Health Communication Commons^™

The Sweet Tale: A Pilot Study Of An Interactive Narrative Health Communication Intervention Using Positive Deviance To Highlight Communicative Acts That Lead To Effective Management Of Diabetes Among Hispanics, Claudia M. Boyd

Communication ETDs

In this dissertation, I conducted a pilot study that applied positive deviance (Singhal, 2011; Pascale, Sternin, & Sternin, 2012) findings from my master’s thesis (Boyd, 2015) to an entertainment-education (Singhal & Rogers, 1999) driven intervention in a Hispanic community (Baezconde-Garbanti et al., 2014; Murphy et al., 2013; Wang & Singhal, 2016), using an interactive narrative (Green & Jenkins, 2014) to develop achildren’s book. In the current pilot study, I created a children’s book The Sweet Taleusing extensive formative research and created a framework to aid in the development offuture Hispanic children’s books on diabetes. To evaluate The Sweet Tale, I …

An E-Learning Adaptation Of An Evidence-Based Media Literacy Curriculum To Prevent Youth Substance Use In Community Groups: Development And Feasibility Of Real Media, Anne E. Ray, Kathryn Greene, Michael L. Hecht, Sarah C. Barriage, Michelle Miller-Day, Shannon D. Glenn, Smita C. Banerjee

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Background: There is a need for evidence-based substance use prevention efforts that target high school-aged youth that are easy to implement and suitable for dissemination in school and community groups. The Youth Message Development (YMD) program is a brief, four-lesson, in-person curriculum that aims to prevent youth substance use through the development of youth media literacy. Specifically, YMD aims to increase understanding of advertising reach and costs, along with the techniques used to sell products; develop counterarguing and critical thinking skills in response to advertisements; and facilitate application of these skills to the development of youth-generated antisubstance messages. Although …

Health Literacy Challenges And Opportunities: Bringing Children’S Mercy And Kansas City Together, Jennifer A. Lyon, Angie Knackstedt, Barbra Rudder, Mamta Reddy Md, Courtney R. Butler

Posters

BACKGROUND: A multidisciplinary group at Children's Mercy Kansas City applied for and received the NNLM MCR's Immersive Workshop Grant in December, 2017, and used the funding to organize and host a two-day immersive, interprofessional workshop in April, 2018, that 1) brought together health literacy-invested groups and individuals within the Kansas City community to learn about health literacy including cultural, language, numeracy and digital inclusion factors; and 2) provided specialized training to targeted CM participants to improve the provision of bedside health information to patients and caregivers. Objectives included: increasing community-wide collaboration, sharing resources, encouraging participants to become change agents, and …

The Relationship Between Health Literacy And Self-Management, Carli A. Zegers

Theses & Dissertations

Health literacy is an evolving concept, impacting all areas of health care. There is a need for improved understanding of the concept and its relationship with self-management especially in the United States (US) where health literacy has been limited to functional health literacy consisting of basic reading and writing. Health literacy is defined as the “ability to obtain, understand, and apply health information for healthcare decisions” (Nielsen, 2004, p. 32) and has been expanded into three sub-concepts of functional, communicative, and critical health literacy. The purpose of this dissertation is to explore and better understand the relationship between health literacy …

Increasing Understanding Of Professor’S Adhd Knowledge And Perception Of Adhd And How This Informs Their Behavior Towards Students With Adhd, Rebecca Rosen

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent learning disability experience by 5.3% of students. The behaviors associated with ADHD (hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention) can impact a students’ ability to learn and their behavior and relationships in the classroom. Teachers can help to create a supportive or unsupportive learning environment for students with learning disabilities, specifically ADHD. Unfortunately, these needs are not always met for students in college. Previous research has uncovered primary and secondary teacher’s knowledge, perception, and behavior regarding children with ADHD, but little work has focused on college professors. College professors are likely to have significantly less …

Effects Of Social Media On Patient Perceptions And Compliance, Annmarie Butare, Adarsh Gupta

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

It is the physician’s responsibility to ensure that their patients are collecting credible and accurate information. Considering the significant proportion of patients using social media to assist with medical decision making, physicians should incorporate this into their patient education in order to ensure patient understanding of the information gathered both outside and inside the medical office, thereby improving compliance and outcomes.

