BACKGROUND:Tetanus vaccination is crucial after storms due to the high injury risk during cleanup. This study evaluated a tetanus awareness vaccination campaign and accompanying media coverage launched 24 hours after a tornado in Douglas County, Nebraska. METHODS:The Douglas County Health Department (DCHD) collaborated with community organizations and engaged media outlets to design and implement the campaign. The campaign used a multimodal approach, including press releases to media outlets (TV, radio, and newspapers), social media posts, a community Facebook group, and free tetanus clinics operated in partnership with local health organizations and community centers. A posttest-only comparison groups design administered 2 weeks after the tornado examined differences between Douglas County adults (n = 87) and adults from four comparison states (CO, MD, MO, TX; n = 424) in vaccination status, awareness of tetanus shot importance, awareness of tetanus shot locations, and perceived severity of tetanus score. Statistical analysis included logistic and linear regressions. RESULTS:Compared to comparison state adults, Douglas County residents had greater awareness of tetanus shot importance (AOR = 3.79, 95% CI = 1.98-7.23, P < 0.001), tetanus shot locations (AOR = 1.72, 95% CI = 1.01-2.96, P = 0.049), and perceived tetanus severity (adjusted mean difference (β) = 0.64, 95% CI = 0.03-1.25, P = 0.041). CONCLUSION:A rapidly launched post-tornado information campaign and accompanying media coverage effectively raised awareness of the importance of tetanus vaccination. The collaborative approach by DCHD highlights the potential value of multi-source information dissemination during disaster recovery.
BACKGROUND:The media's extensive reach and influence make it a powerful tool for addressing the global shortage of transplantable organs. This systematic review of media campaigns synthesizes the available evaluations to understand what messages exist and why some campaigns work, while others are less effective. METHOD:A team searched EBSCOhost, ProQuest, and Google for English-eligible studies. Additional studies were added from reference lists and communication with global organizations. We adapted existing checklists to assess the studies' quality and extracted findings. We synthesized findings from 37 articles published between 1990 and 2024 from seven countries. RESULTS:Messages were often altruistic; gain-framed messages were more effective than loss-framed or high-threat messages. Emotional appeals, such as donor and recipient narratives, enhanced audience engagement, empathy, and trust. Campaigns that were culturally tailored, integrated multimedia approaches with interpersonal communication, and offered actionable components demonstrated greater success in influencing knowledge, attitudes, intentions, and behaviors. CONCLUSIONS:Future campaigns should leverage multimedia platforms, practical tools, and culturally tailored messaging to engage diverse audiences. Researchers must prioritize theoretical frameworks, pre-testing, and robust evaluation methods to enhance the reliability of findings. By addressing these gaps, campaigns can better promote organ donation, saving lives and reducing the global organ shortage.
BACKGROUND:Exposure to sensationalist breast cancer media has been associated with biased risk estimation and elevated concern among young women, which undermines preventive behaviors. This phenomenon may have never been so consequential, given the recent growing incidence of breast cancer - and its typically aggressive nature - among young females. This experimental study focused on one of the aspects frequently present in sensationalist breast cancer media: the under-representation of age. METHODS:Two hundred and sixteen young Norwegian women (i.e. aged < 40 years) were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions, wherein they read a narrative resembling the breast cancer stories typically found in the mass/social media. This narrative either featured a 30- or 65-year-old breast cancer patient, either without (conditions 1 and 2) or with (conditions 3 and 4) an accompanying photograph of the patient. RESULTS:Participants exposed to information about a 30-year-old woman reported higher levels of negative affect and fear of breast cancer than those exposed to information about a 65-year-old woman, particularly when a photograph was included. Further, negative affect and fear of breast cancer fully mediated associations between exposure to narratives and biased risk estimation. CONCLUSIONS:The under-representation of age in breast cancer media contributes to heightened alarm and misconception about breast cancer among young women. Implications for prevention and actionable recommendations for media professionals are discussed. PLAIN LANGUAGE ABSTRACT:This study examined how breast cancer media affect young women. Two hundred sixteen Norwegian women under 40 were split into four groups, in which they read a story featuring either a 30- or 65-year-old woman with breast cancer, with or without an accompanying photo of this woman. Women who read about a 30-year-old, especially with a photo, reported stronger fear and negative emotions. These reactions led them to overestimate their own risk of breast cancer. The findings suggest that stories focusing on younger patients may create unnecessary fear and distort risk perceptions.
