, despite earlier criticism of mental health stereotypes propagated in some comics. This is reflected in a recent trend of comics treating mental health issues in more sympathetic ways. This paper discusses three American comics from the last decade, examining depictions of post-traumatic stress disorder in Garry Trudeau's comic strip, Doonesbury, around 2005-2006, schizophrenia in Nate …

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Who's The Thinnest Of Them All?, Ann Marie O'Brien

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

Societal standards of feminine beauty are presented in all forms of popular culture, thus bombarding women with images that portray what our society considers to be the “ideal body type.” These images, as seen on the cover of magazines, in popular films and in all forms of web and print advertising, are consistently depicted and easily described with one word: skinny. The regular use of unnatural, unhealthy and unrealistic models sends the implicit message that in order for a woman to be beautiful, she must attain this ultra-thin physique. Such adulation of these images encourages women to sacrifice their health …

Influence Of Medical Journal Press Releases On The Quality Of Associated Newspaper Coverage: Retrospective Cohort Study, Lisa M. Schwartz, Steven Woloshin, Alice Andrews, Therese A. Stukel

Dartmouth Scholarship

Objective: To determine whether the quality of press releases issued by medical journals can influence the quality of associated newspaper stories.

Children And Adolescent Exposure To Alcohol Advertising During Bathurst 1000, Sondra L. Davoren, Craig A. Sinclair

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

Critical Analysis Of Hiv/Aids Communication Messages, Charli Marie Wilson

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

For the last thirty years HIV/AIDS has affected the lives of many people in the United States. Since the first introduction of the disease to America, healthcare officials have implemented several methods in various disciplines to prevent new cases. The information in this thesis examines how public health campaigns have contributed to the prevention of HIV. The research method in this thesis assumes a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of three HIV/AIDS prevention campaigns and how these media educate men who have sex with men (MSM) about prevention. The CDA method is useful in identifying consistent emerging themes in the campaigns …

Electronic Health Records: Eliciting Behavioral Health Providers’ Beliefs [Brief Reports], Nancy C. Shank, Elizabeth Willborn, Lisa M. Pytlik Zillig, Harmonijoie Noel

Nancy Shank Publications

Interviews with 32 community behavioral health providers elicited perceived benefits and barriers of using electronic health records. Themes identified were (a) quality of care, (b) privacy and security, and (c) delivery of services. Benefits to quality of care were mentioned by 100% of the providers, and barriers by 59% of providers. Barriers involving privacy and security concerns were mentioned by 100% of providers, and benefits by 22%. Barriers to delivery of services were mentioned by 97% of providers, and benefits by 66%. Most providers (81%) expressed overall positive support for electronic behavioral health records.

Age, Attention, And Ots In A Constrained Vs Unconstrained Task, Courtney Leann Jensen

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

The discourse of older healthy adults is commonly described as lengthy and off-topic and thought to be associated with a general cognitive decline that occurs in healthy aging. This study investigated the overall decline in attention associated with healthy aging and its relationship to instances of off-topic speech (OTS) in a constrained and unconstrained language production task. Ninety cognitively healthy adults participated and comprised three age cohorts (40 – 75+). Participants completed cognitive measures of attention and two discourse tasks that included recounting personal events and describing a procedure. Older adults exhibited poorer scores on measures of selective and shifting …

A Study Of Expressed Emotion In Psychiatric Nurses And Its Relation To The General Role And Effects Of Emotions In Nursing, Lauren A. Buck

Senior Honors Theses

Nurses play a vital role in the health and care of a patient. Through that care, the nurse has the ability to improve the patient’s experience or ruin it. A vital component influencing the care provided are the emotions the nurse displays toward her coworkers, patients, and patients’ family members. The emotions of a nurse may positively or negatively impact a patient. The studies that examine the impact of the nurse’s emotions on patient’s outcomes are varied and few. The communication and emotion of nurses are likely to impact their care and, from that, the patient’s outcome; however, there is …

Assessing Medicare Beneficiaries’ Strength‐Of‐Preference Scores For Health Care Options: How Engaging Does The Elicitation Technique Need To Be?, Trafford Crump, Hilary A. Llewellyn-Thomas

Dartmouth Scholarship

The objective was to determine if participants’ strength‐of‐preference scores for elective health care interventions at the end‐of‐life (EOL) elicited using a non‐engaging technique are affected by their prior use of an engaging elicitation technique.

