Health Communications Research at UB
Faculty in Health Communication
Thomas Feeley, Ph.D. (University at Buffalo)
Arun Vishwanath, Ph.D. (University at Buffalo)
Pauline Hope Cheong, Ph.D. (University of Southern California)
Lance Rintamaki, Ph.D. (U. Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
Faculty Research
Faculty members in the Department of Communication are involved in multiple aspects of health communication research, includingaccess to health information, health promotion, health campaigns, risk communication, health literacy, social marketing, government & policy-making, health education, and the implications of information and communication technologies for health communication.
Funded Research
Promoting Organ Donation through Medical Education
HRSA, Health and Human Services, Division of Transplantation
09/01/05-08/31/08, $633,599, PI: Thomas Feeley, Ph.D., Graduate RA: Shin-Il Moon, MA. Description: Multi-faceted intervention in medical schools and residency programs to provide education to physicians-in-training about organ donation and transplantation
Increasing Liver Donation through Peer-Developed Education
HRSA, Health and Human Services, Division of Transplantation
09/01/06-08/31/09, $698,000, PI: Thomas Feeley, Ph.D., Graduate RA: Hyunjung Kim, MA. Description: Multi-faceted intervention to better educate individuals awaiting liver transplantation at 4 liver transplant centers in NYS.
Enhanced Addictions and Mental Health Education for FNPs
HRSA, Division of Nursing, 07/01/05-03/30/08, $2,135,147
PI: Nancy Campbell-Heider, Ph.D., School of Nursing; Co-Investigator: Thomas Feeley, Ph.D. Description: Intervention in nurse practitioner program to educate students in area of mental health counseling in primary care.
Internet and Media use for health information seeking among the Uninsured
AT & T Foundation, (01/01/06-12/30/06), $6,000. Co-Investigators: Thomas Feeley Ph.D and Pauline Hope Cheong, Ph.D. Description: Analysis of disparities in the access and use of the Internet and other communication media for health information seeking among the medically uninsured population in the USA.
HIV Patient Perceptions of Healthcare Personnel
VA, Health Services Research & Development, 3/01/06-11/01/08, $9,600
PI: Lance S. Rintamaki, Ph.D., Description: Identification of the forms, frequencies, and effects of patients’ perceptions of stigmatizing behaviors directed at HIV-positive patients and performed by healthcare personnel.
Veterans Coping with HIV Stress and Stigma
VA, Health Services Research & Development, 11/01/04-11/01/08, $6,600
PI: Lance S. Rintamaki, Ph.D., Description: Exploration of the psychosocial dynamics of HIV stigma among people living with HIV and strategies for coping with the many stressors stigma entails.
Parkinson’s Disease Informal Care Provider Stress and Coping
VA, Health Services Research & Development, 9/01/04-11/01/08, $6,300
PI: Lance S. Rintamaki, Ph.D., Description: Identification of stressors experienced by informal caregivers of people living with Parkinson’s disease, coupled with assessment of social support used to manage these stressors.
Social Barriers and Facilitators of Treatment Adherence among Veterans Living with HIV
VA, Health Services Research & Development, 2/01/04-11/01/08, $6,600
PI: Lance S. Rintamaki, Ph.D., Description: Assessment of health literacy, social support, and social stigma’s roles in facilitating treatment adherence among people living with HIV.
Stress and Stigma Among People Living with Parkinson’s Disease
VA, Health Services Research & Development, 1/01/04-11/01/08, $6,300
PI: Lance S. Rintamaki, Ph.D., Description: Assessment ofsocial stressors experienced by people living with Parkinson’s disease, coupled with assessments of their preferred coping strategies employed to manage these stressors.
Other Grants
Western New York Health Information Infrastructure: User Needs Assessment Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) - CUBRC PI - Moskal $297,460 PI - Vishwanath $31397 August 2005 - June 2006.