BACKGROUND:Empathy is widely regarded as a cornerstone of effective health communication and clinical care, yet the emotional components of empathy, particularly emotional contagion, are often marginalized in medical education and research. This exploratory study investigates whether internal medicine physicians' self-reported empathy and susceptibility to emotional contagion relate to their clinical decision-making performance. METHODS:An online survey of 99 active U.S. internal medicine physicians assessed clinical empathy (Jefferson Scale of Empathy), general empathy (Interpersonal Reactivity Index), emotional contagion (Emotional Contagion Scale), and demographics. Clinical decision-making was measured with 12 vignette-based items from the American College of Physicians' MKSAP-18, providing a validated proxy for applied reasoning in real-world clinical scenarios. RESULTS:Results showed no direct relationship between emotional contagion or general empathy and decision-making accuracy. However, clinical empathy was positively associated with decision-making among male physicians but negatively associated among female physicians. These gender-specific patterns suggest that emotional attunement may interact with broader social and professional expectations in shaping clinical reasoning. CONCLUSION:Findings challenge the traditional view that emotional sensitivity undermines clinical judgment and open new avenues for understanding the complex, context-dependent role of emotions in clinical care. Moreover, these findings underscore the importance of understanding emotional contagion in health and risk communication, as emotional dynamics significantly influence how information is exchanged and interpreted. Greater attention to these processes may strengthen clinician-patient communication and improve patient outcomes in high-stakes clinical settings.
BACKGROUND:Communicable and infectious diseases, many of which are preventable, disproportionately burden low-income communities, deepening global health disparities. Limited access to prevention and care services amplifies vulnerability, making health communication a critical tool for motivating risk reduction and behavior change. The current emphasis is on communicating health within the cultural context and the use of multiple communication strategies for efficiency and effectiveness. METHODS:Grounded in the Social Amplification of Risk Framework (SARF) and the Health Belief Model (HBM), this study examined how interpersonal communication and religiosity - as a culturally embedded factor - influence risk-reduction behavior. Survey data were collected from a sample of adults in Kenya (N = 715). RESULTS:Religiosity was positively associated with key motivators of self-protective behavior, including risk perceptions and response efficacy. Additionally, religiosity moderated the relationship between interpersonal information sources, their frequency of use, and self-protective behavior. CONCLUSIONS:Integrating religiosity as a cultural dimension into health communication frameworks enhances explanatory power and offers actionable insights for intervention design. These findings underscore the value of culturally responsive, interpersonal communication strategies for promoting self-protective behavior against communicable diseases in sub-Saharan Africa.
BACKGROUND:Patient education for autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) is a complex, high-stakes process that requires both clear communication and emotional support. One cancer center implemented a supplementary video-based education (VBE) program to prepare patients and caregivers before in-person nurse-led sessions. METHOD:Using discursive psychology, this study examined how nurses structured talk during education sessions, particularly in response to patients' prior engagement with the videos. Twelve audio-recorded sessions (totaling 1,011 minutes) were transcribed and analyzed with a six-stage discursive psychology framework. Data were collected between January-2019 and March-2020; as a discourse-analytic method, DP does not employ the saturation principle used in thematic qualitative research. RESULTS:Patients had a median age of 61, were evenly split by gender, and were mostly White (57%). Analysis identified three recurring discursive patterns: (1) nurses used pronouns to shift alignment between representing the medical team and partnering with patients; (2) references to institutional experience normalized procedures and conveyed reassurance; and (3) prior VBE exposure enabled more personalized and collaborative discussion. CONCLUSIONS:Findings show how language functions to manage accountability, construct authority, and build empathy in clinical education. VBE did not shorten sessions but fostered richer, more dialogic interactions, demonstrating how hybrid education shapes patient engagement. These results provide new insight into nurse-patient communication and the relational work required to balance authority with empathy in high-stakes educational encounters.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:Medical interpreters play an essential role in the tetradic therapeutic alliance with children/families who have a non-English language preference (NELP) and healthcare providers. No research has yet described the experiences of interpreters collaborating with pediatric physical therapists and patients. The purpose of this study was to describe medical interpreters' experiences during outpatient pediatric physical therapy sessions. METHODS:A qualitative phenomenological methodology was used. Researchers increased trustworthiness through bracketing, member checking, triangulation, and inductive thematic analysis. Nine purposively sampled medical interpreters who work in the outpatient pediatric physical therapy setting consented to participate in virtual interviews. Main themes and associated subthemes were inductively established. RESULTS:Five themes emerged: interpreting meaning for meaning, patient-centered care, interprofessional collaboration, challenges faced by interpreters, and technology considerations. Representative quotes support each theme. Themes overlapped, showing the interconnectedness of communication within the pediatric therapeutic tetrad and the shared emotional burden of caring. CONCLUSIONS:Medical interpreters working in OPPT settings have identified positive experiences and barriers that influence interactions within the tetradic therapeutic alliance. They highlighted their contribution to the care team and expressed a desire for their profession to be better understood. Providers and interpreters could intentionally collaborate with specific strategies, and physical therapy programs could include interpreters in the communication curriculum. Enhanced understanding of the perspectives of each member of the therapeutic tetrad can guide future research directions to include patients and families, and can pave the way for improvements in cross-cultural tetradic communication to support holistic patient- and family-centered care.
