Jeff Niederdeppe

Research by Topic

Research in Chronological Order

2021

• Niederdeppe, J., Winett, L., Xu, Y., Fowler, E. F, & Gollust, S. E. (2021). Evidence-based message strategies to increase public support for state investment in early childhood education: Results from a longitudinal panel experiment. Milbank Quarterly. doi:10.1111/1468-0009.12534 [data and syntax: https://doi.org/10.7298/63k2-dy26]
• Niederdeppe, J., Avery, R. J., Liu, J., Gollust, S. E., Baum, L., Barry, C. L., Welch, B., Tabor, E., Lee, N. W., & Fowler, E. F. (2021). Exposure to televised campaign advertisements aired in the United States 2015-2016 election cycle and psychological distress. Social Science and Medicine, 277, 113898.
• Niederdeppe, J., Avery, R. J., Tabor, E., Lee, N. W., Welch, B., & Skurka, C. (2021). Estimated televised alcohol advertising exposure in the past year and associations with past 30-day drinking behavior among American adults: Results from a secondary analysis of large-scale advertising and survey data. Addiction, 116, 280-289.
• Winett, L., Xu, Y., Fowler, E. F, Gollust, S. E., & Niederdeppe, J. (2021). When ‘tried and true’ advocacy strategies backfire: Narrative messages can undermine state legislator support for early childcare policies. Journal of Public Interest Communications, 5(1), 45-77. doi:10.32473/jpic.v5.i1.p45
• Xu, Y., Winett, L., & Niederdeppe, J. (2021). Evidence for heterogeneity in the direction and magnitude of narrative effects on transportation and counterarguing: Three replications with three different populations. International Journal of Communication. Forthcoming.
• Liu, J., Avery, R. J., Fowler, E. F, Baum, L., Gollust, S. E., Barry, C. L., Welch, B., Tabor, E., Lee, N. W., & Niederdeppe, J. (2021). Campaign advertising and the cultivation of crime worry: Testing relationships with two large datasets from the 2016 U.S. election cycle. International Journal of Press and Politics.doi:10.1177/19401612211020929
• Gollust, S.E., Frenier, C., Tait, M., Baum, L.M., Kennedy-Hendricks, A., Niederdeppe, J., & Fowler, E.F. (2021). When talk is not cheap: What factors predict political campaign messaging on social determinants of health issues? World Medical and Health Policy. doi:10.1002/wmh3.470
• Cannon, J. S., Farkouh, E. K., Winett, L. B., Dorfman, L., Ramirez, A. S., Lazar, S., & Niederdeppe, J. (2021). Perceptions of arguments in support of policies to reduce sugary drink consumption among low-Income white, Black and Latinx parents of young children. American Journal of Health Promotion. doi:10.1177/08901171211030849
• Tait, M., Bogucki, C., Baum, L., Fowler, E. F., Niederdeppe, J., & Gollust, S. E. (2021). Paid family leave on local television news in the U.S.: Setting the agenda for policy reform. SSM Population Health, 14, 100821. doi:10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100821
• Liu, J., & Niederdeppe, J. (2021). Effects of communicating prevalence information about two common health conditions. Health Communication. doi:10.1080/10410236.2021.1895417
• Kennedy-Hendricks, A., Fowler, E. F., Bandara, S., Baum, L., Gollust, S. E., Niederdeppe, J., & Barry, C. L. (2021). Relationship between drug overdose mortality and coverage of drug-related issues in US television political campaign advertising in the 2012 and 2016 election cycles. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 46, 381-407.
• Skurka, C., Romero-Canyas, R., Joo, H., Acup, D., & Niederdeppe, J. (2021). Threat appeals, humor appeals, and climate change: A direct replication of Skurka et al. (2018). Human Communication Research.doi:10.1093/hcr/hqab013
• Chen-Sankey, J. C., Unger, J. B., Bernat, E., Niederdeppe, J., Bansal-Travers, M., & Choi, K. (2021). Price promotion receipt and use progression of any tobacco, cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and cigars among U.S. youth between 2016 and 2018. Tobacco Control. doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2021-056667
• Loud, E. E., Lambert, V. C., Porticella, N., Niederdeppe, J., & Thrasher, J. F. (2021). Evaluating cigarette pack insert messages with tips to quit. Tobacco Regulatory Science, 7(3), 203-209. doi:10.18001/TRS.7.3.5
• Neo, J. R. J., Shepley, M., & Niederdeppe, J. (2021). Does message content interact with the physical environment? An exploratory study on the influence of noise and noise-related visual cues on message elaboration. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 76, 101657.
• Jovanova, M., Skurka, C., Byrne, S., Kalaji, M., Greiner Safi, A., Porticella, N. A., Mathios, A. D., Avery, R. J., Dorf, M. C., & Niederdeppe, J. (2021). Should graphic warning labels proposed for cigarette packages sold in the United States mention the Food and Drug Administration? Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 23(2), 402-406.
• Xu, Y., Margolin, D., & Niederdeppe, J. (2021). Testing strategies to increase source credibility through strategic message design in the context of vaccination and vaccine hesitancy. Health Communication, 36(11), 1354-1367.
• King, A., Niederdeppe, J., & Dahl, E. (2020). Visual juxtapositions as exemplars in messages promoting healthy dietary behavior. Health Communication, 36, 1200-1215

