Television News Media Consumption and Misperceptions about COVID-19 among US Populations at High Risk for Severe Health Outcomes Early in the Pandemic.

Research indicates that misperceptions that become part of people's initial mental models about an issue tend to persist and influence their attitudes even after the misperception has been corrected. Recent work on evolving mental models suggests that communication efforts about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath may be improved by crafting messages that acknowledge biases and misunderstandings about the virus and other infectious diseases that may remain among members of the target audience. This study was designed to provide insight into such biases by: (1) establishing salient categories of COVID-related misperceptions in the earliest months of the pandemic in the United States among (a) the general population, and (b) demographic sub-populations at high risk of severe health outcomes; (2) identifying demographic predictors of misperceptions; and (3) examining the relationship between consumption of different television news outlets and agreement with misperceptions about COVID-19.

Psychosocial Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccination Intention Among White, Black, and Hispanic Adults in the US.

Background: COVID-19 vaccine uptake is an urgent public health priority.

Purpose: To identify psychosocial determinants (attitudes, normative pressure, and perceived behavioral control) of COVID-19 vaccination intentions for U.S.

Women's Understanding of Windows of Susceptibility and the Role of the Environment in Breast Cancer Risk.

Emerging evidence suggests women who are exposed to harmful environmental exposures, especially during certain critical periods across the lifespan, may increase their breast cancer risk. Such windows of susceptibility (WoS) occur throughout a woman's lifetime, during which she is especially vulnerable to the effects of harmful environmental exposures. This interaction makes the reduction of harmful environmental toxicants during those time periods a priority for community health promotion.

Paramedic interactions with the packaging of medications and medical supplies: Poor package design has the potential to impact patient outcomes.

Background: Settings where Emergency Medical Services (EMS) are provided to stabilize patients and transport them to locations better equipped to provide comprehensive care, "prehospital settings," are not frequently considered when designing packaged products. Packaging design is an understudied area, potentially impacting both healthcare provider behavior and patient outcomes. Our objectives were to: 1) describe difficulties associated with packaging in prehospital settings 2) investigate the coping strategies used by paramedics when difficulties occurred, and 3) assess the potential impacts these difficulties had on patient care.

Evaluating the Feasibility of Continuing Medical Education for Disseminating Emerging Science on the Breast Cancer and Environment Connection.

Developing continuing medical education (CME) training programs is a strategy for communicating emerging science to health practitioners. This research tests the feasibility of using CME modules for translating and disseminating research findings from the Breast Cancer and Environment Research Program. Recent findings have identified certain windows of susceptibility, like during puberty, in which exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals can increase breast cancer risk later in life.

An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cardiac Rehabilitation program delivered in a non-Indigenous health service (Yeddung Gauar): a mixed methods feasibility study.

Background: There is limited evidence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people attending cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs despite high levels of heart disease. One key enabler for CR attendance is a culturally safe program. This study evaluates improving access for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women to attend a CR program in a non-Indigenous health service, alongside improving health workforce cultural safety.

Uncertainty Management and Curve Flattening Behaviors in the Wake of COVID-19's First Wave.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak poses a substantial threat to public health. Individual efforts to engage in COVID-19 precautionary behaviors are necessary to flatten the pandemic's curve in the waiting period before a vaccine is developed. This study sought to apply the Theory of Motivated Information Management to investigate the relationships among COVID-19 illness uncertainty, information management, and actual precautionary behaviors, both preparatory and preventative.

Evaluating the Extended Parallel Process Model's Danger Control Predictions in the Context of Dense Breast Notification Laws.

This study evaluates predictions central to the extended parallel process model (EPPM) in the context of dense breast notifications. Many EPPM propositions have gone untested and competing predictions to the model have been evaluated to an even lesser extent. Also left as an open question is exactly how perceived threat and efficacy constructs should be treated in health communication research.

Menstruation: science and society.

Women's health concerns are generally underrepresented in basic and translational research, but reproductive health in particular has been hampered by a lack of understanding of basic uterine and menstrual physiology. Menstrual health is an integral part of overall health because between menarche and menopause, most women menstruate. Yet for tens of millions of women around the world, menstruation regularly and often catastrophically disrupts their physical, mental, and social well-being.

Barriers and opportunities for breast cancer organizations to focus on environmental health and disease prevention: a mixed-methods approach using website analyses, interviews, and focus groups.

Background: Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women worldwide and most cases are not due to high risk inherited genes. In response, breast cancer activists successfully advocated for innovative research on environmental chemical exposures as a possible cause. Since then, new evidence supports hypotheses that common industrial and consumer chemicals are linked to the disease, and expert panels recommend reducing exposures.

The influence of organizational culture, climate and commitment on speaking up about medical errors.

Aim: Speaking up about medical errors is an essential behaviour for nurses in pursuit of their goal of maintaining patient safety. This study was designed to understand how a hospital's culture and climate can impact a nurse's active behaviour in this important health care activity.