Recent Publications in Health Communication
(2005 – Present)
Brashers, D. E., Rintamaki, L. S., & Peterson, J. L. (2006). Pragma-dialectics and patient self-advocacy in physician-patient interactions. In M. A. van Rees & P. Houtlosser (Eds.), Considering Pragma-Dialects (pp. 24-38). Hillside, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Cameron, K. A., Rintamaki, L. S., Kamanda-Kosseh, M., Noskin, G. A., Baker, D. W., Makoul, G. M. (in press). Using Theoretical Constructs to Identify Key Issues for Targeted Message Design: African American Seniors' Perceptions about Influenza and Influenza Vaccination. Health Communication.
Cheong, P.H. (2007) Health Communication Resources for Uninsured and Insured Hispanics. Health Communication, 21 (2) 153-163.
Cheong, P.H., Feeley, T. H., & Servoss, T.J. (2007) Understanding Health Inequalities for Uninsured Americans: A Population-wide Survey. Journal of Health Communication, 12 (3), 285-300.
Cheong, P.H. (2006). Communication Context, Social Cohesion, and Social Capital Building among Hispanic Immigrant Families. Community, Work & Family, 9 (3), 367-387.
Cheong, P.H., & Wilkin, H.A (2005). The Internet for Hispanic Immigrants: Health Communication and the Digital Divides. In Allen, M. & Convalso, M. (Eds.) Internet Research Annual, Vol. 2, (pp. 101-114). Peter Lang Publishers, New York.
Cheong, P.H., Wilkin, H.A., & Ball-Rokeach, S.J. (2004). Diagnosing the Communication Infrastructure in order to reach target audiences: A study of Hispanic communities in Los Angeles. In P. Whitten & D. Cook (Eds), Understanding health communication technologies (pp. 101-110). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Feeley, T.H. (2007). College students’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding organ donation. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 37, 243-271.
Feeley, T.H., Marshall, H., & Reinhart, A.M. (2006). Reactions to Narrative and Statistical Written Messages Promoting Organ Donation. Communication Reports.
Feeley, T.H., & Servoss, T.J. (2005). College students as potential organ donors: Reasons for low signing rates. Journal of Health Communication, 10, 237-250.
Feeley, T.H., & Vincent, D.E. (in press). How Organ Donation is Represented in Newspaper Articles in the United States. Health Communication.
Marshall, H. & Feeley, T.H. (2006). Attitudes toward organ donation: A test of injunctive norms. Communication Studies 57, 435-453.
Marshall, H. M., Reinhart, A., Feeley, T. H., Tutzauer, F., & Anker, A. E. (in press). Comparing college students’ value-, outcome-, and impression-relevant involvement in health–related issues. Health Communication
Reinhart, A., Marshall, H., Feeley, T.H., & Tutzauer, F. (in press). The Persuasive Effects of Message-Framing in Organ Donation: The Mediating Role of Psychological Reactance. Communication Monographs.
Rintamaki, L. S. (in press). The HIV Social Identity Model. In D. E. Brashers & D. J. Goldsmith (Eds.), Communication in the Management of Health and Illness. New York: Cambridge.
Rintamaki, L. S. (2007). Patient perceptions of HIV stigma in healthcare contexts. Medical Encounter, 21, 21-23.
Rintamaki, L. S., & Brashers, D. E. (2005). Social identity and stigma management: The case of people living with HIV. In E. B. Ray (Ed.), Health Communication in Practice. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Rintamaki, L. S., Davis, T. C., Skripkauskas, S., Bennett, C. L., & Wolf, M. S. (2006). Social stigma concerns and HIV medication adherence. AIDS Patient Care and STDs,20, 359-368.
Rintamaki, L. S., Scott, A. M., Kosenko, K., Jensen, R., & Jordan, C. (in press). Male patient perceptions of HIV stigma in healthcare contexts. AIDS Patient Care and STDs.
Rintamaki, L. S., & Weaver, F. M. (2007). The social and personal dynamics of HIV stigma. In T. Edgar, S. M. Noar, & V. S. Freimuth (Eds.), Communication Perspectives on HIV/AIDS for the 21st Century (pp. 67-99). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Vishwanath, A., & Scamurra, S. (2007). Barriers to the adoption of electronic health records: Using concept mapping to develop a comprehensive empirical model. Health Informatics Journal, 13, 119-134.