BACKGROUND:The current study sought to understand the role of identity in explaining the relationship between perceived discrimination, medical mistrust and maternal healthcare communication satisfaction. METHODS:Black individuals (N = 160) who had recently given birth in a US hospital participated in an online survey based on the Communication Theory of Identity (CTI). RESULTS:A path analysis indicated that, as hypothesized, identity gaps (i.e. discrepancies between one's personal identity and one's communication behaviors or perceived ideas of their roles in relationships and society) explained the relationship between perceived discrimination, medical mistrust, and communication satisfaction. CONCLUSION:These results are discussed in terms of their implications for the CTI and how clinicians, policymakers, and community organizations can use this theoretical framework to inform decision-making and reduce Black maternal health communication disparities in US healthcare.
BACKGROUND:Dengue, a mosquito borne viral disease, has become an endemic in urban Bangladesh with periodic and cyclical outbreaks over the years. The current study aims to make a baseline descriptive and associative assessment of knowledge/awareness and practices of slum dwellers of Dhaka city regarding dengue across different sociodemographic characteristics. METHODS:A total of 200 participants, all aged 18 years or more, were selected by convenience sampling techniques from different slums of Dhaka and interviewed using a pre-validated questionnaire. The data obtained were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 software. RESULTS:While all participants were familiar with dengue, mainly through family and friends (70.5%), only 40.5% had good knowledge, significantly linked to education (p = 0.014, Cramer's V = 0.20). The mean knowledge and awareness score was significantly higher in participants who were male (p = 0.014, Cohen's d = 0.35) and who had a secondary level education (p = 0.028, ω2 = 0.03). The majority of the participants (94.0%) used anti-mosquito nets to prevent mosquito bites. Although all the study participants displayed poor prevention practice against dengue, the practice score varied significantly in terms of occupation (p = 0.004, ω2 = 0.06) with daily wage earners showing the maximum level of good prevention practice. In addition, a weak positive correlation (ρ = 0.216, p<0.01) existed between knowledge and practice. CONCLUSIONS:The outcomes of the study will be helpful in designing and implementing tailored campaign strategies specific to the slum dwellers to uplift their knowledge, awareness and practice levels regarding dengue to ensure the maximum utilization of scarce resources.
Background: Uncertainty is an inherent part of the pregnancy experience, and communication with obstetrician/gynecologists (OB/GYNs) may influence feelings of uncertainty and patient outcomes. This study examines the association of uncertainty with patient-centered communication, trust, satisfaction, and social attraction among pregnant women in the United States during their prenatal care visits, and identifies strategies healthcare providers can use to improve pregnant patient satisfaction.Methods: An online cross-sectional study was conducted, including open-ended questions; 572 pregnant participants shared their perceptions of interactions with their OB/GYNs.Results: Women with lower uncertainty reported greater trust, satisfaction, and social attraction toward their providers, and higher perceptions of patient-centered communication. Thematic analysis of open-ended survey data revealed that patients had concerns related to OB/GYNs' time management, lack of professionalism, communication issues, and impersonal attitude. Various themes emerged for how OB/GYNs could improve patient care, including more empathetic and transparent communication, giving more personalized care, asking and answering more questions, and spending more time with patients.Conclusions: These results underscore the importance of addressing uncertainty to enhance maternal care experiences. Strategies such as proactive information-sharing and empathetic communication may reduce uncertainty, fostering better patient-provider relationships.
