Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2013, Communication Studies (Communication)

Worldwide, oral diseases (e.g., cavities, gum diseases, etc.) are major public health problems. Research has shown that individuals' beliefs and perceptions can influence behavior. Identifying individuals' beliefs and perceptions that influence oral hygiene behaviors may pave the way towards understanding these oral health and hygiene behaviors. Little is known about South Africans' oral hygiene behaviors and their cultural beliefs that surround these behaviors. Most available research on oral hygiene in developing countries relates to behaviors from the Western dental system. Thus there is a gap in data on the South African population regarding the oral health beliefs that surround both their indigenous and adopted Western behaviors. This dissertation research sought to validate the use of an Oral Health Beliefs Survey (OHBS) that assesses South Africans' oral health and hygiene beliefs within the constructs of the health belief model (HBM). Additionally, this study examines individual level variables to determine whether HBM constructs are associated with oral health and hygiene behaviors of South Africans. This exploratory study is the first step at establishing a framework for understanding current perceptions about oral health and hygiene in South Africa, as well as determining what factor(s) influence(s) the ability to practice healthier oral health behaviors. Findings from this study will be helpful in guiding future research and health communication campaigns on oral health and hygiene in South Africa. Suggestions for future researchers include taking either a structure-centered or culture-centered approach to uncover how culture shapes oral health-related beliefs and behaviors.

Committee: Benjamin Bates Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Amy Chadwick Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair) Subjects: Communication; Health

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2015, Media and Communication

This study follows the example of early research in other taboo health topics such as family planning, leprosy, and HIV/AIDS, by first examining baseline Knowledge-Attitude-Practice (KAP) variables to build an initial research base for a menstruation- related health communication study. The primary objective of this study is to explore the relationship among important psychosocial variables pertaining to menstruation and menstrual hygiene; hence, the variables selected include: knowledge of menstruation and menstrual practices, attitude towards menstruation and menstrual practices, cognitive involvement in menstruation and menstrual practices, behavioral involvement in menstruation and menstrual practices, and adoption of menstrual practices. Another objective is to determine which of the above-mentioned factors are predictors of correct and safe hygienic practices in the context of menstruation. A quantitative methodological approach was adopted to conduct the study. A structured questionnaire was used to survey respondents and collect data. Sample size of the study was 475. A probability random sample consisting of both women and men, from Ahmedabad city, India, was selected using multi-stage clustered sampling technique. Descriptive and analytical statistical techniques were employed to analyze the data and prepare the findings. SPSS software was used to conduct appropriate analyses. It was found that knowledge, attitude, and cognitive involvement in menstruation and menstrual practices were high whereas, behavioral involvement in menstruation and menstrual practices were low. Hypothesized relationships between knowledge and attitude towards menstruation among men; knowledge, attitude towards menstrual practices and adoption among women; cognitive involvement and knowledge of menstrual practices in men and women; and behavioral involvement and knowledge of menstrual practices for men and women were statistically significant. Descriptive statistical analyses, (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Srinivas Melkote Dr. (Advisor); I-Fen Lin Dr. (Other); Sung-Yeon Park Dr. (Committee Member); Ewart Skinner Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Health; Marketing; Mass Communications; Mass Media

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2014, Communication Studies (Communication)

In an attempt to unravel the reasons behind the political contentiousness and persistence of the term socialized medicine in discussions of health care reforms, I explored the term's origins and history, frequency in news items, and meanings in contexts. In the following, I present frequency distributions that illustrate the initial emergence of the term socialized medicine in a newspaper article in 1917 and document its continued presence through 2010. I also present the results of a content analysis pilot study of the term in a sample of newspaper articles from 1993 through 2008, which guided my decision to select letters to the editor as the text for analysis in the framing study that follows. I selected letters to the editor written by ordinary citizens from 1993-2010 that include the term socialized medicine in the headline or lead paragraph, and since attitudes about socialized medicine appear to break along political party lines, I evaluated the letters through the lens of George Lakoff's model of conservative and liberal worldviews as described in his book, Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think, first published in 1996 and again in 2001. My analysis reveals common liberal and conservative frames that emerged in 1993 and 1994, during the Clinton presidency, and which continued through 2010. My analysis also indicates an increase in the occurrence of pragmatist frames regarding health care reforms, especially during and following the 2008 presidential campaign. This study provides support for Lakoff's theory, and illustrates its potential heuristic value for communication research, particularly in the area of political communication.

Committee: Jerry Miller PhD (Advisor) Subjects: Communication; Ethics; Political Science; Rhetoric

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2011, Communication and Development Studies (International Studies)

Multiple and concurrent sexual partnerships (MCP) have been identified as a primary driver of HIV in Namibia. Consequently, a national social and behavior change communication (SBCC) campaign was launched to address this phenomenon. However, campaign messaging and activities do not target refugees, while research indicates that male refugees are particularly vulnerable to factors alluding to participation in MCP. A need persists to extend the resources from Namibia's national MCP SBCC campaign to this group. This research sought to articulate the communicative ecology of Namibia's male refugees to inform health communication initiatives concerned with MCP and HIV. Snapshot ethnography was conducted in Windhoek, Otjiwarongo and Osire Refugee Camp for 10 weeks. Participant mapping, interviews and go-alongs guided a grounded theory approach toward the illumination of the communicative ecology of Namibia's male refugees. Analysis of the findings indicates that male refugees employ future orientations, mobility and communication assets to mitigate disempowering circumstances.

Committee: Rafael Obregon PhD (Committee Chair); Vibert Cambridge PhD (Committee Member); Karen Riggs PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: African Studies; Behavioral Psychology; Behavioral Sciences; Black Studies; Cognitive Psychology; Communication; Ethnic Studies; Gender; Gender Studies; Health; Health Care; Health Education; International Relations; Mass Communications; Mass Media; Minority and Ethnic

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2005, Communication Theory and Process (Communication)

The goal of this research is to reveal the connections, contradictions, tensions, and paradoxes inherent in the narratives of breast cancer created by the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the National Breast Cancer Coalition by exploring three research questions: Q1: How do the Susan Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the National Breast Cancer Coalition perform a narrative of breast cancer at their respective events? Q2: How are these performed narratives shaped by the cultural and historical context of breast cancer awareness in the United States? Q3: How do these performed narratives shape current breast cancer awareness in the United States. In addressing these questions, the historical and cultural roots of breast cancer campaigns in the US are addressed, as well as current narrative health communications scholarship. The organizational stories are told through ethnographic thick descriptions and analyzed using Goffman's Frame Analysis to reveal narrative structure, cultural and historical themes, and speculate about the future of breast cancer awareness efforts in the US. This study serves as a record of events, a model of culturally and historically based narrative research, and a demonstration of how narrative theories can extend beyond the scope of a single author and explain collective authorship as well. Reframing narrative scholarship in this way expands on current theories and offers a new perspective for analyzing the ways that we communicate about health-based narratives.

Committee: Nagesh Rao (Advisor) Subjects: Speech Communication