The goals of this study were to examine the influence of social media on patient perceptions of healthcare and use this infomration to improve physician understanding of patient health information-seeking behaviors to improve patient compliance. The three-part survey included …

The Importance Of Responsiveness: Improving Health-Related Outcomes Among Ostomates, Carrie Reif

Dissertations

More than 750,000 individuals in the United States live with an ostomy appliance, and additional 130,000 patients undergo ostomy surgery each year (United Ostomy Association of America, 2018). Although a life-saving procedure, patients confront significant physical (e.g., bowel routine and activity levels) and emotional (e.g., poor body image and depression) challenges that impede the adjustment process. When faced with health-related threats, the transactional action model of stress and coping argues that patients use strategies, such as seeking support, to effectively cope. However, because of perceptions of felt and enacted stigma and health-related uncertainty, some patients conceal ostomy-related issues and limit …

Crumbling Foundations: The Case For Prioritizing Self-Care Among Educational Leaders, Joshua Brent Ray

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a potentially dangerous disassociation between human behavior, decision-making, and ethics and the notion that these fundamental aspects of what it means to be human originate simply as the functions of an organ. A deeper knowledge of the operation and limitations of the brain suggests biological input could possess the ability to unknowingly alter human behavior and effectiveness. This study utilizes a research-based understanding of the implications of human health and self-care habits on neurological, psychological, and behavioral function to examine the current practices of educational administrators across Arkansas while exploring systemic and job-based factors within the profession that …

A Bilingual Approach To Pediatric Occupational Therapy: The Importance Of Communication Between Providers & Spanish-Speaking Families In Northwest Arkansas, Emily Ann Davidson

World Languages, Literatures and Cultures Undergraduate Honors Theses

Due to the demographic demands of Northwest Arkansas and the prevalence of disparities in health care, this study aims to assess the current practices, perceived need, and willingness to provide bilingual Spanish-English outpatient pediatric occupational therapy options in Northwest Arkansas. The hope of this study is to better inform pediatric occupational therapy providers of the growing need for bilingual services so that they may respond appropriately in order to better serve Latino and Spanish-speaking patients and their families or caregivers.

Hemoglobin A1c Levels And Sport Participation In Children With Type 1 Diabetes., Amy Kozerski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study’s purpose was to determine a possible difference in hemoglobin A1c levels and sport participation in children with type 1 diabetes. Patients with provided consent via an iPad electronic informed consent/assent (preamble) completed a physical activity and sport participation survey. The survey was linked to their medical chart including demographic and diabetes medical history (e.g. HbA1c). The analyses provided a sample of 120 participants, 40 in the no sport participation group and 78 in the sport participation group with 56 females and 64 males, with an average age12.94±2.8 years. An independent sample t-test, removing one outlier from the …

Innovation And Equity In Public Health Research : Testing Arts-Based Methods For Trauma-Informed, Culturally-Responsive Inquiry., Tasha Golden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the field of Public Health has shifted from a biomedical paradigm to a social ecological approach, focusing on health equity and social determinants of health, it has increasingly acknowledged the roles of culture and trauma in health outcomes. The field has responded by modifying some research practices, but continues to prioritize conventional methodologies—with few options designed to foreground trauma- and cultural-responsiveness. Unfortunately, to the extent that conventional approaches require health to be defined, communicated, or valued according to dominant norms, they risk perpetuating inequities. Health equity therefore requires the development of research methodologies that increase inclusivity and access, elicit …

The Ill Man: An Exploration Of Chronic Illness Disclosure Within Masculine Culture, Matthew Daggett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Masculine culture is known for teaching men to be strong, independent, and in control; however, the presence of chronic illness creates challenges for men when attempting to uphold a dominant masculine identity and make disclosure decisions about sharing illness information. This study explores the intersection between illness related self-disclosure and masculine culture. Utilizing qualitative methods, it examines the challenges chronically ill men face when making decisions about self-disclosure. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five men (N=5) who have one or more chronic illnesses. Transcripts were analyzed and coded using grounded theory to identify emergent themes. The analysis revealed three primary …

The Road To Recovery: Injured Athlete's Perspectives On Recovery Through Social Support, Brooke Kuhn

Master's Theses

Injured athletes’ perspectives on different aspect of their recovery process were analyzed using concepts such as social support, responsiveness, and self-disclosure based on three different sources: coaches, trainers, and teammates. 39 participants were used for this study. With an age range from 18-44 years old, the participants are both current college and former college athletes. Many of them ranged from the different types of sports played and at different divisional levels. 82.1% of participants were Caucasian, 12.8% were African American, and 5.1% selected other as their ethnicity. The results exemplify, through linear regression, that trainers are the most effective source …

