Health Communication Commons^™

"Don't Put Restrictions On Us": The Dangers Of Conservative And Populist Appeals For Abortion Access In Post-Roe America, Kayla Schmitz

Department of Communication Studies: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis critically analyzes Kansans for Constitutional Freedom’s campaign ads for their campaign against the Value Them Both Amendment in Kansas in 2022. Value Them Both would have stripped the Kansas constitution of its protection of personal autonomy and therefore abortion rights. Kansans for Constitutional Freedom used populist and otherwise conservative appeals in their ads to reach audiences across the political “spectrum” to gain their votes against Value Them Both. While the campaign was widely successful, there are many things it did not do for the broader concern of reproductive healthcare access in the United States, particularly for those living …

Inner Portraits, Bethany Salisbury

Graduate Theses

This paper investigates the many interconnected layers of women’s mental health through portraiture and how animal and plant symbolism can represent the way women's hormones and bodily health affect their mental health. I reveal how the artwork created presents these connections and inner mental health narratives to the viewer, creating a space of empathy, destigmatization, and self-reflection. This body of portraiture art connects five women through a series of both two-and three-dimensional portraits based on interviews using my own adaptation of Sara Lawrence-Lightfoots’ (1983) portrait methodology.

Women and non-binary individuals have always dealt with difficult interactions of bodily and mental …

Perceived Outcomes And Barriers Of Advance Care Planning From Healthcare Professionals, Faith Parsons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Advance care planning (ACP) is the process of aligning patients’ values and preferences to their future medical care. ACP is important in promoting patient autonomy and helping patients and their families prepare for end-of-life conversations. Healthcare teams, made up of physicians, nurses, or social workers, carry the responsibility to engage patients into such conversations. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of healthcare professionals regarding ACP outcomes and barriers. This cross- sectional study used survey responses of a convivence sample of 18 allied healthcare professionals and 4 physicians in a not-for-profit, faith-based hospital system in …

Circumventing Ableism: A Grounded Theory Study Exploring Caregiver Strategies To Promote A Positive Identity, June Furr

All Dissertations

This qualitative research study explores how caregivers and persons with disabilities navigate the rhetoric of disability and caregiving through the interviews of fifteen caregivers and fifteen persons with disabilities using the lens of grounded theory and Burke’s (1952) dramatistic pentad. Significant findings describe how focused disability description can circumvent ableism when rhetorical resources that assist caregivers and persons with disabilities to navigate the rhetoric in disability descriptions are provided. Disability description theory includes the three stages that define, collaborate and revise, and practice and apply a disability description. This qualitative research offers an introduction into the phenomenon of …

Developing The Food Navigator Role At Everyone's Harvest, Chase Rodriguez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Everyone’s Harvest (EH) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that operates farmers’ markets. In order to reduce hunger in Monterey County, Everyone's Harvest offers several food assistance programs for low-income people including the Market Match (MM) incentive program which matches CalFresh money, modern day food stamps, dollar for dollar. The problem is that in Monterey County 1 in 4 adults and 1 in 3 children are food insecure. The purpose of the Food Navigator (FN) at EH is to engage with the local community and connect low-income people with food assistance resources, primarily the MM program. This project was a role development …

Message Framing For Covid-19 Vaccine Uptake: A Content Analysis Of Cdc Facebook Communication, Victoria Amoako

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study examined the frequent frames adopted by the CDC in the communication of the Covid-19 vaccine and how it impacts vaccine uptake through quantitative content analysis. The study builds on the framing theory and elaboration likelihood model. This study’s content collected 327 posts by the CDC on covid-19 vaccinations from December 2020- December 2022. A research randomizer was used to choose 200 posts as the final sample from the data that had been gathered. 122 posts out of the 200 total posts that the randomizer tallied were pertinent to the research questions for the study. It was found that …

A Comparison Of The Expressive Language Characteristics In Schizophrenia And Wernicke’S Aphasia, Taylor Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mental illness and language disorders are rarely linked together as a way of making a comparison. In this study, a comprehensive scoping review was initiated to discuss the differential diagnostic characteristics of expressive language in Schizophrenia and Wernicke’s Aphasia (WA). This study will examine the domains of language where there are overlaps between the characteristics of expressive language. Semantics, pragmatics, and discourse will be further examined while comparing what aspects of expressive language are key in each domain. Schizophrenia being classified as a mental illness and WA being classified as an acquired language disorder, there are fundamental properties of language …

Program Evaluation: Utilizing Health Department’S Community Health Needs Assessment Data To Improve Emergency Preparedness Plans, Kathleen Gottschalk

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Public health officials conducting emergency response plans must know how to easily identify the vulnerable populations in their community or jurisdiction. It is beneficial for access and functional needs appendices to include information and resources directed at the identified vulnerable groups before an emergency event to improve health outcomes. Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNA) can provide population-level statistics and information needed to easily identify vulnerable or at-risk groups. This report aims to evaluate the use of the CHNA data to guide the development of inclusive emergency response plans that account for vulnerable populations in local health department jurisdictions. The 2021 …

Get The Jab Or Else: Examining The Role Of Fear Appeals In The Herman Cain Award Subreddit Using Protection Motivation Theory, Julia May

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

In 2021, I conducted participant observation research on the Herman Cain Award subreddit, examining the effectiveness of fear appeals on social media. In that research, I determined that fear appeals on social media platforms are just as effective as when used on mass media platforms. The research also showed that the fear appeals in the subreddit worked to appeal to the unvaccinated users’ fear of online ridicule rather than a fear of bodily harm. I found this finding interesting and worked to expand my research, now two years later, by further investigating the platform using Protection Motivation Theory, a health …

