Health Communication Commons^™

Technology Use In Rural Appalachia: A Pilot Study Of The Implications For Pediatric Behavioral Health, Courtney E. Lilly

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Technology is a promising means for increasing rural individuals’ access to behavioral healthcare. However, the range of technology use in rural areas is currently unknown. The aims of this study were to examine the use of technology in rural areas, the relationship between technology use and willingness to access pediatric mental health services via videoconferencing, and this relationship within the context of other critical variables linked to service uptake. Data were collected at 2 pediatric primary care clinics. While no significant relationship was found between technology use and willingness to use videoconferencing, a significant relationship emerged between previous service seeking …

Balancing The Presentation Of Information And Options In Patient Decision Aids: An Updated Review, Purva Abhyankar, Robert J. Volk, Jennifer Blumenthal-Barby, Paulina Bravo, Angela Buchholz, Elissa Ozanne, Dale C. Vidal, Nananda Col, Peep Stalmeier

Dartmouth Scholarship

Standards for patient decision aids require that information and options be presented in a balanced manner; this requirement is based on the argument that balanced presentation is essential to foster informed decision making. If information is presented in an incomplete/non-neutral manner, it can stimulate cognitive biases that can unduly affect individuals’ knowledge, perceptions of risks and benefits, and, ultimately, preferences. However, there is little clarity about what constitutes balance, and how it can be determined and enhanced. We conducted a literature review to examine the theoretical and empirical evidence related to balancing the presentation of information and options.

From Kids, Through Kids, To Kids: Examining The Social Influence Strategies Used By Adolescents To Promote Prevention Among Peers, Janice L. Krieger, Samantha Coveleski, Michael L. Hecht, Michelle Miller-Day, John W. Graham, Jonathan Pettigrew, Allison Kootsikas

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Recent technological advances have increased the interest and ability of lay audiences to create messages; however, the feasibility of incorporating lay multimedia messages into health campaigns has seldom been examined. Drawing on the principle of cultural grounding and narrative engagement theory, this article seeks to examine what types of messages adolescents believe are most effective in persuading their peers to resist substance use and to provide empirical data on the extent to which audience-generated intervention messages are consistent with the associated campaign philosophy and branding. Data for the current study are prevention messages created by students as part of a …

Narrative Means To Preventative Ends: A Narrative Engagement Framework For Designing Prevention Interventions, Michelle Miller-Day, Michael L. Hecht

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

This article describes a Narrative Engagement Framework (NEF) for guiding communication-based prevention efforts. This framework suggests that personal narratives have distinctive capabilities in prevention. The article discusses the concept of narrative, links narrative to prevention, and discusses the central role of youth in developing narrative interventions. As illustration, the authors describe how the NEF is applied in the keepin' it REAL adolescent drug prevention curriculum, pose theoretical directions, and offer suggestions for future work in prevention communication.

The Drug Facts Box: Improving The Communication Of Prescription Drug Information, Lisa M. Schwartz, Steven Woloshin

Dartmouth Scholarship

Communication about prescription drugs ought to be a paragon of public science communication. Unfortunately, it is not. Consumers see $4 billion of direct-to-consumer advertising annually, which typically fails to present data about how well drugs work. The professional label—the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) mechanism to get physicians information needed for appropriate prescribing—may also fail to present benefit data. FDA labeling guidance, in fact, suggests that industry omit bene

Coping With Pediatric Cancer: Conversational Methods Utilized By Parents And Children When Dealing With Pediatric Cancer, Chelsi Morgan Walls

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study analyzed how people perceived parents should communicate with their child regarding pediatric cancer treatments. When dealing with pediatric cancer, it is vital that parents and their child communicate about the illness in order to effectively cope with the cancer. Using Uncertainty Management Theory, appraisals, inferences, and illusions, are examined in this study to discover how much affect-management and buffering would be used to manage the illness. Under UMT, the coping mechanisms of affect-management (i.e., religious coping and behavioral disengagement), and buffering (avoidance and child distraction) depend upon how individuals appraise the uncertain situation (positive vs. negative), the inferences …

Metaphor Use In Interpersonal Communication Of Body Perception In The Context Of Breast Cancer, Jennifer Mary Fillion

Dissertations and Theses

Female breast cancer patients are often confused, frustrated, and devastated by changes occurring in their bodies and the treatment process. Many women express frustration and concern with the inability to know what the next phases of their life will bring. Previous research also states that many women struggle to communicate with others about treatment as well as side effects. This research examined how woman are use metaphors to describe their experience with breast cancer, specifically throughout the treatment period related to body image struggles. I qualitatively conducted interviews with women who were either currently in treatment or just finishing. My …

Illegal Yet Developmentally Normative: A Descriptive Analysis Of Young, Urban Adolescents' Dating And Sexual Behaviour In Cape Town, South Africa, Aník Gevers, Cathy Mathews, Pam Cupp, Marcia Russell, Rachel Jewkes

Communication Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: In South Africa, it is illegal for adolescents under age 16 years to engage in any sexual behaviour whether kissing, petting, or penetrative sex, regardless of consent. This cross-sectional study investigated the extent to which young adolescents engage in various sexual behaviours and the associations between dating status and sexual behaviours.

