Health Communication Commons^™

Propuesta Curricular Para La Asistencia Médica Bilingüe Orientada A La Concordancia De Lenguas Y La Interpretación Médica En Español, David Sanchez-Jimenez, Noemi Rodriguez, Justin Harnandan, Margarita Perez, Melissa Garcia

Publications and Research

Resumen: El presente trabajo describe el proceso para establecer una especialización secundaria bilingüe centrada en la comunicación y la interpretación médica en una universidad de Estados Unidos designada como Institución al Servicio de los Hispanos. Este nuevo título universitario brindará a los estudiantes bilingües de español e inglés especializados en el área de la salud la oportunidad de mejorar sus destrezas comunicativas para convertirse en competentes profesionales de la salud concordantes de lengua.

Abstract:This paper details the process to establish a new bilingual academic minor in health communication and medical interpretation at a United States university designated as a Hispanic-Serving …

Navigating Legal Labyrinths: Health Communication And The Experiences Of Immigrant Healthcare Professionals In The Us Healthcare System, Sabahat Moughal, Sarah Price

Publications and Research

This study examines how immigrant healthcare professionals experience immigration-related stress, cultural tension, and communication demands within U.S. clinical environments. A survey of 55 clinicians at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center showed varied levels of cultural conflict and socioeconomic worry, as well as frequent adjustments to communication styles. While many participants reported feeling culturally stable, a significant portion experienced tension or uncertainty tied to immigration status. These findings highlight the wide range of adaptation experiences among immigrant clinicians, supporting the need for institutional awareness and targeted support. IRB Protocol #: 20251023-12, Wyckoff Heights Medical Center

Book Review: Maricel Guiao Santos, Rachel Showstack, Glenn A. Martínez, Drew Colcher, Dalia Magaña. (2024). Health Disparities And The Applied Linguist. Routledge, Pp. 148, David Sanchez-Jimenez

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Minds, Made Up Or Malleable? Covert Commands At The Eclipse Of Vaccine Communications, David H. Lee

Publications and Research

Abstract: Although millions have died from SARS-CoV-2 illness, COVID vaccines are credited with stemming the tide. Vaccinations and boosters significantly decrease the incidence of severe illness and death (even if they don’t usually prevent COVID-19 infection). Despite the success of global vaccination efforts, frequent reports of vaccine hesitance and refusal suggest that public health communications need improvement.

The chapter begins by acknowledging adverse events associated with COVID vaccination, including rare cases of anaphylaxis, GBS, and myocarditis. An inoculation-theoretic rationale is offered for this admission of vaccine risks: just as immune defenses mount when organisms are exposed to pathogens, so too …

Vaccines And Publics: A Variety Of Engagement Experiences, David H. Lee

Publications and Research

This chapter is about some of the sites and scenes where members of the public are exposed to (and engage in) vaccination discourse. To preview, after a brief introduction, we begin with messaging models of communication, followed by the move from messaging to engagement. Next, case examples of public engagement with vaccines are introduced, from pandemic influenza preparedness in the U.S., to polio eradication initiatives in India, and then to COVID-19 public engagement events in England. Settings of public engagement are noted, including online, in churches and museums. Then, there’s a section about communication and public participation, seen as either …

Cultural Barriers And Communication: South Asian Experiences In Health Care Settings, Sabahat Moughal

Publications and Research

For U.S. immigrants, communication is a complex aspect of integration into American society, and when it involves health care, communication can become particularly challenging and stressful. This is especially true for South Asian immigrants and their health care providers, who face language, cultural, and ethnic barriers. This study addresses the health communication challenges facing this immigrant community by gathering narratives from South Asian patients and health care professionals through in-depth, open-ended interviews, conducted via Zoom or in-person and voice-recorded. The interviews aim to assess communication styles (verbal and non-verbal), methods (such as symbolic practices and culturally specific terms), and regional …