2020

• Niederdeppe, J., & Gollust, S. E. (2020). Excess medical care spending: An opportunity but a communication challenge. American Journal of Public Health, 110, 1753-1754.
• Gollust, S. E., Fowler, E. F., & Niederdeppe, J. (2020). Ten years of messaging about the Affordable Care Act in advertising and news media: Lessons for policy and politics. Journal of Health Politics, Policy, and Law. doi: 10.1215/03616878-8543210
• Dixon, H., Scully, M., Wakefield, M., Kelly, B., Pettigrew, S., Chapman, K., Martin, J., & Niederdeppe, J. (2020). Can counter-advertising protect spectators of elite sport against the influence by unhealthy food sponsorship? A naturalistic trial. Social Science & Medicine, 266, 113415.
• Kemmick Pintor, J., Alberto, C. K., Arnold, K. T., Bandara, S., Baum, L., Fowler, E. F., Gollust, S. E., Niederdeppe, J., & Barry, C. L. (2020). Targeting of enrollment assistance resources in health insurance television advertising: A comparison of Spanish- vs. English-language ads. Journal of Health Communication, 8, 605-612.
• Skurka, C., Winett, L., Jarman-Miller, H., & Niederdeppe, J. (2020). All things being equal: Distinguishing proportionality and equity in moral reasoning. Social Psychology and Personality Science, 11, 374-387
• Liu, J., & Niederdeppe, J. (2020). Misperceptions of the prevalence of health conditions and behaviors. Journal of Health Communication, 25(11), 903-916.
• Liu, J., King, A., Margolin, D., & Niederdeppe, J. (2020). Information seeking and scanning about colorectal cancer among black and white Americans, ages 45-75: Comparing information sources and screening behaviors. Journal of Health Communication, 25, 402-411.
• Katz, S. J., Byrne, S., Greiner Safi, A., Avery, R. J., Dorf, M., Mathios, A., & Niederdeppe, J. (2020). Testing the effects of certain versus hypothetical language in health risk messages. Communication Monographs, 87, 47-69.
• Skurka, C., Niederdeppe, J., & Winett, L. (2020). There’s more to the story: Both individual and collective policy narratives can increase support for community-level action. International Journal of Communication, 14, 4160-4179. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/14537/3175
• Jesch, E., Niederdeppe, J., King, A. J., Greiner Safi, A., & Byrne, S. (2020). “I quit”: Testing the added value and sequencing effects of an efficacy-focused message among cigarette warning labels. Journal of Health Communication, 25, 361-373.
• Neo, J. R. J., Niederdeppe, J., Vielemeyer, O., Lau, B., Demetres, M., & Sadatsafavi, H. (2020). Evidence-based strategies in using persuasive interventions to optimize antimicrobial use in healthcare: A narrative review. Journal of Medical Systems. doi: 0.1007/s10916-020-1531-y
• Hair, E. C., Niederdeppe, J., Rath, J. M., Romberg, A., Bennett, M., Pitzer, L., Xiao, H., & Vallone, D. M. (2020). Using aggregate temporal variation in ad awareness to assess the effects of the truth® campaign on youth and young adult smoking behavior. Journal of Health Communication, 25, 223-231.
• Dowell, G., Niederdeppe, J., Vanucci, J., Dogan, T., Donaghy, K., Jacobson, R., Mahowald, N., Milstein, M., & Zelikova, T. J. (2020). Rooting carbon dioxide removal (CDR) research in the social sciences. Interface Focus. Doi:10.1098/rsfs.2019.0138
• Heley, K., Kennedy-Hendricks, A., Niederdeppe, J., & Barry, C. L. (2020). Reducing health-related stigma through narrative approaches. Health Communication, 35, 849-860.
• Barry, C. L., Bandara, S., Fowler, E. F., Baum, L., Gollust, S., Niederdeppe, J., & Kennedy-Hendricks, A. (2020). Guns in candidate political advertising over four US election cycles, 2012 to 2018. Health Affairs, 39, 327-333.

2019

• Niederdeppe, J. Kemp, D., Jesch, E., Scolere, L., Greiner Safi, A., Porticella, N. A., Avery, R., Dorf, M., Mathios, A., & Byrne, S. (2019). Using warning labels to counter effects of social cues and brand imagery in cigarette advertising. Health Education Research, 34(1), 39-49.
• Niederdeppe, J., Gundersen, D., Tan, A. L., McGinty, E. E., & Barry, C. L. (2019). Embedding a wiki-platform within a traditional survey: A novel approach to assess perceived argument strength in communication research. International Journal of Communication, 13, 1863–1889. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/10684/2629
• Niederdeppe, J., Kemp, D., Jesch, E., Scolere, L., Greiner Safi, A., Porticella, N. A., Avery, R., Dorf, M., Mathios, A., & Byrne, S. (2019). Using warning labels to counter effects of social cues and brand imagery in cigarette advertising. Health Education Research, 34, 39–49.
• Niederdeppe, J., Connelly, N., Lauber, B., & Knuth, B. A. (2019). Effects of a personal narrative in messages designed to promote healthy fish consumption among women of childbearing age. Health Communication, 34, 825–837.
• Gollust, S. E., Fowler, E. F., & Niederdeppe, J. (2019). Television news coverage of public health issues and implications for public health policy and practice. Annual Review of Public Health, 40, 167–185.
• Fowler, E. F., Baum, L., Jesch, E., Haddad, D., Reyes, C., Gollust, S. E., & Niederdeppe, J. (2019). Issues relevant to population health in political advertising in the United States, 2011–2012 and 2015–2016. Milbank Quarterly, 97, 10962-1107.
• Byrne, S., Greiner Safi, A., Kemp, D., Skurka, C., Davydova, Y., Scolere, L., Mathios, A., Avery, R., Dorf, M., Steinhardt, J., & Niederdeppe, J. (2019). Effects of varying color, imagery and text of cigarette package warning labels among socioeconomically disadvantaged middle school youth and adult smokers. Health Communication, 34, 306–316.
• Skurka, C., Winett, L., Jarman-Miller, H., & Niederdeppe, J. (2019). All things being equal: Distinguishing proportionality and equity in moral reasoning. Social Psychology and Personality Science. doi:10.1177/1948550619862261
• Skurka, C., Kalaji, M., Byrne, S., Kemp, D., Greiner Safi, A., Dorf, M., Mathios, A., Avery, R., & Niederdeppe, J. (2019). Independent or synergistic? Effects of varying size and using pictorial images in tobacco health warning labels. Drug Use and Dependence, 198, 87–94.
• Lu, H., Romero-Canyas, R., Hiltner, S., Neltner, T., McCormick, L., & Niederdeppe, J. (2019). Research to move toward evidence-based recommendations for lead service line disclosures in home buying and home renting scenarios. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(963). doi: 10.3990/ijerph16060963
• Robbins, R., & Niederdeppe, J. (2019). Testing the role of narrative and gain-loss framing in messages to promote sleep hygiene among high school students. Journal of Health Communication, 24, 84–93.
• Clark, D., Nagler, R., & Niederdeppe, J. (2019). Confusion and nutritional backlash from exposure to contradictory information in the news media about carbohydrates and dietary fats. Public Health Nutrition, 12, 3336-3348.
• Skurka, C., Niederdeppe, J., & Nabi, R. L. (2019). Kimmel on climate: Disentangling the emotional ingredients of a satirical monologue. Science Communication, 41, 394–421.
• Kemp, D. Niederdeppe, J., & Byrne, S. (2019). Adolescent attention to disgust visuals in cigarette graphic warning labels. Journal of Adolescent Health, 65, 769-775.
• Southwell, B. G., Niederdeppe, J., Cappella, J. N., Gaysynsky, A., Kelley, D. E., Oh, A., & Peterson, E. B., & Chou, W. Y. S. (2019). Misinformation as a misunderstood challenge to public health. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 57, 282–285.
• Greiner Safi A., Reyes, C., Jesch, E., Steinhardt, J., Niederdeppe, J., Skurka, C., Kalaji, M., Scolere, L., & Byrne, S. (2019). Comparing in person and internet methods to recruit low-SES populations for tobacco control policy research. Social Science & Medicine, 242, 112597.
• Thrasher, J. F., Brewer, N. T., Niederdeppe, J., Peters, E., Strasser, A. A., Grana, R., & Kaufman, A. R. (2019). Advancing tobacco product warning labels research methods and theory: A summary of a grantee meeting held by the US National Cancer Institute. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 21, 855-862.
• Chen-Sankey, J. C., Unger, J. B., Bansal-Travers, M., Niederdeppe, J., Bernat, E., & Choi, K. (2019). E-cigarette marketing exposure and subsequent experimentation among youth and young adults. Pediatrics, 144(5), e20191119. (winner of the NIH OBSSR Matilda White Riley Early Stage Investigator Paper Competition)
• Barry, C. L., Sherman, S., Stone, E., Kennedy-Hendricks, A., Niederdeppe, J., Linden, S. & McGinty, E. E., (2019). Arguments supporting and opposing legalization of safe consumption sites in the U.S. International Journal of Drug Policy, 63, 18–22.
• Connelly, N. A., Lauber, T. B., McCann, P. J., Niederdeppe, J., & Knuth, B. A. (2019). Estimated exposure to mercury from fish consumption among women anglers of childbearing age in the Great Lakes region. Environmental Research, 171, 11–17.

