Lymphoedema is a chronic health condition characterized by the accumulation of lymphatic fluid in the subcutaneous tissues resulting in arm swelling and can significantly affect physical and psychological health and QOL. Although significant research on lymphoedema has developed over the past decade, the literature reveals that there are gaps in knowledge on framing the illness, communication, and effective practices to improve the QOL for individuals living with lymphoedema. This research contributes to this growing field of research through a qualitative investigation of twelve women's reported understandings, experiences, and perceptions of lymphoedema using Brown’s (1995) theory of framing disease and illness. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with women living with lymphoedema to determine the impact of health messaging, to explore the ways in which these women made sense of conflicting messages on exercise, and to better understand how barriers to the effective adoption and integration of good management practices can be overcome.

Contemporary scholars have been studying audiovisual translation for the past twenty years. However, health communication has never yet been included as a part of the audiovisual material under discussion. The goal of this thesis is to create Russian subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing from the original English version of The Three Amigos, a series of PSAs (Public service announcements) regarding the prevention of HIV/AIDS, and to analyse and discuss the theoretical and practical aspects of this work. After analysing the current situation on HIV/AIDS in Russia and Belarus, I use this series entitled The Three Amigos as an example of health communication that works, and therefore, should be accessible to more viewers. The thesis is organised into three chapters. Following a general introduction, Chapter 1 discusses health communication, presents statistics on HIV/AIDS in Russia and Belarus, and provides an example of health communication that fulfills its functions – public service announcements on HIV/AIDS prevention in the form of The Three Amigos. Chapter 2 discusses the necessity of subtitling for the target audience, and emphasises the fact that people with hearing impairment need special subtitles that differ from the ones that are suitable for viewers without hearing impairment. Chapter 3 contains the analysis of the subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing that I created for this project. Finally, the conclusion summarises the findings of this research, and addresses possible directions for future projects on this topic.

Older adults account for 20% of new HIV infections in the U.S and 50% of people living with the disease. In part, this is due to people living longer with HIV, greater sexual activity in later life, a lack of condom use, and little understanding about HIV/AIDS. Evidence suggests that healthcare providers can play a key role in the dissemination of information about HIV/AIDS to older adults. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of patient-provider communication of HIV/AIDS on older adults’ intentions to use condoms. The mediating relationships of knowledge of HIV/AIDS, perceived threat, subjective norms, and self-efficacy were also examined. This study utilized a cross-sectional, web-based survey, administered to adults aged 50 years and older (N=427). Forty-one percent of participants reported no communication with the healthcare provider about HIV/AIDS, yet 87% reported future intentions to use a condom with a new sexual partner. Participants demonstrated high knowledge of HIV/AIDS (M=14.7 out of 18), believed their sexual partner would be agreeable to using condoms (M=24 out of 36), and 91% believed they had the ability to properly use a condom. However, participants did not believe HIV/AIDS posed a threat to their health (M=8 out of 36). Mediation analysis yielded non-significant results. Healthcare providers can provide tailored prevention recommendations to higher risk older adults in order to curb the number of new infections. Additional research is needed with older adults who identify as LGBT, MSM, and older adults of color.

Social media have become increasingly useful in identifying conversations during a crisis, particularly on Twitter where discussion tends to be public, accessible, and extensive. Through social media, individuals engage in social interaction and dialogue, making social media platforms a place where crisis coping activities may be identified, tracked and evaluated. This study examines crisis response of two separate crisis events, the terror attacks in Paris (2015) and in Barcelona (2017). Using semantic network analysis, this study examined dialogue surrounding each crisis over three days following the original crisis events, marked by the hashtags #Paris (24,728 tweets) and #Barcelona (27,338 tweets). Results show that the most dominant dialogue in the Paris and Barcelona terror attacks demonstrated central themes of information distribution, emotional expression, sense of community, and calls to action. More specifically, results show that the emotional connections trend positive in expressing community and unity. While most of the literature on crisis emphasizes negative response, this study shows that positivity during a crisis is a significant theme of discussions. Furthermore, this study showed resilience in efforts to seek positivity, build community, and create new normals, suggesting that social media engagement might help facilitate resilience.

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This overview was made to discuss coping with families who have lost a child/sibling, specifically children in preschool and elementary school. This subject can be daunting and difficult to navigate for parents however, understanding the importance of communication, involvement, and proper coping techniques is vital to the child’s development and perception of death. This educational poster discusses ways to tackle the issues that come when losing a child and give parents further insight into young minds dealing with tragedy. We look at Family Stress Theory to further explain assumptions about families, how families manage conflict and stress, stressors family systems undergo, and other related concepts.