Caracterización Lingüístico-Discursiva De Los Mecanismos De Despersonalización Y Posicionamiento Del Autor En El Género Médico Ficha Clínica, David Sanchez-Jimenez, Paulina Meza

Publications and Research

El dominio de géneros especializados es una competencia que representa gran dificultad para los estudiantes en formación. Su falta de dominio puede impedir o retrasar el proceso de enculturación de un individuo en una comunidad. Para formar adecuadamente a los estudiantes en las prácticas discursivas disciplinares, son necesarios datos empíricos sobre las características lingüístico-discursivas de los textos que deben producir. El objetivo de esta investigación cualitativa es describir los recursos lingüístico-discursivos de despersonalización y posicionamiento del autor en el género médico Ficha clínica. El corpus está constituido por 52 Fichas clínicas producidas por estudiantes de medicina de una universidad chilena. …

La Voz Del Autor En El Discurso Médico Y Sus Implicaciones En Ele, David Sanchez-Jimenez

Publications and Research

La demanda de profesionales de la salud que pueden prestar atención lingüísticamente concordante al paciente en contextos multilingües explica el aumento de los cursos de español médico en el currículo de pregrado y posgrado en instituciones universitarias de Estados Unidos en las últimas décadas. El aprendizaje de los estudiantes matriculados en estos cursos requiere el conocimiento de las características retórico-discursivas propias de los principales géneros discursivos que estudian durante su carrera para fines específicos en el campo de la salud los alumnos universitarios de español, cuyo fin último será el de replicarlos eficazmente en su práctica profesional. Por ello, en …

Our Stories, Katelyn S. Lopez

Publications and Research

This semester, we participated in the “Our Stories” qualitative research project that involves learning more about students' first year, and first-semester experiences at City Tech during pandemic times. As we organized and read students’ posts, we journaled and practiced reflexivity, a qualitative research process that helps us examine how we are interpreting the data that we are engaging with. T Reflexivity is a process in qualitative research involving frequent examination of one’s position in the project. These positions include one’s assumptions, feelings, and so forth. An essential question for qualitative researchers, according to Leavy (2011), is “Has the researcher engaged …

Factors Associated With Mask Use In New York City Neighborhood Parks During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Field Audit Study, Lisa Hitch, Marie A. Sillice, Hanish Kodali, Katarzyna E. Wyka, Javier Otero Peña, Terry Tk Huang

Publications and Research

Background: Mask use is a cost-effective measure to decrease COVID-19 transmission. Mask mandates intend to increase mask compliance but are often ambiguous when it comes to public outdoor spaces.

Methods: We used a field audit study to examine mask use in New York City neighborhood parks during COVID-19. 1453 park visitors were observed in 13 parks during July–August 2020 using a modified and validated park use audit tool (System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities) that included items on general and proper mask use (i.e., mask covering both nose and mouth). Generalized estimating equation regression was used to determine …

Direction For Protection: Multimedia Messaging To Address Racial Health Disparities, Florence F. Litchmore-Smith

Publications and Research

According to the CDC (2021), black people have higher risks of hospitalization and death from COVID 19. The Kaiser Family Foundation (2021) reports that black adults are less likely to have received the COVID 19 vaccination than white, Asian and Hispanic adults, placing them at greater risk for COVID 19 infection. Lower rates of vaccination focus attention on the need for messages tailored to underserved populations. In this study, we review historical and contemporary events to acknowledge important milestones in public health. Using graphic arts, we present a symbolization of the social determinants of health and a poster highlighting some …

Reports And Commands: Deciphering A Health Exhibition Using The Speaking Mnemonic, David H. Lee

Publications and Research

The Amazing You exhibition at the Tampa Museum of Science and Industry had over 400 different multimedia health exhibits. Visitors walked through life stages, from conception through death, the exhibits at first showcasing developmental milestones, then diseases and chronic conditions associated with ageing. Museum executives described the exhibition as a public health intervention that stressed disease prevention, screening and behaviour change. This piece considers the question: What makes an exhibition be a health intervention? To describe complexities of the communication environment I use a mnemonic device called SPEAKING, an acronym for ‘Scene/Setting, Participants, Ends, Act Sequence, Key, Instrumentalites, Norms and …

