Focus: Health and Risk Communication

The ability to effectively and efficiently communicate about health and risk-related issues is becoming increasingly important. Hospitals, government agencies, health departments, news media organizations and public relations and other communication practitioners need to know how best to reach diverse audiences with timely and relevant messages, and the new Grady Center for Health and Risk Communication (CHRC) is an important interdisciplinary center of expertise.

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Organizational Threat Appraisal by Publics: The Effects of Perceived Temporal Distance on Health Crisis Outcomes

Sungsu Kim (Grady PhD Alum) and Yan Jin (Forthcoming). “Organizational Threat Appraisal by Publics: The Effects of Perceived Temporal Distance on Health Crisis Outcomes.” International Journal of Communication. Abstract: The current study advances our understanding of how organizational threat affects the way publics respond to a health crisis. To this end, we investigated the influence […]

The Infectious Disease Threat (IDT) Appraisal Model: How Perceptions of IDT Predictability and Controllability Predict Individuals’ Responses to Risks Yan Jin

Yan Jin, Irina A. Iles, Lucinda Austin, Brooke Liu, and Gregory R. Hancock (Forthcoming). “The Infectious Disease Threat (IDT) Appraisal Model: How Perceptions of IDT Predictability and Controllability Predict Individuals’ Responses to Risks.” International Journal of Strategic Communication. Abstract: Grounded in the multidisciplinary field of strategic risk and health communication, this study proposed and tested […]

Adherence to Timely Vaccinations in the United States Glen Nowak

Hargreaves AL, Glen J. Nowak, Paula Frew, AR Hinman, WA Orenstein et al., “Adherence to Timely Vaccinations in the United States,” Pediatrics, 145(3, March 2020):e20190783. Abstract: We used 2014 National Immunization Survey provider-verified vaccination data to classify vaccination patterns as “recommended” (ie, in line with ACIP dose- and age-specific recommendations), “alternate” (ie, in line with […]

An Assessment of Parents’ Childhood Immunization Beliefs, Intentions, and Behaviors Using a Smartphone Panel Glen Nowak

Boyle J., Berman L, Glen J. Nowak, Iachan R, Middleton D and Deng Y. “An Assessment of Parents’ Childhood Immunization Beliefs, Intentions, and Behaviors Using a Smartphone Panel,” Vaccine, 2020;38(10):2416-2423. Abstract: It is important to quickly identify parent beliefs, intentions, and behaviors toward childhood vaccination, especially parents of children 19 to 35 months. A sample […]

True or False: How Parents Decide to Seek, Vet, or Share Infectious Disease Outbreak Information Yan Jin and Xuerong Lu

Accepted for presentation at the International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference (ICRCC), March 9-11, 2020, Orlando, FL. Abstract: Numerous studies have explored how publics seek and share crisis information, but none has examined whether publics verify the accuracy of crisis and risk information before sharing the information or seeking additional information. These considerations are especially […]

Integrating Strategy and Dosage: A New Conceptual Formula for Assessing Intended and Unintended Effects of Health Risk Communication Xuerong Lu and Yan Jin

Accepted for presentation at the International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference (ICRCC), March 9-11, 2020, Orlando, FL. Abstract: How to detect side effects of repeated exposure of the same or similar campaign messages over time on at-risk publics has emerged as a critical research question currently understudied. By formulating a new way of assessing health […]

The Effects of Threat Type and Gain-Loss Framing on At-Risk Publics’ Responses to Environmental Risk Communication DongWon Choi and Yan Jin

Accepted for presentation at the 23rd annual International Public Relations Research Conference (IPRRC), March 5-7, 2020, Orlando, FL. Abstract: This study examines the effects of environmental risk perception and risk responsibility attribution on the association between message features and publics’ behavioral intention, which help connect public relations theory with practice as well as provide recommendations […]

Communication Challenges during Influenza Pandemics. Glen Nowak Rome, Italy, November 21, 2019

Abstract: Influenza pandemics have the potential to cause much illness and death and are thus a major focus of public health planning and preparation. As the influenza pandemic that took place in 2009-2010 illustrated, many communication issues and challenges arise during influenza pandemics, ranging from the need to daily update the news media and public […]

Adherence to Timely Vaccinations in the United States. Glen Nowak

Abstract: To estimate 1) the proportion of children not adhering to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended early childhood immunization schedule and 2) associations between schedule adherence, sociodemographic characteristics and up-to-date immunization status by 19-35 months of age. Methods: We used 2014 National Immunization Survey (NIS) provider-verified vaccination data to classify vaccination patterns […]

Using Immersive Virtual Reality to Improve the Beliefs and Intentions of Influenza Vaccine Avoidant 18-to-49-Year-Olds: Considerations, Effects, and Lessons Learned. Nathaniel J. Evans, Glen Nowak, Bartosz Wojdynski, Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn & María E. Len-Ríos

Abstract: Only one-third of adults 18 to 49 years old in the United States receive a recommended annual influenza vaccination. This study examined whether supplementing vaccine information statements (VIS) with an immersive virtual reality (VR), short video or electronic pamphlet story designed to convey the community immunity benefits of influenza vaccination would improve influenza vaccine […]