Zika Message Analysis, Alexandria Phipps

Master's Theses

The following study employs the Extended Parallel Processing Model and Theory of Planned Behavior to understand how to create health messages with the greatest influence on individuals’ behavioral intent to adopt mosquito-borne virus protection behaviors. The study employs a 2 (susceptibility) x 2 (self-efficacy) factorial design, evenly distributing the participants between four messages (N=186). Although the selfefficacy manipulation was ultimately unsuccessful, the findings highlighted the significance of perceived susceptibility on one’s intent to adopt protective behaviors. The results exemplify the importance of the theoretical critical point of the EPPM, where danger control shifts to fear control, and the importance of …

Rationale For A Media Literacy Intervention For Parents Of 5-10 Year Old Children, Emily Brogan-Freitas, Allie White, Hana Polizzotto, Faith Escalera, Lauren Graziani, Ashley Ima, Alex Stack

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Children use electronic screens at younger and younger ages, but there is nascent empirical research on how parental attitudes and beliefs interact with their children’s media habits and characteristics. This exploratory study attempted to better understand how parental critical thinking skills, perception of media risk, knowledge of media effects, and media self-efficacy influence parents’ mediation of children’s media use and children’s media exposure. An online survey was conducted in which parents of children ages 5-10 answered a series of questions about the aforementioned variables. We expect the results to indicate that critical thinking skills, mediation of children’s media use, perception …

Fertility Awareness Based Methods (Fabms): Evaluating And Promoting Female Interest For Purposes Of Health Monitoring And Family Planning, Amylynn Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Natural or fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs) help users monitor, interpret, and systematically chart female biological markers. FABMs are used as family planning methods and sometimes as reproductive health monitoring methods. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) encourages medical professionals to use female reproductive cycle patterns, ‘the female fifth-vital sign’, as a means of improving the diagnosis and treatment of reproductive health diseases, disorders, and conditions. Patients need to have accurate knowledge of healthy and unhealthy cycle patterns. The general public does not have a sufficient level of fertility health knowledge. This study examined whether females that are interested …

Patient-Perceived Stigma & Communication In Mental Healthcare: Predictors Of Medication Adherence And Mental Health Outcomes, Cameron A. Cloud

Honors Theses

Patients with mental illness often report feeling stigmatized by their mental healthcare providers, which may deter them from seeking care services altogether. Although workplace interventions can be implemented to reduce stigma, outcomes are limited and may not be long-lasting. The objectives of this study are to investigate which variables of interpersonal communication are significant predictors of medication adherence and mental health outcomes in patients with mental illness. This study surveyed 258 participants from the United States who were at least 18 years of age and reported seeing a mental healthcare provider and taking psychotropic medication within the past five years. …

American Sign-Language (Asl) For Audiologists, Colette Vossler-Welch

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The goal of this project is to provide a means for Audiologists, Speech-Language-pathologists and related personnel to improve their ability to communicate and connect with culturally Deaf individuals through the use of video-animated sign-language interpretations. Arguments for or against the bilingual approach of using ASL and the spoken language with regards to Deaf education will be discussed through both a personal memoir and a review of current literature. This study will also shed light upon the history of the American Deaf population, American Sign-Language (ASL) and will conclude with a training module in ASL. The training module will be available …

Exploring The Relationship Of Digital Information Sources And Medication Adherence, Cody Arbuckle, Daniel Tomaszewski, Lawrence Brown, Jon C. Schommer, Donald Morisky, Chelsea Parlett-Pelleriti, Erik J. Linstead

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

We present a retrospective analysis of data collected in the United States from the 2015 National Consumer Survey on the Medication Experience and Pharmacists’ Role in order to model the relationship between health information sources and medication adherence and perception. Our results indicate that while the digital age has presented prescription users with many non-traditional alternatives for health information, the use of digital content has a significant negative correlation with pharmaceutical adherence and attitudes toward medication. These findings along with previous research suggest that in order to fully realize the potential benefits of the digital age in regards to patient …

Exploring The Experiences Of Communication Partners Of People With Parkinson's Disease: A Qualitative Study, Jacqueline Bell

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to explore interactions between persons with Parkinson's disease (PD) and their communication partners. People with PD experience difficulties that can have a profound effect on their ability to communicate. This qualitative study explored the thoughts and feelings of primary communication partners of people with PD. The primary communication partners were interviewed using open-ended questions. The seven participants identified and detailed how declines in communication due to PD have resulted in changes in daily life, including; social participation, daily tasks, and psychosocial well-being. Commonalities that communication partners experienced will aid speech-language pathologists to …