Pattern Of Use Of Electronic Health Record (Ehr) Among The Chronically Ill: A Health Information National Trend Survey (Hints) Analysis, Rose Calixte, Sumaiya Islam, Zainab Toteh Osakwe, Argelis Rivera, Marlene Camacho-Rivera

Publications and Research

Effective patient–provider communication is a cornerstone of patient-centered care. Patient portals provide an effective method for secure communication between patients or their proxies and their health care providers. With greater acceptability of patient portals in private practices, patients have a unique opportunity to manage their health care needs. However, studies have shown that less than 50% of patients reported accessing the electronic health record (EHR) in a 12-month period. We used HINTS 5 cycle 1 and cycle 2 to assess disparities among US residents 18 and older with any chronic condition regarding the use of EHR for secure direct messaging …

A Flea’S Tumescence: Alan Blum, Md, On Exhibitions, Activism, Irony, And Collaboration, David H. Lee

Publications and Research

In November 2020, I spoke with Alan Blum, MD, scholar, collector, curator, exhibitor, activist, and director of the University of Alabama Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society (CSTS). He has been creating tobacco-themed exhibitions since the 1980s—in brick-and-mortar as well as digital settings—based on a prodigious collection of tobacco-related artifacts. Before joining CSTS, as founder of Doctors Ought to Care, a national organization of concerned and outspoken physicians, Blum satirized and protested at tobacco industry–sponsored events. In addition to being an avid museumgoer, he closely follows the tobacco industry’s sponsorship of museums and exhibitions. This article contains excerpts …

The Dual Meanings Of Artifacts: Public Culture, Food, And Government In The “What’S Cooking, Uncle Sam?” Exhibition, Elizabeth A. Petre, David H. Lee

Publications and Research

In 2011, “What’s Cooking, Uncle Sam? The Government’s Effect on the American Diet” (WCUS) was exhibited at the Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. Afterward, it toured the country, visiting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) David J. Sencer Museum in Atlanta, the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, and the Kansas Museum of History in Topeka. The exhibition website states that WCUS was “made possible” by candy corporation Mars, Incorporated. WCUS featured over a 100 artifacts tracing “the Government’s effect on what Americans eat.” Divided into four thematic sections (Farm, Factory, Kitchen, …

Framing Inclusion: The Media Treatment Of Irregular Immigrants' Right To Health Care In Spain, Alisa Petroff, Anahí Viladrich, Sònia Parella

Publications and Research

With the passing of Royal Decree-Law 16/2012, Spain’s national health system switched from a model defined by universal and free health care principles, to a private insurance system that excluded large population groups. Based on a qualitative research design, this paper examines the media treatment of undocumented immigrants’ prerogatives to public health care in Spain (2012–2018). The analysis of 234 articles, drawn from three major Spanish newspapers, reveals three frames that underscore the media’s "rhetorics of inclusion," which argue for the extension of free medical services to irregular immigrants a topic traditionally underestimated by the literature. The moralist frame, supported …

La Dialogicidad En La Tesis Doctoral Y El Artículo De Investigación Escritos En Inglés Y Español En Medicina, David Sánchez-Jiménez

Publications and Research

Resumen

Esta investigación presenta una perspectiva intercultural (español e inglés) en el ámbito de la escritura científica médica sobre la interacción que ocurre entre el escritor y la audiencia que recibe el texto. De modo más específico, se estudian las diferencias dialógicas que ocurren en los géneros de la tesis doctoral y el artículo de investigación en Medicina desde el modelo metadiscursivo interpersonal propuesto por Hyland (2005, 2008). El corpus se compone de 40 textos, divididos en 20 escritos expertos (artículos) y 20 de posgrado (tesis). Se analizan los rasgos pragmalingüísticos que contribuyen a la construcción y la negociación de …

