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Penn State UniversityDepartment of Communication Arts & SciencesDual-Title in Ph.D. in Bioethics and Health Communication |
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The Department of Communication Arts & Sciences in the College of the Liberal Arts at the Pennsylvania State University offer rigorous training in communication theory and methods as the foundation for graduate education in health communication within its graduate degree program in Communication Arts and Sciences. The department studies communication as a process from both the
humanistic and scientific perspectives, with training in rhetoric
and in communication theory. Graduate training in health
communication is part of the communication theory side of the
department. We include a seminar in health communication to introduce the
unique aspects of health that distinguish health communication from
other communication processes. We also include a seminar in
disaster communication to introduce the unique aspects of risk that
distinguish health communication. For students interested in
health communication, the department promotes interdisciplinary
linkages with programs in health and human development, including
family studies, health policy and administration, and nutrition
sciences; biobehavioral health; and geography. Our work with
Geography links Penn State health communication graduate students to
leaders in the application of geospatial information sciences to
health planning and practice. The University's Children and
Youth Initiative affords rich opportunities for collaborative
training and research, as does the Gerontology Center. Ongoing
programmatic associations with Penn State's College of Medicine
provide opportunities for interaction with faculty in health
evaluation sciences and members of the Penn State Cancer Institute.
The department emphasizes research, with the goal of preparing
graduates who emphasize health communication to assume leadership
roles in planning, implementing, and evaluating theory-driven health
communication research and practice with an awareness of the ethical
implications of such activities. |
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500. HISTORICAL PUBLIC ADDRESS (3 per semester,
maximum of 9) 503. RHETORICAL CRITICISM (3 per semester, maximum of
6) 504. CONTEMPORARY PUBLIC ADDRESS (3 per semester,
maximum of 9) 505. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF RHETORICAL THEORY (3
per semester, maximum of 9) 506. CONTEMPORARY RHETORICAL THEORY (3 per semester,
maximum of 6) 507. ISSUES IN RHETORICAL THEORY (3 per semester,
maximum of 6) 510. PEDAGOGY IN COMMUNICATION EDUCATION (3) 515. RHETORIC AND MEDIA (3 per semester, maximum of 9) 530. POLITICAL COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA (3) 550. SOCIAL INFLUENCE (3 per semester, maximum of 6) 552. ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION (3) 553 (HLS) DISASTER COMMUNICATION ( 3) This
seminar provides students with a comprehensive understanding of
the multifaceted nature of disaster communication across phases
of a disaster. 554. SMALL GROUP COMMUNICATION (3) 555. INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION (3 per semester,
maximum of 6) 556. RELATIONAL COMMUNICATION (3) 557. HEALTH COMMUNICATION (3) 558. FAMILY COMMUNICATION (3) 559. LIFESPAN COMMUNICATION (3) 560. COMMUNICATION THEORY (3) 561. QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS (3) 562. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS (3) 571. INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION (3) 581. (ApLng) DISCOURSE ANALYSIS (3) 582. COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (3) 590. COLLOQUIUM (1-3) 594. RESEARCH TOPICS (1-12) 595. INTERNSHIP (1-9) 596. INDIVIDUAL STUDIES (1-9) 597. SPECIAL TOPICS (1-9) |
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Examples of faculty research in health communication
Not everyone listens when you "just say no." Instead of teaching students to just say "no," we are teaching them how to say "no." Teens need to know how to resist offers from all kinds of people-friends and family as well as acquaintances and strangers. Just saying "no" to drugs under peer pressure isn't always easy. The Drug Resistance Strategies Project is about how and why adolescents use drugs. We are finding out what is going on in the teen world in their own words and then developed keepin’ it REAL, an effective, multimedia, multicultural middle school prevention program from the teenagers' eyes as expressed in their personal stories of drug resistance. These personal stories of resisting drugs bring "saying no" to life and reveal the R.E.A.L. resistance strategies that teens use when refusing drugs while maintaining relationships. The "REAL" Resistance Strategies: Refuse - "No, I don't want to smoke that." Explain - "No, I don't want to smoke that because it makes me sick" Avoid - Stay away from places where drugs are. Leave - Go someplace else.