BACKGROUND:While social media influencers have broad reach, everyday users possess smaller but more trusted networks, potentially bolstering credibility in health information dissemination. This study explored everyday social media users' interest in health communication training and advocacy and identified factors associated with these interests. METHODS:We conducted an online cross-sectional study of 203 U.S. adults who do not identify as social media influencers. Logistic regression models examined associations between participant characteristics and interest in social media health advocacy, joining a health organization-influencer platform, and participating in health influencer training. RESULTS:Half of the participants expressed interest in social media health advocacy, 67% in joining a health organization-influencer platform, and 49% in health influencer training. Having 500+ followers was associated with higher odds of interest in health advocacy (OR = 3.82, 95% CI: 1.38-10.59). Preference for compensation was strongly associated with interest in all three outcomes, with the highest odds for joining a health organization-influencer platform (OR = 12.27, 95% CI: 3.69-40.87). CONCLUSIONS:Everyday social media users, particularly those with 500+ followers and those motivated by compensation, show significant interest in health communication activities. Developing targeted training programs and compensation strategies may effectively engage everyday users in health communication efforts, potentially enhancing the credibility and reach of health information.
This narrative reflects on the enduring impact of two words: 'too late' when spoken in clinical encounters. Prompted by the case of 21-month-old Sandipan Dhar, who died in Australia, the author draws parallels with a family tragedy earlier in Pakistan. In both cases, parents seeking urgent care not only endured the loss of their child but also remember words that deepened their grief, guilt, and helplessness. These traumatic incidents highlight how language, even when clinically accurate, can leave emotional wounds that persist for generations.
BACKGROUND:COVID-19 health communication research has largely focused on institutional messaging, mass media, and platform dynamics, offering limited insight into how health knowledge is socially produced and stabilized within everyday community relations. This study advances existing scholarship by examining convergence as an emergent network process shaped by informal interpersonal communication and gendered communicative labor in a peripheral setting. METHODS:Using an integrated sociometric-qualitative design, the study surveyed 100 residents of Barangay Asuncion, Carmen, Davao del Norte. Sociograms were constructed to visualize interpersonal communication networks and complemented by qualitative interpretations grounded in Rogers and Kincaid's Convergence Model and Ipe's Knowledge Sharing Framework. RESULTS:Findings indicate that COVID-19 knowledge converged primarily through informal interpersonal communication embedded in kinship and neighborhood relations rather than through direct institutional delivery. Social media functioned as a significant entry point for information, but knowledge became actionable only after interpersonal discussion and relational validation. Women, particularly mothers, occupied central network positions, performing gendered communicative labor that stabilized local knowledge and buffered uncertainty. However, dense trust-based networks also increased the risk of epistemic closure when credibility was assessed through relational proximity rather than verification. CONCLUSION:Health communication in peripheral communities operates through a relational, socially contingent process, shaped by informal interpersonal networks and gendered labor. Informal communication functions as a critical social infrastructure through which health knowledge is negotiated and enacted during crises, challenging linear and institution-centred models of public health communication.
BACKGROUND:This study examined college students' perceptions of the credibility and usefulness of mental health information on social media, the frequency with which they seek such information across platforms and sources, and the relationship of these behaviors to overall mental health literacy. METHODS:An online survey was conducted with N = 372 college students. Measures assessed perceived information credibility, perceived usefulness, frequency of seeking behaviors across different platforms and sources, and levels of mental health literacy. RESULTS:Findings indicated that perceived information credibility was positively associated with seeking information from government-affiliated sources. Perceived usefulness was strongly related to seeking content on TikTok and Instagram, as well as from online media outlets, influencers, and friends or family. Moreover, the use of TikTok and Instagram mediated the relationship between perceived usefulness and mental health literacy, underscoring their central role in shaping health information engagement. CONCLUSION:These results highlight TikTok and Instagram as pivotal platforms for enhancing mental health literacy among college students. The study offers theoretical implications and practical guidance for developing targeted health communication strategies that leverage social media to improve mental health awareness.