METHOD: Grade 8 adolescents (N = 474, ages 12--15 years, mean = 14.14 years) recruited from Cape Town schools completed surveys providing information about their sociodemographic backgrounds, dating experience, sexual behaviour, and substance use.

RESULTS: Lower hierarchy sexual behaviours, such as kissing (71.4% of girls; 88.4% of boys), …

Online Health Information: Shortcomings And Challenges, Trevor A. Cullen

Research outputs 2013

Health is a topic that affects everyone either through their own personal experiences or those of a family member, friend or work colleague, so it is not surprising to hear that there is increasing interest in online health information. For example, a national survey in 2013 into internet use in the United States showed that 59 per cent of people had searched for health information on the internet, and that six out of 10 respondents said the information they found online affected their decision about how to treat an illness or a medical condition. The downside is that there is …

I'M A Patient, Not A Problem: An Exploration Into The Roles Assigned In The Doctor-Patient Relationship, Monica C. Stewart

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Psychological Safety As A Mediator Of Relational Coordination In Interdisciplinary Hospital Care Units, Barry C. Henrichs

Master's Theses (2009 -)

This thesis presents an examination of the relationship between psychological safety and relational coordination within interdisciplinary health care teams. Based on previous research, a model is proposed in which psychological safety--the perceived safety of interpersonal interaction--partially mediates the link between the relational dimensions--shared goals, shared knowledge, and mutual respect--and the communication dimensions--frequent, accurate, timely, and solution-oriented communication--of relational coordination. The proposed model was tested using multiple linear regression of survey data from 158 obstetricians, anesthesiologists, and nurses who work in the labor and delivery units at two large teaching hospitals. The findings do not support the proposed model; however, an …

Persuasive Strategies And Hats Off For Cancer Donations, Janae Masnovi

Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research

This quantitative research project set out to answer the question, “What type of advertising strategy, logos, ethos, or pathos, will be most effective in increasing donations to Hats Off for Cancer, a nonprofit organization?” By administering a survey including manufactured advertisements to potential donors through the Hats Off for Cancer e-newsletter, the Hats Off for Cancer Facebook page, and my own Facebook network, I received 44 responses. These responses indicated the participants’ involvement with the organization as well as their preferred advertising strategies and their reasoning for this. 79 percent of respondents felt that the advertisement using pathos was most …

Lives Interrupted: A Sibling’S Guide To Cancer, Robin Sweeney

Communication Studies

For my project I propose to write a handbook for teens to help them cope with the difficult challenges they may experience while having a sibling who has been diagnosed with cancer. I also hope to help them discover the positive that can happen throughout this experience. The purpose of this handbook is to help eliminate some level of uncertainty, to prepare a teen with the feelings they and their sibling will be going through, to prepare them for their different changes in roles and responsibilities in their family and friends, to show them ways to help, how to continue …

From Affordable Care Act To “Obamacare”: Political Party And The Framing Of Health Care In The 2012 Presidential Election, Anna Sours

Senior Theses

In the world of politics, language can be the difference between success and failure. Through language, we are able to communicate and understand one another, and it is important to critically analyze the language used by public figures in order to gain insight into their goals and attitudes. This study examines the language used by Barack Obama and Mitt Romney during the 2012 presidential election. Specifically, the study explores the ways in which Romney and Obama utilized frames, or the mental structures that shape the way they see the world. A sample of each candidate’s rhetoric and language was analyzed, …

Factors Influencing Medical Adherence Of Clients In Aids Project Worcester, Marianne M. Sarkis, Abby Dnahue, Jacqueline Osei-Owusu, Shan Yi Koay, Maya Baum, Anna Shayo, Amanda Major

Local Knowledge: Worcester Area Community-Based Research

What are the factors and barriers that lead to levels of adherence for those receiving treatment for those in the HIV/AIDS community through AIDS Project Worcester?

