Tufts University

The Master of Science in Health Communication, one of the first Master’s program in Health Communication, is offered by Tufts University School of Medicine in collaboration with Emerson College, a close academic neighbor in downtown Boston. Founded in 1994, the program has a distinguished history preparing individuals to contribute to improving the health of people, communities, and the environment. Students include recent college graduates as well as working professionals from a wide range of disciplines. Program graduates are provided with the skills and knowledge necessary to assume a range of roles in federal agencies, hospitals, biotech firms, health departments, foundations, publishing firms, and non-profit organizations. 
 
Students learn to develop, deliver, and evaluate health promotion and disease prevention programs and campaigns; to disseminate health information to diverse audiences; and to develop, formulate and implement health policy initiatives. They also learn the theory and practice of communication, as well as the basic elements of medicine, epidemiology, and public health practice. The program offers unique opportunities such as small class sizes, allowing closer interaction with professors and students; a flexible schedule, including evening courses for working students; opportunities for paid internships and research assistantships; an emphasis on "hands-on" applied learning; and a diverse selection of course topics, from public relations to health literacy. Five courses related to new media and technology are also offered. Since the program is located on a medical campus, courses include a mix of students from several health-related graduate degree programs, merging diverse disciplines and backgrounds and strengthening the classroom experience.  

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Graduate Faculty involved in Health Communication Research

Program faculty include doctors, public health researchers, communication professionals, and practitioners who are specialists in their respective fields.

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University of Kentucky Grant History (pdf)

Faculty members’ interests and research span a range of topics and employ a variety of methodologies, including:

 Faculty members are engaged in the following projects:

• A nutrition communication campaign and patient navigator project (The Green (Growing Right: Eating Eco-Friendly and Nutritious) Project) to improve access to services among Asian Americans.
• An initiative (CareHub Project) to engage Latino caregivers of Alzheimer's patients in a culturally-compatible online virtual community.
• A study involving audio and videotape analyses of patient-provider interactions to assess how medical students learn with standardized patient educators.
• A longitudinal cohort study (BIENESTAR study) of the effect of drug abuse on nutritional status and outcomes among Hispanics with HIV infection.
• An intervention to address the level of health literacy disparity between research subjects, clinical researchers, and the tools that they use to communicate with one another.
• An assessment of the availability and appropriateness of child passenger safety educational materials for Spanish-speaking audiences as well as the development and evaluation process for the materials.
• An initiative to create and evaluate recommended guidelines for developing traffic safety educational materials for Spanish-speaking audiences.  
• A study on HIV transmission in non-injection drug users in the Caribbean.
• A study regarding the use of social media in medical school courses.
• A study to translate and disseminate state-of-the-art knowledge on childhood agricultural safety into policy and practice.
• An assessment conducted in collaboration with Alliance Health to evaluate perceptions of social support received by participating in on-linecommunities that address different medical problems. 
• Development of a website (www.YourTeen.org) to provide parents with information and resources on adolescent risk factors including alcohol and drug use, bullying, and mental health issues.
• A study to adapt an antiretroviral medication adherence intervention for HIV-infected adolescents (aged 13-24) who receive care at Children’s Hospital and Fenway Health in Boston.
• A study on  heavy alcohol use among HIV-infected individuals, as well as studies on family meals as they relate to the prevention of substance use and other risk behaviors among adolescents.

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