2018

• Niederdeppe, J., Kellogg, M., Skurka, C., & Avery, R. J. (2018). Market-level exposure to state antismoking media campaigns and public support for tobacco control policy in the United States, 2001-2002. Tobacco Control, 27(2), 177-184.
• Niederdeppe, J., Avery, R. J., & Miller, E. N. (2018). Theoretical foundations of appeals used in alcohol-abuse and drunk-driving public service announcements in the United States, 1995-2010. American Journal of Health Promotion, 32(4), 887-896.
• Niederdeppe, J., & Kemp, D. (2018). Ignoring theory and evidence: Commentary on Kok et al., 2018. Health Psychology Review, 12(2), 136-139.
• Skurka, C., Niederdeppe, J., Romero, R., & Acup, D. (2018). Pathways of influence in emotional appeals: Benefits and tradeoffs of using fear or humor to promote climate change activism and risk perceptions. Journal of Communication, 68(1), 169-193.
• Skurka, C., Byrne, S., Davydova, J., Kemp, D., Greiner Safi, A., Avery, R., Dorf, M., Mathios, A., & Niederdeppe, J. (2018). Testing competing explanations for graphic warning label effects among adult smokers and non-smoking youth. Social Science and Medicine, 211, 294-303.
• Skurka, C., Byrne, S., Thrasher, J. T., Greiner Safi, A., Kemp, D., Davydova, Y., Avery, R., Dorf, M., Mathios, A., Scolere, L., & Niederdeppe, J. (2018). Effects of 30% and 50% cigarette pack graphic warning label size on visual attention, negative affect, quit intentions and smoking susceptibility among disadvantaged populations in the United States. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 20(7), 859-866.
• Byrne, S., Kalaji, M., & Niederdeppe, J. (2018). Does visual attention to graphic warning labels on cigarette packs predict key outcomes? A large-scale eye tracking study among youth and low-income smokers. Tobacco Regulatory Science, 4(6), 18-37.
• Dixon, H., Scully, M., Wakefield, M., Kelly, B., Pettigrew, S., Chapman, K., & Niederdeppe, J. (2018). The impact of unhealthy food sponsorship vs. pro-health sponsorship models on young adults’ food preferences: A randomized controlled trial. BMC Public Health, 18, 1399.
• Lambert, V., Ferguson, S. G., Niederdeppe, J., Hammond, D., & Thrasher, J. F. (2018). Exploring the impact of efficacy messages on cessation-related outcomes through ecological momentary assessment. Tobacco Induced Diseases, 16(September):44. doi: 10.18332/tid/94460
• Holl, K., Schuldt, J. P., & Niederdeppe, J. (2018). Does question wording predict support for the Affordable Care Act? An analysis of polls during the implementation period, 2010-2016. Health Communication, 33(7), 816-823.
• Fernan, C., Schuldt, J. P., & Niederdeppe, J. (2017). Health halo effects from product titles and nutrient content claims in the context of “protein” bars. Health Communication, 33, 1425-1433.
• Rainone, N., Oodal, R., & Niederdeppe, J. (2018). The (surprising) impact of televised antidepressant direct-to-consumer advertising on the stigmatization of mental illness. Community Mental Health Journal, 54(3), 267-275.
• McGinty, E. E., Barry, C. L., Stone, E., Niederdeppe, J., Kennedy-Hendricks, A., Linden, S. & Sherman, S. (2018). Public support for safe consumption sites and syringe services programs to combat the opioid epidemic. Preventive Medicine, 111, 73-77.
• Gollust, S. E., Wilcock, A., Fowler, E. F., Barry, C. L., Niederdeppe, J., Baum, L., & Karaca-Mandic, P. (2018). TV advertising volumes were associated with individuals’ health insurance marketplace shopping and enrollment. Health Affairs, 37(6), 956-963.
• Barry, C. L., Bandara, S., Arnold, K., Pintor, J., Baum, L., Fowler, E. F, Niederdeppe, J., Karaca-Mandic, P., & Gollust, S. E. (2018). Assessing the content of television health insurance advertising during three open enrollment periods of the ACA. Journal of Health Politics, Policy & Law, 43(6), 961-989.
• Lauber, T. B., Connelly, N. A., Niederdeppe, J., & Knuth, B. A. (2018). Effects of an advisory brochure on fish consumption of urban anglers in the Great Lakes region. Risk Analysis, 38(7), 1405-1421.
• Connelly, N. A., Lauber, T. B., Niederdeppe, J., & Knuth, B. A. (2018). Using a web-based diary method to estimate risks and benefits from fish consumption. Risk Analysis, 38(6), 1116-1127.