Over the last few decades, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has undergone a visible shift. In particular, the demographics of HIV/AIDS infected persons have transitioned from mostly gay affluent, white males to women and men of various minority populations with lower resources and socioeconomic statuses. This trend has also been true for the Worcester community. Based in Worcester, Massachusetts, this research project seeks to identify patterns between the recent change in client demographics and the relation …

Community-Centered Design: Using Applied Research To Develop A New Identity For The Windham Harm Reduction Coalition, Celia E. Poirier

Honors Scholar Theses

This project combines design and communication in the development of a visual identity for a local syringe exchange program. Background research revealed the legal, political, and social controversy that these programs face in the United States. Despite resounding evidence of their effectiveness at preventing HIV, many exchange programs are highly stigmatized in their communities. A new visual identity aims to overcome residents' past misconceptions about Willimantic's syringe exchange, and promotes the program as a valuable resource in town.

Preventing Skin Cancer In Adolescent Girls Through Intervention With Their Mothers, Mary K. Baker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Indoor tanning (IT) before the age of 35 increases one’s risk for melanoma by 75%, and epidemiological data show a 6.1% annual increase in the incidence of melanomas in white women younger than age 44 in the US. Population-based studies reveal that 15% of adolescents and 8% to 14% of their primary caregivers have engaged in IT in the past year.

The compelling case for IT being a significant risk factor for melanoma, together with the high rates of IT in teen girls and their mothers, provided a strong rationale for conducting an antitanning intervention directed at mother-daughter dyads. This …

Age, Gender, Race, And Culture In The Er: A Content Analysis Of End-Of-Life Issues In The Television Drama, Katrina Wilson Burtt

Dissertations

Within one of the most popular television dramas on American television, hundreds of depictions of end-of-life (EOL) care and decision-making conveyed impressions of how death and dying occurred in a hospital. This content analysis of EOL incidents that appeared in every episode of the television drama ER indicated that viewers got powerful messages about EOL. The long-playing, popular television drama exaggerated the role of physician within the EOL scenes and minimized the roles of women, racial minorities and ethnic groups. Notably lacking from the EOL content were accurate or positive representations of racial, ethnic or cultural differences in death and …

Coping With Pediatric Cancer: Conversational Methods Utilized By Parents And Children When Dealing With Pediatric Cancer, Chelsi Morgan Walls

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

This thesis sought to analyze how parents communicate with their child regarding pediatric cancer treatments. When dealing with pediatric cancer, it is vital that parents and their child communicate about the illness in order to effectively cope with the cancer. Using Uncertainty Management Theory, along with sub-concepts of the theory (i.e., appraisals, inferences, and illusions), this thesis sought to discover which coping mechanism (i.e., affect-management or buffering) would be chosen to manage the illness. Under UMT, appraisals were assessed, resulting in positive and negative appraisal, which indicated whether the individual handled the issue with either an inference based on general …

Developing Standardized Language For Use In Lgbt Health Research, Vaibhav Jain, Marisa Workman, Sara Mostafa, Abigail Wolfe, Stefania Davia, Natalie Terens, Keith Li, Blaine Parrish

GW Research Days 2013

BACKGROUND: In the past two decades, the LGBT community in the United States has been more visible, active, and positively accepted by society. As acceptance progresses, research interests on the LGBT population have increased, driving the need for standard language for researchers to share for comparative and community-based participatory research. "What term is right?" is often the question researchers ask a very diverse LGBT community. In August 2012, the District of Columbia's Office of LGBT Affairs identified incongruent language in a number of published reports commissioned by the Mayor's Office. The Office realized the importance of standardized language for health …

Using Information To Manage Uncertainty During Organ Transplantation, Anne M. Stone, Allison M. Scott, Summer Carnett Martin, Dale E. Brashers

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Liminal Losers: Breakdowns And Breakthroughs In Reality Television's Biggest Hit, Caitlin Rickert

Masters Theses

This study explores how The Biggest Loser, a popular television reality program that features a weight-loss competition, reflects and magnifies established stereotypes about obese individuals. The show, which encourages contestants to lose weight at a rapid pace, constructs a broken/fixed dichotomy that oversimplifies the complex issues of obesity and health.