Minimizing The Dangers Of Air Pollution Using Alternative Facts: A Science Museum Case Study, David H. Lee

Publications and Research

A science museum exhibition about human health contains an exhibit that minimizes health impacts of air pollution. Relevant details, such as the full range of health risks; fossil fuel combustion; air quality statutes (and the local electrical utility’s violations of these statues), are omitted, while end users of electricity are blamed. The exhibit accomplishes this, not through outright falsification, but through selected “alternative facts” that change the focus and imply misleading alternate explanations. Using two classical rhetorical concepts (the practical syllogism and the enthymeme) allows for the surfacing of missing evidence and unstated directives underlying multimodal rhetoric. By stating multimedia …

Readability Of Online-Patient Based Information On Bariatric Surgery, Zoë Meleo-Erwin, Corey Basch, Joseph Fera, Danna Ethan, Philip Garcia

Publications and Research

Background: Web-based patient education literature has been shown to be written at reading levels far above what is recommended. Little is known about the overall readability of current internet-based bariatric surgery information. The purpose of this study was to assess the readability of current bariatric material on the internet.

Methods: The term “weight loss surgery” was searched using the Chrome browser on the first 15 pages of URLs that appeared with content written in English. Using five readability measures, scores were generated using Readable.io for written content on a sample of 96 websites. Scores were sorted into the readability categories …

La Comunicación Lingüística En Español Y Sus Barreras En El Sistema De Salud De Los Estados Unidos, David Sánchez-Jiménez

Publications and Research

La enseñanza del español con fines médicos en los Estados Unidos ha experimentado un crecimiento exponencial en las dos últimas décadas. Sin embargo, los pacientes de origen hispano se encuentran desprotegidos ante las barreras lingüísticas que impone el sistema de salud estadounidense en muchos contextos monolingües y bilingües. Esta investigación descriptiva muestra como, por un lado, los malentendidos producidos por la comunicación ineficiente desarrollada por intérpretes e intermediarios (familiares, enfermeras con conocimientos de español, facultativos con una preparación lingüística deficiente, etc.) tienen serias repercusiones para la salud en el tratamiento de los casos. Por otro lado, el estudio da cuenta …

Supermarket Retailers’ Perspectives On Healthy Food Retail Strategies: In-Depth Interviews, Olivia Martinez, Noemi Rodriguez, Allison Mercurio, Marie Bragg, Brian Elbel

Publications and Research

Background

Excess calorie consumption and poor diet are major contributors to the obesity epidemic. Food retailers, in particular at supermarkets, are key shapers of the food environment which influences consumers’ diets. This study seeks to understand the decision-making processes of supermarket retailers—including motivators for and barriers to promoting more healthy products—and to catalogue elements of the complex relationships between customers, suppliers, and, supermarket retailers.

Methods

We recruited 20 supermarket retailers from a convenience sample of full service supermarkets and national supermarket chain headquarters serving low- and high-income consumers in urban and non-urban areas of New York. Individuals responsible for making …

Translating Research As An Approach To Enhance Science Engagement, Michelle T. Juarez, Chloe M. Kenet

Publications and Research

The impact of research depends on the effective communication of discoveries. Scientific writing is the primary tool for the dissemination of research, and is an important skill that biomedical trainees have to develop. Despite its importance, scientific writing is not part of the mainstream curriculum. One strategy used to teach scientific writing is holding a journal club style discussion of primary research literature that the students are asked to read. However, this activity can result in a passive learning experience and limit the development of trainees’ scientific writing skills. In order to improve trainees’ written communication skills, we tested an …

A Cardiology Exhibit At A Science Museum, Viewed As Speech Acts In Sequence, David H. Lee