2017

• Niederdeppe, J., Avery, R. J., & Miller, E. N. (2017). Alcohol control PSAs and drunk-driving fatalities in the United States, 1996-2010. Preventive Medicine, 99, 320-325.
• Niederdeppe, J., Avery, R. J., Kellogg, M., & Mathios, A. (2017). Mixed messages, mixed outcomes: Exposure to direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising for statin drugs is associated with more frequent visits to fast food restaurants and exercise. Health Communication, 32, 845-856.
• Dahlstrom, M., Niederdeppe, J., Gao, L. & Zhu, X. (2017). Operational and conceptual trends in narrative persuasion research: Comparing health and non-health related contexts. International Journal of Communication, 11, 4865-4885. http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/6629/2202
• Scully, M., Brennan, E., Durkin, S., Dixon, H., Wakefield, M., Barry, C. L., & Niederdeppe, J. (2017). Competing with big business: A randomised experiment testing the effects of messages to promote alcohol and sugary drink control policy. BMC Public Health, 17, 945. doi: 10.1186/s12889-017-4972-6
• Zhou, S., & Niederdeppe, J. (2017). The promises and pitfalls of personalization in narratives to promote social change. Communication Monographs, 84(3), 319-342.
• Robbins, R., & Niederdeppe, J. (2017). How online peer-to-peer conversation shapes the effects of a message about healthy sleep. Prevention Science, 18(2), 141-151.
• McGinty, E. E., Niederdeppe, J., Heley, K., & Barry, C. L. (2017). Public perceptions of arguments supporting and opposing recreational marijuana legalization. Preventive Medicine, 99, 80-86.
• Holl, K., Schuldt, J. P., & Niederdeppe, J. (2018). Does question wording predict support for the Affordable Care Act? An analysis of polls during the implementation period, 2010-2016. Health Communication, 33(7), 816-823.
• Lee, J. G., Landrine, H., Martin, R. J., Matthews, D. D., Averett, P. E., & Niederdeppe, J. (2017). Reasons for caution when emphasizing health disparities for sexual and gender minority adults in public health campaigns. American Journal of Public Health, 107(8), 1223-1224.
• Gollust, S. E., Barry, C. L., & Niederdeppe, J. (2017). Partisan responses to public health messages: Motivated reasoning and soda taxes. Journal of Health Politics, Policy, & Law, 42(6), 1005-1037.
• Karaca-Mandic, P., Wilcock, A., Baum, L., Barry, C. L., Fowler, E. F., Niederdeppe, J., & Gollust, S. E. (2017). The volume of TV commercials during ACA’s first enrollment period was associated with increased insurance coverage. Health Affairs, 36(4), 747-754.
• Gollust, S. E., Baum, L. M., Niederdeppe, J., Barry, C. L., & Fowler, E. F. (2017). Local television news coverage of the Affordable Care Act: Emphasizing politics over consumer information. American Journal of Public Health, 107(5), 687-693.
• Gollust, S. E., Qin, X., Baum, L., Barry, C. L., Niederdeppe, J., Fowler, E. F., & Karaca-Mandic, P. (2017). Search and you shall find: Geographic characteristics associated with google searches during the Affordable Care Act’s first enrollment period. Medical Care Research and Review, 74(6), 723-735.
• Fowler, E. F., Baum, L., Niederdeppe, J., Barry, C. L., & Gollust, S. E. (2017). Media messages and perceptions of the Affordable Care Act during the early phase of implementation. Journal of Health Politics, Policy, & Law, 42(1), 167-195.
• Lauber, T. B., Connelly, N. A., Niederdeppe, J., & Knuth, B. A. (2017). Urban anglers in the great lakes region: Fish consumption patterns, influences, and responses to advisory messages. Science of the Total Environment, 590-591, 495-501.
• Lauber, T. B., Connelly, N. A., Niederdeppe, J., & Knuth, B. A. (2017). Urban anglers’ adherence to fish consumption advisories in the Great Lakes region. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 43, 180-186.
• Connelly, N. A., Lauber, T. B., Niederdeppe, J., & Knuth, B. A. (2017). Are women anglers of childbearing age in the Great Lakes region following fish consumption advice? Journal of Great Lakes Research, 43, 187-191.

2016

• Niederdeppe, J., Roh, S., & Dreisbach, C. (2016). How narrative focus and a statistical map interact to shape health policy support among state legislators. Health Communication, 31(2), 242-255.
• Niederdeppe, J., Byrne, S., Avery, R. J., & Siam, T. (2016). Variation in state use of anti-tobacco message themes predicts youth smoking prevalence in the United States, 1999-2005. Tobacco Control, 25(1), 101-107.
• Niederdeppe, J. (2016). Meeting the challenges of measuring communication exposure in the digital age. Communication Methods & Measures, 10(2-3), 170-172.
• Roh, S., & Niederdeppe, J. (2016). The word outside and the pictures in our heads: Contingent effects of implicit frames by political ideology. Health Communication, 31(9), 1063-1071.
• Kim, H. K., & Niederdeppe, J. (2016). Effects of self-affirmation, narratives, and informational messages in reducing unrealistic optimism about alcohol-related problems among college students. Human Communication Research, 42(2), 246-268.
• Matthes, J., Niederdeppe, J., & Shen, F. (2016). Reflections on the need for a journal devoted to communication research methodologies: 10 years later. Communication Methods & Measures, 10(1), 1-3. (not peer-reviewed)
• Connelly, N. A., Lauber, B., Niederdeppe, J., & Knuth, B. A. (2016). Fish consumption among women anglers of childbearing age in the Great Lakes region. Environmental Research, 150, 213-218.
• Sanders-Jackson, A. N., Bigman, C., Tan, A. S. L., Mello, S., & Niederdeppe, J. (2016). To regulate or not to regulate? Public views on electronic cigarette regulations and beliefs about the reasons for and against regulation. PLoS One, 11(8): e0161124. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0161124.
• McGinty, E. E., Kennedy-Hendricks, A., Baller, J., Niederdeppe, J., Gollust, S., & Barry, C. L. (2016). Criminal activity or treatable health condition? News media framing of opioid analgesic abuse in the United States, 1998-2012. Psychiatric Services, 67(4), 405-411.
• Barry, C. L., Hendricks, A. K., Gollust, S. E., Niederdeppe, J., Bachhuber, M. A., Webster, D., & McGinty, E. B. (2016). Understanding Americans’ views on opioid pain reliever abuse.  Addiction, 111(1), 85-93.
• Kennedy-Hendricks, A., Busch, S. H., McGinty, E. E., Bachhuber, M. A., Niederdeppe, J., Gollust. S. E., Webster, D. W., Fiellin, D. A., & Barry, C. L. (2016). Primary care physicians’ perspectives on the prescription opioid epidemic. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 165, 61-70.