My research is a semiotic analysis of the eleventh season of the program (2011), focusing on three pairs of contestants (or “couples” teams) that each represent a different level of commitment to the program’s values. Specifically, I focus on dramatic “breakdown” moments in which these contestants are disciplined by …

Seeking Care: Mindfulness, Reflexive Struggle, And Puffy Selves In Bullying, Keith Berry

Communication Faculty Publications

What does it mean to become ourselves, to experience who we and others understand us to be? What might the process look like for younger selves who are immersed in the looming problem of bullying, and what is at stake regarding how we respond to its complex storyline? How can we engage ethnographic research that studies ourselves and others in ways that are also more caring than harmful for all persons involved? As senseless bullying continues, I seek meaningful answers to questions of becoming and identities within these intricate relational spaces. Yet as I perform this seeking, the search becomes …

Commentary: Changing The Channel: Public Health Communication In The 21st Century, Anna Goodman Hoover

Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research

This commentary asserts the need for research examining the use and efficacy of social media as a tool for meeting public health stakeholders’ information needs. The author points to several potential research questions for the field, situates studies addressing these questions within the PHSSR Research Agenda, and introduces the work of Harris et al. that is included in this issue of Frontiers. The commentary closes with a call for horizontal stakeholder communication that supports evidence-based decision-making.

Normative Beliefs And Social Support In Weight Loss Communication, Jennifer Anderson, Jennifer Cornacchlone, Erin K. Maloney

Communication Studies Publications

As obesity rates have increased in the past decade, interpersonal communication about weight has taken on greater importance. In this study, we investigate normative beliefs about weight loss communication and the social support provided through such communication. A sample of N = 196 college students reported that they considered weight loss communication to be non-normative in the United States, but that they had positive attitudes toward such communication. In addition, they felt that they would be likely to engage in such conversations themselves. When given the opportunity to respond to a hypothetical weight loss communication scenario, 93% of participants provided …

Medical Tourism: The Role Of Communication Regarding Risks And Benefits Of Obtaining Medical Services Abroad., Kevin Wright, Alicia Mason

Faculty Submissions

The ever-increasing globalization of healthcare has led to a greater number of consumers using the World Wide Web for the purpose of accessing health information and medical services that transcends international borders (Kangas, 2010; Lunt, Mannion, & Exworthy, 2012; MacReady, 2007; Snyder, Crooks, Adams, Kingsbury, & Johnston, 2011). When faced with the high cost of health care or limited treatment options in the United States, more and more Americans are looking to developing countries to obtain a variety of health-related services, including cosmetic surgery, dentistry, diagnostic testing, fertility treatment, and major surgeries such as heart valve operations and organ transplants …

Health Communication Closely Tied To Culture, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Social Media For The Promotion Of Holistic Self-Participatory Care: An Evidence Based Approach, T Miron-Shatz, Margaret M. Hansen Edd, Msn, Rn, Fj Grajales, F Martin-Sanchez, Pd Bamidis

Nursing and Health Professions Faculty Research and Publications

Objectives: As health information is becoming increasingly accessible, social media offers ample opportunities to track, be informed, share and promote health. These authors explore how social media and holistic care may work together; more specifically however, our objective is to document, from different perspectives, how social networks have impacted, supported and helped sustain holistic self-participatory care.

Methods: A literature review was performed to investigate the use of social media for promoting health in general and complementary alternative care in particular. We also explore a case study of an intervention for improving the health of Greek senior citizens through digital and …

Health Literacy Promotion: Contemporary Conceptualizations And Current Implementations In Canadian Health Librarianship, Nicole K. Dalmer

FIMS Publications

Research questions: What are the current conceptualizations of health literacy, and what strategies are Canadian health librarians in public, academic, and hospital libraries enacting to put health literacy promotion into practice? Data sources: Serving as the basis of this scoping review, library and information science, health sciences, and interdisciplinary databases were searched using key terms relating to health literacy promotion as it relates to services, programming, or resources used in a variety of library settings. A web searched allowed for the inclusion of grey literature sources. Study selection: Data sources were searched using a combination of subject headings …

Information Sources In Relation To Information Quality, Information-Seeking, And Uncertainty In The Context Of Healthcare Reform, Jennifer L. Bevan

Communication Faculty Books and Book Chapters

This exploratory study examines information-seeking about the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (i.e. healthcare reform) in relation to the potential barriers of uncertainty,uncertainty discrepancy, and low health self-efficacy. Adult United States participants completed an anonymous online survey about their perceptions and understanding of healthcare reform. Results confirmed recent literature, suggesting a complex relationship between information-seeking and uncertainty. Specifically, for this sample, significant positive relationships were observed between information-seeking about healthcare reform and uncertainty, uncertainty discrepancy, health self-efficacy. Further, uncertainty discrepancy was the potential barrier that accounted for the most variance in predicting information-seeking.Implications of these findings for improving …