The specific aims of the Health & Heritage Project were to conduct systematic formative research using focus groups to evaluate the general public’s knowledge structures about human genetics research. This included actual and procedural understanding, positive and negative outcome expectancies associated with genetics, and self-efficacy with regard to informed and shared decision-making about human genetics research (HGR). Comparisons of the perceptions of European America and African American males and females forty years and younger were examined. A second aim was to develop and pilot test culturally and linguistically appropriate indicators to measure key behavioral constructs and associated human genetics messages, assessing the measures for reliability and validity in a population-based telephone survey of European America and African American males and females forty years and younger. The third aim of the project is to refine the cultural and linguistic appropriateness of measures and messages about the meaning of human genetics, giving consideration to literacy, numeracy, and cognitive development in the message design, then test the messages effects in a randomized pilot test of European America and African American males and females forty years and younger, comparing these to a “standard” message.
The Appalachia community represents a rural population identified more by geography than ethnicity and suffers disparate health disparities, including cancer. Research shows higher rates of human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cervical cancer incidence and mortality in Appalachia compared to the rest of the U.S. This project focuses on determining the prevalence of HPV infection by HPV type and variant in cancer patients in Appalachia. The main goal is to develop an interactive research team encompassing healthcare providers, epidemiologists, communication specialists, and laboratory scientists to better understand the epidemiology of HPV disease in the rural Appalachian community, develop and test educational messages to the community, demonstrate prevalent HPV types and variants that create a special risk for the population, develop reagents and tissue culture systems to study the biology and immunology of the prevalent types and variants, and prepare a foundation for future more expansive national grant applications.
This project focuses on understanding the system surrounding the diffusion of and user resistance to new innovations in malaria vector control and legume seeds in Mozambique. The approach is to use on-the-ground fieldwork coupled with in-class training, using the very best methodologies and systems thinking to build this understanding. This work is funded through multiple mechanisms, including USDA CSREES International Science and Education. The overarching goal of Ag 2 Africa is to create a self-sustaining learning laboratory – with educational sites in Africa but also in the US – that trains graduate-undergraduate teams from multiple disciplines to understand key food systems-disease interactions. The proposed project will involve ongoing and new collaborations with the University of Johannesburg, international and national agencies active in Eastern Africa (particularly Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania), including the Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT) and the Instituto de Investigação Agrária de Moçambique (IIAM), as well as collaborations with the College of Agriculture and Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics at PSU.
Examining Policy Resistance and Infectious Diseases within Dynamic Network Conditions by NIH. Unique conditions at international borders make implementation of public health policy challenging not only because of behavioral, social and economic factors in this environment that change over time, but also because of complex institutional interactions impacting this area. As witnessed in the US/Mexico border, some public health problems seem unresponsive to effective planned interventions. In order to design effective public health policies for the control of infectious disease in this dynamic setting, it seems necessary to account for complex feedbacks from both institutional factors and human behaviors. We propose using an innovative combination of epidemiological modeling, behavior modeling, and institutional modeling to help understand these challenges in health policy design using measles vaccination compliance as a case study. We will develop multilayer systems models integrating processes and parameters brought up by human behavior, network analysis, policy design, economic and demography influences and pathogen dynamics.
Funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians, this research investigates and evaluates the first regional roll-out of a statewide initiative to transform clinical practices into Patient Centered Medical Homes (PCMH) for chronic illness care. We investigate organizational culture, communication, and change as these practices transform healthcare from a top down hierarchy of care, to a model of shared distribution of care and decision-making—team-based care. Seventy-six practices throughout Pennsylvania, varying in size from 2-25 providers, are involved in this research which will ultimately (1) identify and describe the PCMH transformations, (2) identify and describe best practices (positive deviance) for change that result in positive outcomes for clinic personnel and patients, and (3) evaluate provider and staff experience with the PCMH intervention and changes. |
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Roxanne Parrott, Ph.D. Website |
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Last Updated September, 2010
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