Publications and Research

An exhibit about cardiology at a science museum is an elaborate form of health communication, with messaging happening across text, pictures, models, and videos. This qualitative case study uses concepts of speech act sequencing and interpellation to explain a series of multimodal exhibits about cardiovascular health. Health exhibits are described as verbal and audiovisual arguments combining assertions of information; directives to change behavior, and designations of risk candidacy—or sequences of assertive, directive, and declarative speech acts. Visitors are targeted as heart disease candidates according to their risk factors, such as hypertension, overweight, and inactivity. Communication research focused on health exhibits …

Readability Of Colorectal Cancer Online Information: A Brief Report, Corey Basch, Danna Ethan, Sarah A. Maclean, Philip Garcia, Charles E. Basch

Publications and Research

Purpose: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. A decline in deaths caused by CRC has been largely attributable to screening and prompt treatment. Motivation, shown to influence cancer-related screening and treatment decisions, can be shaped by information from the Internet. The extent to which this information is easily readable on cancer-related websites is not known. The purpose of this study was to assess the readability levels of CRC information on 100 websites.

Methods: Using methods from a prior study, the keyword, “colorectal cancer,” was searched on a cleared Internet browser. Scores …

The Relationship Between Just Culture, Trust And Patient Safety, Linda Ann Paradiso, Nancy Sweeney

Publications and Research

PROBLEM: Medical errors are now considered to be the third leading cause of death in the United States, estimated at more than 250,000 deaths per year. The Institute of Medicine’s landmark report, To Err is Human, identified that errors are not the fault of individuals, but systems, processes, and various conditions. In healthcare, the cornerstone of the process by which we learn from errors has been voluntary reporting. The primary barrier to reporting errors is the negative response from administrators, and the potential risk of disciplinary action. An environment of trust and fairness is known as “Just Culture” and …

Mandates Of Maternity At A Science Museum, From Should To Must, David H. Lee

Publications and Research

A pregnancy exhibit at a science museum is an opportunity to research how medical advice is communicated and interpreted. This paper is about the Beginning of Life area of an exhibition called The Amazing You at the Tampa Museum of Science and Industry, where exhibits are prescriptive as well as descriptive. Expectant women are urged to deliver full-term, normal birthweight babies, by behaving according to prescribed medical norms. This study provides ethnographic descriptions of the exhibits, as well as insights from museum visitors who were interviewed. The exhibits, which emphasize fetal rights and maternal duties, are interpreted and critiqued by …

Utilizing Emotionally Responsive Virtual Human Role-Play Simulations To Train Users To Identify, Talk To And Refer Students In Psychological Distress Including Those At-Risk For Suicide: A Meta-Analysis, Glenn Albright, Jesse Davidson, Ron Goldman, Kristen Shockley, Sue Eastgard, Joy Himmel

Publications and Research

Background: The American College Health Association found that over 30% of students reported difficulty in functioning due to feeling depressed, overwhelming anxiety (50%) and anger (36%). Suicide is the second leading cause of death among US adolescents and over half of mental illnesses emerge prior to adulthood. A similar study found that nearly half of student veterans met criteria for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and 46% had suicidal ideation. Left untreated, mental illness can lead to increased absenteeism, lower academic performance, disrupted classroom behaviors and compromises school safety. Educators and students are well positioned to identify and refer students in …

Health Communication Closely Tied To Culture, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Entertaining, Informing, Persuading: Figures Of Speech To Prepare For Health And Safety, David H. Lee, Frederick Steier, Wit Ostrenko

Publications and Research

The public mandates science center exhibits that are entertaining as well as informative. In addition, exhibits can also be performative, in that they act back upon the visitors with an injunction to change their ways. We give examples from two exhibits that not only inform, but also open up space for changes in behavior and perception, particularly in arenas of public health. We look at two recent and ongoing exhibits at MOSI – “Disasterville” and “The Amazing You” - and examine the affordances suggested by figures of speech such as eponymy, hyponymy, hypernymy and retronymy. Tropological research into museum exhibits …

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 …