2015

• Niederdeppe, J., Heley, K., & Barry, C. L. (2015). Inoculation and narrative strategies in competitive framing of three health policy issues. Journal of Communication, 65(5), 838-862.
• Niederdeppe, J., Roh, S., & Shapiro, M.A. (2015). Acknowledging individual responsibility while emphasizing social determinants in narratives to promote obesity-reducing public policy: A randomized experiment. PLoS ONE, 10(2): e0117565. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0117565.
• Niederdeppe, J., Connelly, N. A., Lauber, T. B., & Knuth, B. A. (2015). Using theory to identify beliefs associated with intentions to follow fish consumption advisories among anglers in the Great Lakes region. Risk Analysis, 35(11), 1996-2008.
• Robbins, R., & Niederdeppe, J. (2015). Using the integrative model of behavior prediction to identify promising message strategies to promote healthy sleep behavior among college students. Health Communication, 30(1), 26-38.
• Kruger, C., Niederdeppe, J., Byrne, S., & Avery, R. (2015). Effects of exposure to direct-to-consumer television advertising for statin drugs on food and exercise guilt. Patient Education and Counseling, 98, 1150-1155. 
• Kim, H. K., Niederdeppe, J., Guillory, J., Graham, M., Olson, C., & Gay, G. K. (2015). Determinants of pregnant women’s online self-regulatory activities for appropriate gestational weight gain. Health Communication, 30(9), 922-932.
• Kim, H. K., Niederdeppe, J., Graham, M., Olson, C., & Gay, G. (2015). Effects of online self-regulation activities on physical activity among pregnant and early postpartum women. Journal of Health Communication, 20(10), 1115-1124.
• Kim, H. K., Kim, S., & Niederdeppe, J. (2015). Scientific uncertainty as a moderator of the relationship between descriptive norm and intentions to engage in cancer risk-reducing behaviors. Journal of Health Communication, 20(4), 387-395.
• Wolfson, J., Gollust, S. E., Niederdeppe, J., & Barry, C. L. (2015). The role of parents in public views on how to address childhood obesity in the United States. Milbank Quarterly, 93(1), 73-111.
• Byrne, S., Katz, S., Mathios, A., & Niederdeppe, J. (2015). Do the ends justify the means? A test of alternatives to the FDA proposed cigarette warning labels. Health Communication, 30(7), 680-693.
• Bachhuber, M. A., McGinty, E. B., Hendricks, A. K., Niederdeppe, J., & Barry, C. L. (2015). Messaging to improve public support for naloxone distribution policies in the United States: Results from a randomized survey experiment. PLoS ONE, 10(7): e0130050. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0130050.

2014

• Niederdeppe, J., Gollust, S., & Barry, C. L. (2014). Inoculation in competitive framing: Examining message effects on policy preferences. Public Opinion Quarterly, 78(3), 634-655.
• Niederdeppe, J. (2014). Conceptual, empirical, and practical issues in developing valid measures of media campaign exposure. Communication Methods and Measures, 8(2), 138-161.
• Niederdeppe, J., Shapiro, M., Kim, H. K., Bartolo, D., & Porticella, N. (2014). Narrative persuasion, causality, complex integration, and support for social policy. Health Communication, 29(5), 431-444.
• Niederdeppe, J., Lee, T., Kim, H.K., Robbins, R., Kirshenblat, D., Standridge, K., Kresovich, A., Jensen, J., & Fowler, E. F. (2014). Content and effects of news stories about uncertain cancer causes and preventive behaviors. Health Communication, 29(4), 332-346.
• Jou, J., Niederdeppe, J., Barry, C., & Gollust, S. (2014). Strategic messaging for sugar-sweetened beverage taxation: Lessons from recent political campaigns. American Journal of Public Health, 104(5), 847-853.
• Gollust, S. E., Niederdeppe, J., & Barry, C. L. (2014). Americans’ opinions about policies to reduce children’s consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. Preventive Medicine, 63, 52-57.
• Kim, S. J. & Niederdeppe, J. (2014). Emotional expressions in antismoking television advertisements: Consequences of anger and sadness framing on pathways to persuasion. Journal of Health Communication, 19(6), 692-709.
• Guillory, J., Niederdeppe, J., Kim, H. K., Pollock, J. P., Graham, M., Olson, C., & Gay, G. K. (2014). Does social support predict pregnant mothers’ information seeking behaviors on an educational website? Maternal and Child Health Journal, 18, 2218-2225. 
• Gollust, S. E., Barry, C. L., Niederdeppe, J., Baum, L., & Fowler, E. F. (2014). First impressions: Geographic variation in media messages during the first phase of ACA implementation. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 39(6),1253-1262. (not peer-reviewed).
• Lee, T. K., Shapiro, M., & Niederdeppe, J. (2014). Deeper processing is associated with support for policies to reduce obesity. Health Communication, 29(8), 791-801.
• Lauber, B., Connelly, N. A., Niederdeppe, J., & Knuth, B. A. (2014). Collaborative management and public trust responsibilities: A help or a hindrance? Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 19(5),458-468.
• Connelly, N. A., Lauber, T. B., Niederdeppe, J., & Knuth, B. A. (2014). How can more women of childbearing age be encouraged to follow fish consumption recommendations? Environmental Research, 135, 88–94.
• Graham, M. L., Uesgui, K. H., Niederdeppe, J., Gay, G. K., & Olson, C. M. (2014). The theory, development, and implementation of an e-intervention to prevent excessive gestational weight gain: e-moms Roc. Telemedicine and e-Health, 20(12), 1135-1142.
• Barry, C., Gollust, S., McGinty, E., & Niederdeppe, J. (2014). Effects of messages from a media campaign to increase public awareness of childhood obesity. Obesity, 22, 466-473.
• Jensen, J.D., Carcioppolo, N., King, A.J., Scherr, C.L., Jones, C.L., & Niederdeppe, J. (2014). The cancer information overload (CIO) scale: Establishing predictive and discriminant validity. Patient Education and Counseling, 94, 90-96.