BACKGROUND:Chronic medical conditions (CCs) are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the U.S. Patients with CCs often experience anxiety, depression, and other mental or emotional health problems. Although patient-centered communication (PCC) practice may address mental health needs through opportunities for emotional expression, reassurance, and support, there is limited evidence on the effects of PCC on the psychological well-being of patients with CCs. METHODS:Pooled cross-sectional data were extracted from the U.S. National Cancer Institute's Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS5; Cycles 1-4; 2017-2020) for 9,199 respondents (≥18 years, reported ≥1 CC, non-Hispanic White = 65.7%). PCC was measured on a composite score scale (0-100). Psychological distress (anxiety and depression) was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4). We performed multivariable logistic regressions to investigate associations between PCC and psychological distress. RESULTS:Nearly 20.4% of the patients experienced clinically significant anxiety, and 18.0% experienced depressive symptoms. With each additional unit increase on the PCC score scale, the odds of experiencing anxiety (aOR = 0.992; 95% CI: 0.986, 0.998) and depression (aOR = 0.989; 95% CI: 0.984, 0.995) decreased by approximately 1%. CONCLUSIONS:Our findings revealed that enhanced PCC is associated with reduced odds of anxiety and depression among patients with CCs. Integrating holistic care models will be crucial to addressing the complex needs of patients with CCs. Policymakers and healthcare providers could expand training programs to strengthen PCC skills and potentially enhance the mental well-being of patients with chronic medical conditions. PLAIN LANGUAGE ABSTRACT:This study examines the potential impacts of patient-centered communication (PCC) on mental health among patients with chronic disease. Analyzing data obtained from a U.S. national survey, the findings demonstrate that improved PCC is associated with lower levels of anxiety and depression. This suggests that healthcare providers' active engagement and more effective communication with patients can potentially improve their mental health and well-being. The findings highlight the importance of training healthcare providers in PCC practice to enhance the overall care and mental health of patients with chronic disease. Additionally, this research advocates implementing patient-centered, holistic care models to address both the physical and mental health needs of patients with chronic disease.
BACKGROUND:The communication of nutrition information comes with the challenge of encouraging health-promoting behaviors without triggering disordered eating. One important consideration of nutrition education is the affective responses that messages generate in receivers, emerging adult women in particular, who are at high risk for disordered eating. This study compares two different frameworks: Weight-centric nutrition education (i.e. MyPlate, calories-in-calories-out) and intuitive eating (i.e. eating by hunger and fullness cues). METHOD:Three hundred emerging adult women were randomized in a pretest-posttest experimental design. This design was used to compare within-participant changes in affect, worry about eating and weight, and heart rate variability between groups viewing either a weight-centric or an intuitive eating nutrition education video. It was hypothesized that women randomized to weight-centric nutrition education would report increases in negative affect, increases in worry about eating and weight, and decreases in positive affect and heart rate variability, compared to those who viewed intuitive eating nutrition education. RESULTS:Compared to intuitive eating, weight-centric nutrition education led to an increase in negative affect (P < .01, Cohen's d = 0.68), an increase in worry about eating (P < .01, Cohen's d = 0.89) and weight (P < .01, Cohen's d = 0.70), and a decrease in positive affect (P < .01, Cohen's d = -0.95). No statistically significant differences were found for heart rate variability. CONCLUSIONS:Weight-centric nutrition education has been traditionally used when communicating nutrition information in the U.S.; however, nutrition education may benefit from an intuitive eating approach so that disordered eating risk is not inadvertently increased.
BACKGROUND:Individual conceptions of what constitutes a good death vary greatly depending on physical, psychological, biomedical, spiritual beliefs, and health needs. Communicating and preparing personalized good death experiences promote quality, treatment, and care at the end-of-life and after death. This study examines the relationship between good death perceptions, communication apprehension about death, and communication and documentation of individuals' advance care and aftercare preferences. METHOD:Participants (N = 424) completed a survey assessing their perceptions of a good death, their communication apprehension about death, documentation of their end-of-life and aftercare wishes, and previous communication with loved ones of those wishes. RESULTS:Participants rarely documented or communicated their wishes to others. Good death was also positively correlated with individuals' likelihood of having end-of-life documentation but negatively correlated with having aftercare documents. Further, individuals with high levels of communication apprehension about death were significantly less likely to have advance care and aftercare plans. Multiple regressions forecasted that communication with others and communication apprehension about death were major contributors to documenting preferences. CONCLUSIONS:Study findings suggest that the meaning individuals place on what they believe makes a good death could make it difficult for them to communicate their wishes to others. Documenting and communicating wishes, especially before someone is incapable of communicating, are important ways to help individuals achieve their vision of a good death and help reduce communication apprehension.