Decision Quality Instrument For Treatment Of Hip And Knee Osteoarthritis: A Psychometric Evaluation, Karen R. Sepucha, Dawn Stacey, Catharine F. Clay, Yuchiao Chang

Dartmouth Scholarship

A high quality decision requires that patients who meet clinical criteria for surgery are informed about the options (including non-surgical alternatives) and receive treatments that match their goals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties and clinical sensibility of a patient self report instrument, to measure the quality of decisions about total joint replacement for knee or hip osteoarthritis.

Different Means To The Same End: A Comparative Contingency Analyses Of Singapore And China’S Management Of The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) Crisis, Yan Jin, Augustine Pang, Glen T. Cameron

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

For months in 2003, the world lay under siege by a strain of virus that masqueraded as pneumonia but inflicted a far more lethal effect. By all accounts, the mystery of how the severe respiratory acute syndrome (SARS) virus came to be has remained largely unsolved (Bradsher & Altman 2003). What began as routine fever and cough in a Chinese physician, later identified as a super-carrier, rapidly spread to people who had cursory contacts with him, spiralling into a worldwide crisis that spanned Asia and the North Americas (Rosenthal 2003).

Trends In Authorship Order In Biomedical Research Publications, Suzetta Burrows Mls, Mary Moore Phd

Faculty Research, Publications, and Presentations

As research teams have grown larger, authorship lists of resulting publications have become longer. Organizations and journals have issued statements about ethical authorship, nature of contribution, and author responsibility, but author order is less frequently addressed. Unless the contribution of a co-author is specified, readers make their own assumptions about author contributions because practices on author order in the byline vary by discipline, journal, editor, publisher, scientific society, institution, country, and the authors themselves. Because contributions are often subject to misinterpretation and publications have become proof of scientific productivity and impact, it is increasingly important that authors themselves specify to …

Evaluating Mediated Perception Of Narrative Health Messages: The Perception Of Narrative Performance Scale, Jeong Kyu Lee, Michael L. Hecht, Michelle Miller-Day, Elvira Elek

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Narrative media health messages have proven effective in preventing adolescents’ substance use but as yet few measures exist to assess perceptions of them. Without such a measure it is difficult to evaluate the role these messages play in health promotion or to differentiate them from other message forms. In response to this need, a study was conducted to evaluate the Perception of Narrative Performance Scale that assesses perceptions of narrative health messages. A sample of 1185 fifth graders in public schools at Phoenix, Arizona completed a questionnaire rating of two videos presenting narrative substance use prevention messages. Confirmatory factor analyses …

Physical Activity And Cognitive-Health Content In Top-Circulating Magazines, 2006–2008, Anna E. Greer, Sara J. Corwin, Daniela B. Friedman

All PTHMS Faculty Publications

Physical activity may promote cognitive health in older adults. Popular media play an important role in preventive health communication. This study examined articles discussing associations between physical activity and cognitive health in top-circulating magazines targeting older adults. 42,753 pages of magazines published from 2006 to 2008 were reviewed; 26 articles met inclusion criteria. Explanations regarding the link between physical activity and cognitive health were provided in 57.7% of articles. These explanations were generally consistent with empirical evidence; however, few articles included empirical evidence. Physical activity recommendations were presented in 80.8% of articles; a wide range was recommended (90–300 min of …

Patient Perspectives Of Physicians' Compliance Gaining Strategies, Margaret Malinda Lambert

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This research examined strategies used by physicians for compliance gaining and patient responses to those strategies. Respondents were surveyed regarding their expectations about strategies physicians would use to gain compliance with requests related to changing lifestyle behaviors and how the respondents anticipated they would respond to physicians. Findings revealed that patients did anticipate specific persuasive strategies from physicians and anticipated responding in specific ways. Most respondents expect expertise strategies from physicians and plan to comply. Expertise strategies, however, were also linked with patients who planned to defy or ignore their physicians’ requests. Findings suggest that future research into why patients …

Roundtable On The National Health Security Strategy And At‐Risk Individuals, Behavioral Health, And Community Resilience, Daniel B. Fagbuyi, +Conference Participants

GW mHealth Collaborative

No abstract provided.

Narrative Reflection In The Family Medicine Clerkship-Cultural Competence In The Third Year Required Clerkships, Donna Elliott, Pamela Schaff, Theresa Woehrle, Anne Walsh, Janet Trial

Physician Assistant Studies Faculty Articles and Research

This resource cultivates effective cross-cultural communication skills, which requires an understanding of culture that includes both the physician's and the patient's perspectives. Building on a foundation of cultural awareness, knowledge, and skills students have acquired during the preclinical curriculum, this exercise provides an opportunity for students to continue to refine their narrative reflection skills as they interact with patients in the clinical setting. During the family medicine clerkship, students participate in learning activities that provide the opportunity to explore the rich opportunities of thoughtful reflection and narrative practice. Students also participate in a formative narrative reflection exercise during the clerkship …