Masculine culture is known for teaching men to be strong, independent, and in control; however, the presence of chronic illness creates challenges for men when attempting to uphold a dominant masculine identity and make disclosure decisions about sharing illness information. This study explores the intersection between illness related self-disclosure and masculine culture. Utilizing qualitative methods, it examines the challenges chronically ill men face when making decisions about self-disclosure. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five men (N=5) who have one or more chronic illnesses. Transcripts were analyzed and coded using grounded theory to identify emergent themes. The analysis revealed three primary themes and several secondary and tertiary themes. The three primary themes are: 1) participant expression of masculine culture; 2) communication challenges; and 3) disclosure strategies. Participants’ accounts of their experiences with living with chronic illness are positioned within literature on chronic illnesses, self-disclosure, and masculine culture.

The current study empirically tested four models of type II diabetic patient adherence, including wellness, screening, medication, and treatment adherence. Four mediators were proposed patient understanding, agreement, trust, and motivation were tested for each model. The current study is grounded in patient-centered communication, responding to Street’s (2013) call to model pathways between communication and patient health outcomes. Moreover, the study argues that adherence, for type II diabetic patients should be conceptualized as four distinct clusters of behavior (wellness, screening, medication, and treatment). A sample of (n=817) type II diabetes patients from the U.S. under the care of a medical provider and taking medication for their type II diabetes were surveyed. Findings from the present study indicate that the relationship between patient-centered communication and patient-health outcomes is mediated by proximal outcomes. The results contribute to our understanding or patient-centered communication, patient understanding, agreement, trust, and motivation, and adherence behaviors. Resulted indicated that while three of the four proposed hypotheses were supported, the most commonly studied type of adherence (medication), the relationship between patient-centered communication and medication adherence was not mediated. The current study ends with a discussion and implication of the findings as well as directions for future research

The Live Well Springfield (LWS) movement is a collaborative effort of partner organizations in Springfield, Massachusetts. The project promotes healthy living by increasing knowledge and awareness of food and physical activity. A key LWS strategy was the creation of a website to function as an information hub. In addition to local event and health information, the website features 16 narratives depicting residents practicing healthy lifestyle choices, designed to encourage community engagement. To date, there has been no evaluation of the website’s reach and effect. A mixed methods approach, surveys and focus group discussions, was designed to collect data from people who live, work, or attend school in Springfield. Focus group participants were recruited in person at Springfield Community College, via recruitment posters (distributed at STCC), and through email requests from a previously compiled list of residents willing to be contacted. A website evaluation survey was developed using eHealth research constructs and the Expectation-Confirmation Model (ECM). This survey measured users’ perceived quality and satisfaction with the website. The survey was accessible via the livewellspringfield.org homepage, the LWS Facebook page, and emailed directly to potential respondents. The validated eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS) was incorporated into the survey and focus group sessions to assess self-reported skills for using eHealth resources. Each hour-long focus group (n=5 and n=6, respectively) was video/audio recorded and fully transcribed. Focus group transcripts were analyzed to thematically organize responses to narratives and fact-based health messages and assess the appeal, relevance, effectiveness, perceived purpose, and appropriateness. Survey data was analyzed to produce frequencies, descriptive statistics, and correlations. A mean eHEALS score of 4.22 of 5.00 (SD=0.83) was calculated from 36 responses, suggesting this sample felt very knowledgeable and confident using eHealth resources. Health Literacy Advisor (HLA) software was used to analyze an aggregate of all narratives, resulting in a Fry-based reading grade level of 8.4. On a five-point Likert scale, mean satisfaction with the website was 4.71 (SD=0.53), and mean likelihood to return was 4.76 (SD=0.51). Content analysis of focus group transcripts resulted in 184 responses coded for one or more themes. The largest proportion of responses (40.2%) related to effectiveness. One third of these effectiveness-related responses were negative toward the fact-based examples. Although the narratives were greatly preferred in both groups, all respondents made comments or agreed with suggestions to have both affective narratives and strictly fact-based health messages accessible, regardless of initial preferences. Results and interpretations will be reported to LWS partners to inform potential revisions of the website revisions and contribute to ongoing activities of the LWS initiative.