OVERVIEW
My main area of expertise is health communication, which is "the study of how health information is generated and disseminated and how that information affects individuals, community groups, institutions and public policy" as stated by the Harvard School of Public Health. My work in this area has primarily focused on the effects of media and/or technology use on health attitudes, knowledge, and behavior, health information seeking among youth and parents, and identifying best practices for the dissemination of health information to the general public, including through news and social media. It has also involved a focus on health literacy. Much of my work focuses on children, adolescents, young adults and parents, and I often seek to include groups impacted by health disparities. I also examine the use of digital technology for health information and health interventions, also known as eHealth.
My main area of expertise is health communication, which is "the study of how health information is generated and disseminated and how that information affects individuals, community groups, institutions and public policy" as stated by the Harvard School of Public Health. My work in this area has primarily focused on the effects of media and/or technology use on health attitudes, knowledge, and behavior, health information seeking among youth and parents, and identifying best practices for the dissemination of health information to the general public, including through news and social media. It has also involved a focus on health literacy. Much of my work focuses on children, adolescents, young adults and parents, and I often seek to include groups impacted by health disparities. I also examine the use of digital technology for health information and health interventions, also known as eHealth.
Health literacy: How can we make health information easier to understand?
Health literacy concerns one's ability to get and understand health information, to make informed decisions about health, and to navigate the health care system. My work in this area has involved examining issues of health literacy for adolescents and young adults, understanding how health literacy skills are linked with health information seeking and provider communication, and exploring ways to better disseminate health information to make it accessible to people of all health literacy levels. I currently have a number of health literacy intervention projects in development. Stay tuned for more information once these projects get funded!
Sample publications:
Health literacy concerns one's ability to get and understand health information, to make informed decisions about health, and to navigate the health care system. My work in this area has involved examining issues of health literacy for adolescents and young adults, understanding how health literacy skills are linked with health information seeking and provider communication, and exploring ways to better disseminate health information to make it accessible to people of all health literacy levels. I currently have a number of health literacy intervention projects in development. Stay tuned for more information once these projects get funded!
Sample publications:
- Manganello JA & Sojka C. (2016). An exploratory study of health literacy and African American adolescents. Comprehensive Child and Adolescent Nursing, 39(3), 221-239.
- Manganello JA, Gerstner G, Pergolino K, Graham Y, Falisi A, & Strogatz D. (2016 online). Health literacy and health information seeking among New York State residents. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice.
- Manganello JA, DeVellis R, Davis T, & Schottler-Thal C. (2015). Development of the Health Literacy Assessment Scale for Adolescents (HAS-A). Journal of Communication in Healthcare, 8(3), 172-184.
- Chisolm D, Manganello J, Kelleher K, & Mashal M. (2014). Health literacy, alcohol expectancies, and alcohol use behaviors in teens: Tests of mediation and moderation models. Patient Education & Counseling, 97(2), 291-6.
Health information seeking & dissemination: What is the best way to get health information to people?
With so many information sources, understanding how people look for health information has become increasingly important. It is also necessary to think about the best way to distribute health information, including research findings, health recommendations, and health news. There are many channels available for dissemination, and people have very individual preferences for which sources they prefer, understand, and trust. There is always more work to do in this area, as information sources are continuously changing as technology advances.
Sample publications:
With so many information sources, understanding how people look for health information has become increasingly important. It is also necessary to think about the best way to distribute health information, including research findings, health recommendations, and health news. There are many channels available for dissemination, and people have very individual preferences for which sources they prefer, understand, and trust. There is always more work to do in this area, as information sources are continuously changing as technology advances.
Sample publications:
- Massey P, Manganello JA, Langellier B, & Sentell T. (In press). Nativity and language preference as drivers of health information seeking: Examining differences and trends from a U.S. population-based survey. Ethnicity & Health.
- Manganello JA, Falisi A, Roberts K, Smith K, & McKenzie L. (2016 online). Pediatric injury information seeking for mothers with young children: The role of health literacy and eHealth literacy. Journal of Communication in Healthcare.
- Manganello JA, Gerstner G, Pergolino K, Graham Y, Strogatz D. (2016 online). Media and technology access, use, and preferences for receiving health information among New York State residents. JMIR Public Health Surveill.
- Manganello JA & Clayman M. (2011). The association of understanding of medical statistics with health information seeking and health provider interaction in a national sample of young adults. Journal of Health Communication, 16(3), 163-176.
Media messages & effects: How do all types of media influence health?
I have also made contributions to the health communication field through the study of media messages and media effects. The first step in being able to understand media effects is to understand what media messages people are exposed to, and how the messages are presented. It is important to also study whether people pay attention to the messages, whether they understand the messages, and how the messages might affect them. This has become even more important in the age of social media and the internet, where people have instant access to many forms of media for entertainment and news. I will continue to investigate media messages that are highly relevant to important issues in public health, and those that appear in widely used sources such as blogs and social media.
Sample publications:
I have also made contributions to the health communication field through the study of media messages and media effects. The first step in being able to understand media effects is to understand what media messages people are exposed to, and how the messages are presented. It is important to also study whether people pay attention to the messages, whether they understand the messages, and how the messages might affect them. This has become even more important in the age of social media and the internet, where people have instant access to many forms of media for entertainment and news. I will continue to investigate media messages that are highly relevant to important issues in public health, and those that appear in widely used sources such as blogs and social media.
Sample publications:
- Aftosmes-Tobio A, Ganter C, Gicevic S, Newlan S, Simon C, Davison K, & Manganello J. (2016 online). A systematic review of media parenting in the context of childhood obesity research. BMC Public Health.
- Manganello J, Smith, K, Sudakow K, & Summers, A. (2013). A content analysis of food advertisements appearing in parenting magazines. Public Health Nutrition, 16(12), 2188-2196.
- Smith KC, Gielen AC, Girasek D, Baker S, Manganello J, Bowman SM & Samuels A. (2012). ‘It was a freak accident’: An analysis of the labelling of injury events in the US press. Injury Prevention. 18(1), 38-43.
- Maniccia D, Davison K, Marshall S, Manganello J, & Dennison B. (2011). A meta-analysis of interventions that target children's screen-time reduction. Pediatrics, 128(1), e193.