Conceptions Regarding Children’S Health: An Examination Of Ethnotheories In A Sending And Receiving Community, Maria Rosario De Guzman, Jennifer Deleon, Gloria Gonzalez-Kruger, Rodrigo Cantarero

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Ethnotheories are beliefs that adults hold about children and the factors that impact upon their development. Scholars suggest that “ethnotheories” serve as cultural models that underlie motivations for parenting practices and the way adults organize children’s early experiences. This study examines Mexican adults’ ethnotheories about children’s health in two communities that are linked by transnational migrants and serve as sending and receiving communities for workers. Forty-four Mexican adults in six focus groups discussed well-being issues affecting children in their communities. Qualitative analyses using grounded theory revealed a complex conception of children’s health issues that included physical, psychological, and behavioral components …

Forming Bodies And Reforming Healthcare: The Co-Construction Of Information Technologies And Bodies Through The Imperative For Self Care, Scout Calvert

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

Care work and technological work are markedly striated by sex; the sites where they overlap are few. What happens when the labor of care meets up with information technologies? It makes good methodological sense to look at largely feminized environments that are also increasingly technological. Gender, Health, and Information Technology in Context, edited and with contributions by Ellen Balka, Eileen Green, and Flis Henwood, is a welcome contribution to the body of evidence about the socio-technical co-construction of technology, health, and gender. The volume houses nine studies, bookended by an astute introduction and conclusion by the editors. Each study …

“Applied” Aspects Of The Drug Resistance Strategies Project, Michael L. Hecht, Michelle Miller-Day

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

This paper discusses the applied aspects of our Drug Resistance Strategies Project. We argue that a new definitional distinction is needed to expand the notion of “applied” from the traditional notion of utilizing theory, which we call “applied.1”, in order to consider theory-grounded, theory testing and theory developing applied research. We label this new definition “applied.2” research. We then explain that our descriptive work describing the social processes of adolescent substance use, identity and use, and drug norms, as well as the subsequent development and dissemination of our keepin’ it REAL middle school substance use curriculum are examples of “applied.1” …

Acceptance, Communication Mode And Use Of Audio Computer- Assisted Self Interview Using Touchscreen To Identify Risk Factors Among Pregnant Minority Women, Jutta S. Thornberry, Kennan B. Murray, M. Nabil El-Khorazaty, Michele Kiely

Publications and Research

This paper evaluates the acceptability, communication mode and use of audio computer-assisted self-interview (A-CASI) among minority pregnant women receiving prenatal care in six Washington, DC sites. A total of 2,913 women were screened for demographic eligibility (18+ years old,gestation, Black/African-American or Hispanic) and risk (smoking, environmental tobacco smoke exposure, depression, intimate partner violence). Questions were displayed on touch screen laptop monitors and heard through earphones. The mean length of time to complete the screener was almost 6 minutes.

A-CASI experience, which included difficulty in using the computer, acceptability (enjoyment), and preferred communication mode, was compared across sites, the eligibility and …

Greenstar Social Marketing Private-Sector Activities In Paiman Project: Process Evaluation Of Greenstar Social Marketing Initiatives To Improve And Expand Maternal And Newborn Health Services And Coverage, Munir Afridi

Reproductive Health

The Population Council provided support for this process evaluation of Greenstar Social Marketing which established a healthcare private provider network (GoodLife clinics) primarily in the urban areas in 10 districts of the PAIMAN project in Pakistan. This network provides maternal and newborn health and reproductive health and family planning services and products. The information collected in this survey points to areas where Greenstar strategies are close to being fully met as well as to areas where the strategies are not being met. The detailed findings should allow Greenstar to focus on those areas most in need of attention: all groups—provider, …

The Negative Images Of Nursing Portrayed On Grey’S Anatomy, House And Er And Its Effect On Public Perception And The Contemporary Nursing Shortage, Jacquelyn Bishop

Health Sciences Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Parental Perceptions Of Body Mass Index Referrals And Overweight School-Age Children, Misty Schwartz

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

It is well documented that there is a worldwide epidemic of obesity in children. To address obesity in children, emphasis must be on factors within family, school, and community environments. Although most parents and school officials are aware of the problem of overweight children, there is little data available to guide decision making about the acceptability of school-based Body Mass Index (BMI) screening and referral programs. As states mandate BMI screening and referral, parental insight is essential to determine the efficiency and effectiveness of BMI notification.

The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the perceptions of parents …

Health Communication Sources And Cancer Survivors’ Information Seeking, Ni Zhang, Yong-Chan Kim

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

No abstract provided.