2013

• Niederdeppe, J., Bigman, C., Gonzales, A., & Gollust, S. (2013). Communication about health disparities in the mass media. Journal of Communication, 63, 8-30.
• Niederdeppe, J., Gollust, S., Jarlenski, M., Nathanson, A., & Barry, C. (2013). News coverage of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes: Pro- and anti-tax arguments in public discourse. American Journal of Public Health, 103(6), e92-e98.
• Niederdeppe, J., Byrne, S., Avery, R., & Cantor, J. (2013). Exposure to direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising, diagnosis with high cholesterol, and statin use. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 28(7), 886-893.
• Niederdeppe, J., Roh, S., Shapiro, M.A., & Kim, H. K. (2013). Effects of emphasizing environmental determinants of obesity on intentions to engage in diet and exercise behaviors. Preventing Chronic Disease, 10. http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd10.130163.
• Smith, K. C., Niederdeppe, J., Blake, K., & Cappella, J. N. (2013). Advancing cancer control research in an emerging news media environment. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 47, 175-181.
• Gollust, S., Niederdeppe, J., & Barry, C. (2013). Framing the consequences of childhood obesity to increase support for obesity prevention policy. American Journal of Public Health, 103, e96-e102.
• Byrne, S., Niederdeppe, J., Avery, R., & Cantor, J. (2013). ‘When diet and exercise are not enough’: An examination of lifestyle change inefficacy claims in direct-to-consumer advertising. Health Communication, 28, 800-813.
• Barry, C., Niederdeppe, J., & Gollust, S. (2013). Taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages: Results from a 2011 national public opinion survey. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 44(2), 158-163.
• Lundell, H., Niederdeppe, J., & Clarke, C. (2013). Exploring interpretation of complexity and typicality in narratives and statistical images about the social determinants of health. Health Communication, 28(5), 486-498.
• Lundell, H., Niederdeppe, J. & Clarke, C. (2013). Public views about health causation, attributions of responsibility, and inequality. Journal of Health Communication, 18(9), 1116-1130.
• Robbins, R., Niederdeppe, J., Lundell, H., & Meyerson, J. (2013). Views of city, county, and state policy makers about childhood obesity in New York State, 2010-2011. Preventing Chronic Disease, 10, E195. http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd10.130164.
• Kim, H. K. & Niederdeppe, J. (2013). Exploring optimistic bias and the integrated model of behavioral prediction in the context of a campus influenza outbreak. Journal of Health Communication, 18(2), 206-22.
• Kim, H. K. & Niederdeppe, J. (2013). The role of emotional response during an H1N1 influenza pandemic on a college campus. Journal of Public Relations Research, 25(1), 30-50.

2012

• Niederdeppe, J., Kim, H. K., Lundell, H., Fazili, F., & Frazier, B. (2012). Beyond counterarguing: Simple elaboration, complex integration, and counter-elaboration in response to variations in narrative focus and sidedness. Journal of Communication, 62(5), 758-777.
• Niederdeppe, J., Porticella, N., & Shapiro, M. (2012). Using theory to identify beliefs associated with support for policies to increase the price of high-fat and high-sugar foods. Journal of Health Communication, 17, 90-104.
• Lee, C. J., Niederdeppe, J., & Freres, D. (2012). Socioeconomic disparities in fatalistic beliefs about cancer prevention and the internet. Journal of Communication, 62(6), 972-990.
• Braun, J. & Niederdeppe, J. (2012). Disruption and identity maintenance in risk information seeking and processing. Communication Theory, 22(2), 138-162.
• Clarke, C., Niederdeppe, J., & Lundell, H. (2012). Narratives and images used by public communication campaigns about social determinants of health and disparities. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 9, 4254-4277.
• Barry, C., Gollust, S., & Niederdeppe, J. (2012). Are Americans ready to solve the weight of the nation? New England Journal of Medicine, 367(5), 389-391.

2011

• Niederdeppe, J., Shapiro, M., & Porticella, N. (2011). Attributions of responsibility for obesity: Narrative communication reduces reactive counterarguing among liberals. Human Communication Research, 37, 295-323. Appendix Tables can be found here: Narrative_hcr_r4_tables_121010.
• Niederdeppe, J., Farrelly, M. C., Nonnemaker, J., Davis, K. C &, Wagner, L. (2011). Socioeconomic variation in response to campaign advertisements to promote smoking cessation. Social Science and Medicine, 72, 773-780.
• Niederdeppe, J., Robert, S., & Kindig, D. (2011). Qualitative research about attributions, narratives and support for policy, 2008. Preventing Chronic Disease, 8(2).
• Lee, C. J. & Niederdeppe, J. (2011). Genre-specific cultivation effects: Lagged associations between overall TV viewing, local TV news viewing, and fatalistic beliefs about cancer prevention. Communication Research, 38, 731-753.
• Vallone, D., Niederdeppe, J., Richardson, A., Patwardhan, P., Niaura, R., & Cullen, J. (2011). A national mass media smoking cessation campaign: Effects by race/ethnicity and education. American Journal of Health Promotion, 25(5), S38-S50.
• Kim, H. K., Bartolo, D., & Niederdeppe, J. (2011). Exploring attributions and emotional reactions in processing narratives about obesity. Journal of Health and Mass Communication, 3, 168-190.
• Thrasher, J., Huang, L., Perez, R., Niederdeppe, J., Santillan, E. A., & Alday, J. (2011). Evaluation of a social marketing campaign to support Mexico City’s comprehensive smoke-free law. American Journal of Public Health, 101(2), 328-335.
• Davis, K. C., Crankshaw, E., Farrelly, M. C., Niederdeppe, J., & Watson, K. (2011). The impact of state tobacco control program funding cuts on teens’ exposure to tobacco control interventions: Evidence from Florida. American Journal of Health Promotion, 25(3), 176-185.
• Davis, K. C., Nonnemaker, J., Farrelly, M. C., & Niederdeppe, J. (2011). Exploring differences in smokers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of cessation media messages. Tobacco Control, 20, 26-33.