Digital Patient Engagement At A Perioperative Surgical Home Implemented Community Hospital, Srinivasan Sridhar, Amy Mount Hunter, Bernadette Mccrory

Patient Experience Journal

Patients in rural areas typically require more perioperative ‘optimization’ for surgery. The rural healthcare systems often overwhelmed with coordinating perioperative services and deliver less than optimal surgical outcomes. This is due to limited supporting microsystems and ability to effectively engage and track patients over the 120-day perioperative period to limit post-surgical complications. The study assessed longitudinal patient engagement within a newly established Perioperative Surgical Home (PSH) at a rural community hospital serving 10+ surrounding counties to identify barriers and best practices for engagement. A digital patient engagement platform was implemented and used to assess longitudinal patient outcomes and engagement from …

Patient Experiences Through Head And Neck Cancer: Information Delivery Combatting Psychological Distress, Eleah Stringer Msc., Julian J. Lum Phd., Jonathan Livergant Dr., Andre Kushniruk Phd.

Patient Experience Journal

As part of a larger study investigating the utility of electronic decision support tools for patients with head and neck cancer (HNC), this article describes the patient experience of receiving cancer treatment in British Columbia, Canada. It aims to give voice to the patient experience and recommend a model of psychological adjustment for clinicians and clinical service management to consider to refine patient centric care pathways for HNC. Based in phenomenology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 survivors of HNC, audio-video recorded, and thematically analyzed. Three themes were identified: (1) patients have high, though varying information needs; (2) an emotional …

Listening As Medicine: A Thematic Analysis, Rachel Kishton M.D., Heta Patel, Divya Saini, Jeffrey Millstein M.D., Aaron Levy Ph.D.

Patient Experience Journal

Realizations of the importance of “the art of medicine” in trust-building and patient satisfaction have resulted in the incorporation of narrative medicine programs into training curricula. By learning how to respond to patient stories as well as communicate their own, healthcare providers can ensure that their patients feel heard and respected. This study seeks to define what constitutes empathetic listening through a qualitative analysis of personal narratives collected from patients, caregivers, and providers across an urban academic healthcare system. Stories (n=41) underwent thematic analysis to note common experiences related to listening during a health system encounter. Eighteen grounded codes were …

Communication And Cultural Agility/Competence Skill Training In Medical Education, Stephanie Patten, Elijah Wade, Abagail Furth, Abigail Widmer

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

No abstract provided.

Implementation Of Health Communication In Tb Management In Indonesia, Olih Solihin, Djuara P. Lubis, Pudji Muljono, Siti Amanah

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a public health problem in Indonesia despite various efforts to combat it. TB is the leading cause of death in Indonesia and requires more comprehensive action, including in health communication. Indonesia ranks second after India in the number of TB cases and fourth in TB deaths in Asia. Efforts to address TB in Indonesia continue, including the implementation of more comprehensive prevention and treatment programs and effective health communication campaigns. However, the implementation of health communication in TB management in Indonesia still faces challenges such as infrastructure, policy, human resources, and community participation. Evaluation of the effectiveness …

The Impact Of Doctor-Patient Communication, Health Literacy, And Mental Health Among Women With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus On Healthcare Usage, Marissa Stern

Honors Projects in Communication

Pregnancy is a critical period in a woman's life. Overall, little research has been done on pregnant women. Pregnant women are considered a special population with special needs. All pregnant women must receive proper care from their providers and be a part of the decision-making process. Additionally, health care providers must provide materials to patients in hopes to increase their health literacy. Increasing health care usage and health literacy is meant to increase patient-centered care. This study plans to use the All of Us data set. We are interested in the data from the survey component of the data set. …

The Social Support Experiences Of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (Adhd) Adults, Lindsay A. Duede, Colter Ray

LSU Master's Theses

Social support researchers commonly recognize that support is most useful when it matches the needs and desires of those receiving it. Yet, the majority of research regarding attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and social support frames questions of communication competence by placing neurodiverse communities at odds with neurotypical ones. This practice reinforces a hierarchy in which neurotypical individuals are viewed as correct and deviations from that norm as failures. Individuals with ADHD experience emotions differently than those without it; thus, it stands to reason that people with ADHD could have different needs and desires for support. Therefore, this study has two key …

Are They Still Determining? Analysis Of Associations Among Gender, Ethnicity, Socioeconomic Status, Neighborhood Factors And Covid-19 Vaccination, Bokyung Kim, Seoyeon Celine Hong, Sojung Kim

College of Communication & Creative Arts Departmental Research

Introduction: This study explores associations among adult vaccination, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic variables such as educational attainment and income, as well as neighborhood factors. Methods: A telephone quota sample of New Jersey adults (N = 1,984) was used to text associations among proposed predictors of vaccination behaviors. Results: Our multivariate logistic regression analyses found that certain races/ethnicity, respondents' household income, and perceived safety of one's community were the strongest predictors of COVID-19 vaccination. The odds of COVID-19 vaccination were 52% lower for Black/African American respondents compared to white/Caucasian respondents (p = 0.001) and 44% lower for Hispanic/Latino respondents compared to …

Catching Babies: Helping Students Understand Reproductive Justice Through Black Maternal Health, Jillian A. Tullis

Feminist Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

What Dentists Do, Chester Gary Dds, Jd

The New York State Dental Journal

Understanding dentists' job description will motivate all payers of oral health services to offer fair compensation.

Lessons Learned From Covid-19, Donald Tucker Dds

The New York State Dental Journal

Dentistry and society, in general, must seek out accurate information regarding the virus and follow scientifically established guidelines to mitigate serious outcomes.