Background: Research shows that while medical errors happen frequently, there is great variability on whether these errors are reported.

Formative research identifying message strategies for a campus bicycle safety campaign using self-determination theory and the social norms approach.

This formative study investigates the utility of the social norms approach (SNA) and self-determination theory (SDT) in framing safe bicycling messages with the goal of increasing intention to use bicycle lanes on a university campus. In Study 1, observational data showed that the majority of campus bicyclists did not use designated bike lanes while cycling; thus, intention to use bicycle lanes was chosen as the dependent variable for Study 2. Survey data (n = 168) collected from college students measured SNA and SDT constructs related to intention to use bicycle lanes, including descriptive norms, injunctive norms, autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

Continuing Medical Education as a Translational Science Opportunity for Health Communication Researchers: The BCERP Model.

Health communication researchers often work across health issues to engage in research that bridges distance between bench scientists and practitioners. This translational activity is essential to increase the likelihood that emerging science from the laboratory makes it into the hands of health professionals who can integrate it into their everyday practice with patients. An underutilized translational approach by communication researchers is the development of continuing medical education (CME) opportunities that incorporate a communication science approach to the uptake of recommended practices based on emerging science.

A Research Agenda for Communication Scholars in the Precision Medicine Era.

The 2015 announcement of the Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) galvanized and energized efforts to reconsider medical practice through tailoring of prevention and treatment recommendations based on genetics, environment, and lifestyle. Numerous disciplines contributed white papers identifying challenges associated with PMI and calling for discipline-specific research that might provide solutions to such challenges. Throughout these white papers, the prominence of communication in achieving the PMI's goals is obviously apparent.

The Effect of Electronic Health Record Use and Patient-Centered Communication on Cancer Screening Behavior: An Analysis of the Health Information National Trends Survey.

The present study used the 2013 Health Information National Trends Survey (N = 3185) to examine the effects of patient-centered communication (PCC) and the use of electronic health records (EHRs) on the likelihood of patients receiving a recommended screening for cancer (i.e., mammogram, PSA test).

Promoting Mental Health Help-Seeking Behavior Among First-Year College Students.

Awareness and utilization of mental health services on college campuses is a salient issue, particularly for first-year students as they transition into college life. The current study uses focus groups and surveys to test help-seeking messages for first-year students. In this formative research, Phase 1 focus-group participants (N = 47) discussed four message concepts related to awareness of symptoms of mental health problems and services available to students.

Personality Disorders in DSM-5: A Commentary on the Perceived Process and Outcome of the Proposal of the Personality and Personality Disorders Work Group.

There has been much discussion and controversy concerning the process undertaken and the decisions made with respect to the Personality and Personality Disorders Work Group (PPDWG) proposal for DSM-5, as well as the rejection of the work group's final proposal, by the American Psychiatric Association Board of Trustees. This commentary suggests that the way the PPDWG members were selected and the perceived secrecy associated with the PPDWG's deliberations almost assured that, despite the hard work and good intentions of the group members, the proposal would raise controversy and could ultimately fail. This commentary provides a personal perspective on some of the issues, assumptions, and preconceptions that arose between members of different theoretical and conceptual camps within the field of personality disorders.

Risk Belief and Attitude Formation From Translated Scientific Messages About PFOA, an Environmental Risk Associated With Breast Cancer.

Evidence regarding possible environmental causes of breast cancer is advancing. Often, however, the public is not informed about these advances in a manner that is easily understandable. This research translates findings from biologists into messages at two literacy levels about perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a possible environmental contributor to breast cancer.

The Uncertainty Reducing Capabilities of Primary Care Physicians' Video Biographies for Choosing a New Doctor: Is a Video Worth More Than Two Hundred Words?

Choosing a primary care physician for the first time is an important decision, one that health care systems do not make particularly easy for prospective patients to make solely through the limited information provided on their websites. Without knowledge from others, a new patient is likely to have uncertainty about the physician he or she chooses. Three hundred and twenty participants completed an online experiment and were exposed to two biographies of different doctors with different media and either professional or personal information.

Career Paths of Recipients of a Master's Degree in Health Communication: Understanding Employment Opportunities, Responsibilities, and Choices.

A growing number of institutions offer a master's degree in health communication to prepare individuals for applied work in the field, but there is very little literature on the career paths graduates pursue. The current study reports the results of a national survey that targeted the alumni of five institutions that offer the degree. Of the 522 total graduates to whom the survey was sent, 398 responded (76.

Verbal Social Support for Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer Patients during Surgical Decision-Making Visits.

This study reports an analysis of verbal social support strategies directed by surgeons and patients' companions to breast cancer patients using the social support behavior code (SSBC). Additionally, the influence of companions on the provision of social support is examined. Forty-six videotapes of appointments where treatment regimens were being decided were analyzed.