2010

• Niederdeppe, J., Fowler, E.F., Goldstein, K, & Pribble, J. (2010). Does local television news coverage cultivate fatalistic beliefs about cancer prevention? Journal of Communication, 60(2), 230-253.
• Nguyen, G. T., Shungu, N. P., Niederdeppe, J., Barg, F. K., Holmes, J. H., Armstrong, K., & Hornik, R. C. (2010). Cancer-related information seeking and scanning behavior of Vietnamese immigrants. Journal of Health Communication, 15(7), 754-768.
• Keller, P. A., Feltracco, A., Bailey, L. A., Zhanhai, L., Niederdeppe, J., Baker, T. B., & Fiore, M. C. (2010). Changes in tobacco quitlines in the United States from 2005 to 2006. Preventing Chronic Disease, 7(2).
• Kelly, B. J., Hornik, R., Romantan, A., Schwartz, J. S., Armstrong, K., DeMichele, A., Fishbein, M., Gray, S., Hull, S., Kim, A., Nagler, R., Niederdeppe, J., Ramirez, S., Smith-McLallen, A., & Wong, N. (2010). Cancer information scanning and seeking in the general population. Journal of Health Communication, 15(7), 734-753.

2009

• Niederdeppe, J. & Frosch, D. (2009). News coverage and sales of products with trans fats: Effects before and after changes in federal labeling policy. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 36(5), 395-401.
• Kelly, B.J., Niederdeppe, J., & Hornik, R.C. (2009). Validating measures of scanned information exposure in the context of cancer prevention and screening behaviors. Journal of Health Communication, 14(8), 721-740.

2008

• Niederdeppe, J., Kuang, X., Crock, B.N., & Skelton, A. (2008). Media strategies to promote smoking cessation among socioeconomically disadvantaged populations: What do we know, what do we need to learn, and what should we do now? Social Science and Medicine, 67, 1343-1355.
• Niederdeppe, J., Kuang, X., Crock, B.N., & Skelton, A. (2008). Critical steps in building the evidence base regarding media campaign effects on disadvantaged populations: A response to Fagan. Social Science and Medicine, 67, 1359-1360.
• Niederdeppe, J., Bu, L., Borah, P., Kindig, D., & Robert, S. (2008). Message design strategies to raise public awareness of social determinants of health and population health disparities. The Milbank Quarterly, 86, 481-513.
• Niederdeppe, J. (2008). Beyond knowledge gaps: Examining socioeconomic differences in response to cancer news. Human Communication Research, 34, 423-447.
• Niederdeppe, J., Fiore, M. C., Baker, T., & Smith, S. S. (2008). Smoking cessation media campaigns and their effectiveness among socioeconomically advantaged and disadvantaged populations. American Journal of Public Health, 98, 916-924.
• Niederdeppe, J., Frosch, D. L., & Hornik, R. (2008). Cancer news coverage and information seeking. Journal of Health Communication, 13, 181-199.
• Niederdeppe, J., Farrelly, M.C., Hersey, J.C., & Davis, K.C. (2008). Consequences of dramatic reductions in state tobacco control funds: Florida, 1998-2000. Tobacco Control, 17, 205-210.
• Piper, M.E., Bolt, D.M., Kim, S., Japuntich, S., Smith, S.S., Niederdeppe, J., Cannon, D., & Baker, T.B. (2008). Refining the tobacco dependence phenotype using the Wisconsin Inventory of Smoking Dependence Motives (WISDM). Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 117, 747-761.

2003-2007

• Niederdeppe, J., Hornik, R., Kelly, B., Frosch, D., Romantan, A., Stevens, R., Barg, F., Weiner, J., & Schwarz, S. (2007). Examining the dimensions of cancer-related information seeking and scanning behavior. Health Communication, 22, 153-167.
• Niederdeppe, J., Davis, K. C., Farrelly, M.C, & Yarsevich, J. (2007). Stylistic features, need for sensation, and confirmed recall of national smoking prevention advertisements. Journal of Communication, 57, 272-292.
• Niederdeppe, J., Farrelly, M.C., Wenter, D., Thomas, K., & Weitzencamp, D. (2007). Newspaper coverage as indirect effects of a health communication intervention: The Florida tobacco control program and youth smoking. Communication Research, 34, 382-405.
• Niederdeppe, J., & Gurmankin Levy, A. G. (2007). Fatalistic beliefs about cancer prevention and three prevention behaviors. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention, 16, 998-1003.
• Niederdeppe, J., Farrelly, M. C., & Wenter, D. (2007). Media advocacy, tobacco control policy change, and teen smoking in Florida. Tobacco Control, 16, 47-52.
• Thrasher, J.F., Niederdeppe, J., Farrelly, M.C., & Jackson, C. (2006). Using anti-tobacco industry messages to prevent smoking among high-risk adolescents. Health Education and Behavior, 21, 325-337.
• Niederdeppe, J.  (2005). Assessing the validity of confirmed ad recall measures for public health communication campaign evaluations. Journal of Health Communication, 10, 635-650.
• Niederdeppe, J.  (2005). Syntactic indeterminacy, message sensation value-enhancing features, and message processing in the context of tobacco countermarketing advertisements. Communication Monographs, 72, 324-344.
• Niederdeppe, J., Hersey, J.C., Farrelly, M.C., Haviland, M.L., & Healton, C.G. (2005). Comparing adolescent reactions to national tobacco countermarketing advertisements using Web TV. Social Marketing Quarterly, 5, 3-18.
• Hersey, J.C., Niederdeppe, J., Ng, S.W., Mowery, P., Farrelly, M.C., & Messeri, P. (2005). How state counter-industry campaigns help prime perceptions of tobacco industry practices to promote reductions in youth smoking. Tobacco Control, 14, 377-383.
• Hersey, J.C., Niederdeppe, J., Evans, W.D., Nonnemaker, J., Blahut, S., Holden, D., & Haviland, M.L. (2005). The theory of the truth: How counter-industry media campaigns affect smoking behavior among teens. Health Psychology, 24, 22-31.
• Niederdeppe, J., Farrelly, M.C., & Haviland, M.L. (2004).  Confirming “truth”: More evidence of a successful tobacco countermarketing campaign in Florida. American Journal of Public Health, 94, 255-257.
• Thrasher, J.F., Niederdeppe, J., Farrelly, M.C., Davis, K.C., Ribisl, K.M., & Haviland, M.L. (2004). The impact of anti-tobacco industry prevention messages in tobacco producing regions: Evidence from the US truth campaign. Tobacco Control, 13, 283-288.
• Evans, W.D., Price, S., Blahut, S., Hersey, J.C., Niederdeppe, J, & Ray, S. (2004). Social imagery, tobacco independence and the truth campaign. Journal of Health Communication, 9, 425-441.
• Hersey, J.C., Niederdeppe, J., Evans, W.D., Nonnemaker, J., Blahut, S., Holden, D., Farrelly, M.C., & Haviland, M.L. (2003). The effects of state counter-industry media campaigns on beliefs, attitudes, and smoking status among teens and young adults. Preventive Medicine, 37, 544-552.
• Farrelly, M.C., Niederdeppe, J., & Yarsevich, J. (2003). Youth tobacco prevention mass media campaigns: Past, present and future. Tobacco Control, 12(Suppl. 1), i35-i47.

Current Grant-Funded Research

• August 2022 – July 2025 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). “Developing rapidly responsive community-engaged research on media-messaging and narrative-change strategies to promote health and racial equity.” $4,975,000 Total. (Role: PI)
• September 2019 – August 2023 National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “The e-cigarette population paradox: Testing effects of youth-targeted population warnings for e-cigarettes among two key populations.” R01. $1,342,014 Total. (Role: PI, with PI Sahara Byrne).
• May 2018 – February 2023 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). “Direct and indirect effects of direct-to-consumer advertising.” R01-HS025983, $1,490,453 Total. (Role: Co-I; PI Rosemary Avery).
• January 2019 – December 2023 National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). “Evaluation of cigarette package inserts for enhanced communication with smokers.” R01-CA215466, $2,733,153 Total. (Role: Co-I; PI James Thrasher).
• August 2020 – June 2024 National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDKD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). “Disparities in the diffusion of direct-acting antiviral therapy for Hepatitis C among baby boomers: A mixed methods study.” R01-DK123205, $3,149,392 Total. (Role: Co-I; PI Martin Shapiro).
• March 2021 – February 2025 National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). “Using natural language processing and crowdsourcing to monitor and evaluate public information and communication disparities about colon cancer screening.” R37-CA259156, $1,548,266 Total. (Role: Co-I and Subcontract PI; PI Andy King).

Teaching

Communication 6800: Studies in Communication

Offered every fall semester

As the first of four core graduate courses on the study of communication, this course serves several purposes. The course reviews classical and contemporary readings in communication, including key concepts and areas of investigation. It explores the scope of the field, the interrelationships of its various branches, and examines the role of theory in the research process. The weekly seminar meetings introduce students to our faculty, their general areas of research, and their theoretical approaches. Finally, the course focuses on developing students’ theoretical understanding of the discipline, providing epistemological practice in how we think about communication phenomena at multiple levels of analysis, and reflecting on the structures and systems that shape the questions communication researchers ask and how we ask them.

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

(1)   Identify major theoretical perspectives, domains of research, and contexts of focus in the field of communication at Cornell;

(2)   Analyze communication phenomenon from different theoretical perspectives and articulate this analysis in class discussions, blackboard posts, and written short papers;

(3)   Describe the research interests of our faculty, their general areas of research, and their theoretical approaches;

(4)   Position their own scholarship within the field in terms of theoretical stance and methodological preferences, as evidenced in class discussions, blackboard posts, and written short papers;

(5)   Integrate theory, epistemological practice, and critique of dominant perspectives in an area of the discipline to inform their research trajectory in the field;

(6)    Reflect on sources of bias and discrimination that inhibit diversity, equity and inclusion in communication research and identify strategies to address them; and

(7)   Conduct an in-depth literature review on a topic of their choice, analyze and synthesize the material, and identify open theoretical questions that they might address in their future research, as evidenced in a final term paper.

Communication 4760: Population Health Communication

Offered some spring semesters

This senior-level undergraduate seminar provides an overview of theory and research on communication related to population health, including strategic efforts to impact health behavior and structural environments that support health, media portrayals of health issues, and news coverage of health and social policy with impacts on the health and distribution of health in populations. Topics include theories of behavior change and message effects, campaigns to improve behavioral and structural determinants of health; the intersection of health and politics; and implications of changes in media platforms for population health campaigns and research. 

This seminar is intended for advanced undergraduate students concerned with how large-scale mediated communication can influence health-related behavior and policy in ways that affect human health and well-being. The course is designed to serve both students who are trained in communication or other social sciences who wish to bring their theory and methods training to bear on health issues, and students focused on public health, nutrition, or public policy who wish to develop a stronger background in the theory, methods, and practice of health communication.

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

(1) Understand major theories that try to explain variation in (a) health-related behavior among individuals and larger social units, and (b) responses to health-related messages designed to promote behavior or policy change;

(2) Analyze the implications of those theories for the potential role of public health communication in changing behavior;

(3) Evaluate the credibility of the evidence for the effectiveness of prominent, historical examples of public health communication programs in the US and abroad;

(4) Evaluate evidence for effects of other forms of public communication relating to health (advertising, news coverage, media programming) on health and policy outcomes; and 

(5) Synthesize knowledge and skills learned in objectives (1) through (4) to develop a review of research in an area of interest.

Communication 6760: Public Health Communication

Offered some spring semesters

This graduate seminar provides an overview of theory and research on public communication related to health behavior and policy change. Topics include theories of behavior change and message effects; formative and evaluative research; campaigns related to cancer, AIDS, obesity, smoking, nutrition, and drug use; and heterogeneity in campaign effects between populations. The instructor assumes that students have received at least once semester’s worth of instruction at the graduate level in quantitative research methods.

This seminar is intended for graduate students concerned with how large-scale mediated communication can influence health-related behavior and policy in ways that improve human health and well-being. We do not focus on issues of interpersonal health communication (e.g., doctor-patient communication). The course is designed to serve both students who are trained in communication or other social sciences who wish to bring their theory and methods training to bear on health issues, and students focused on public health, nutrition, or public policy who wish to develop a stronger background in the theory and methods of health communication.

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

(1)   Understand major theories that try to explain variation in (a) health-related behavior among individuals and larger social units, and (b) responses to health-related messages designed to promote behavior or policy change;

(2)   Analyze the implications of those theories for the potential role of public health communication in changing behavior;

(3)   Evaluate the credibility of the evidence for the effectiveness of prominent, historical examples of public health communication programs in the US and abroad;

(4)   Evaluate evidence for effects of other forms of public communication relating to health (advertising, news coverage, media programming) on health and policy outcomes.

(5)   Apply knowledge gained about communication theory and skills developed in using SPSS or a similar statistical program to analyze survey data to inform an original communication strategy brief;

(6)   Synthesize knowledge and skills learned in objectives (1) through (5) to develop a major research project of their choosing in their area of interest.