The Social-Mediated Crisis Communication Model
Lead Researcher: Brooke Liu
Summary: This is an ongoing project aimed at refining and expanding a theoretical model that provides guidelines for effectively integrating new media into crisis management.
Supporting the Health of Kentucky SNAP-Ed Participants through Engagement in Reshaping Local Policy, Systems and the Environment
Diet and healthy life concept background. The choice between fresh healthy food fruit and vegetables or unhealthy fast food and soda. Top view
Principal Investigator: Daniel Kahl
Co-PIs: Kang Namkoong, Jarius Rossi, Jayoung Koo, Melissa Bond, Sarah Bowker, & Alison Diavis
Funding Source: Food and Nutrition Service, USDA; $450,591 (2015-2018)
Summary: This is a food and nutrition education project funded by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This project aims to promote healthy life choices in underserved populations. In this project, he has developed communication assessment tools to explore the connections between organizations, networks, and systems that often are not in communication with one another.
Risk Communication During Food Recalls
3D illustration of “PRODUCT RECALL” title flowing from a loudspeaker
Principal Investigator: Xiaoli Nan
Co-Investigators: Linda Verrill, Kelly Daily, Jarim Kim
Summary: Public health professionals have sought to understand the determinants of public perceptions related to food contamination risks in order to develop more effective means of communicating the risk of foodborne illnesses to consumers. In one study (N = 1,010), we investigated the impact of two risk characteristics—severity and intentionality—on risk perceptions and subsequent protective motivations. Results indicated that severity was an important driver of risk perceptions and it also interacted with intentionality such that when severity was low, an intentional act led to greater risk perceptions and protective motivations; when severity was high, intentionality had limited impact. These findings hold implications for effectively communicating food contamination risks.
Agricultural Biotechnology Education and Outreach
Classroom desk and drawn blackboard of chemistry teaching with books and instruments. Chemical sciences education concept. Horizontal composition. Top view
Leader Investigator: Xiaoli Nan
Co-Investigators: Clare Narrod, Victoria Ledford
Funding Source: Food and Drug Administration through the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition; $40,000 (2018)
Summary: The Food and Drug Administration, in coordination with the Secretary of Agriculture, seeks to provide consumer outreach and education regarding agricultural biotechnology and biotechnology-derived food products and animal feed. The education and outreach is intended to be implemented through publication and distribution of science based educational information on the environmental, nutritional, food safety, economic, and humanitarian impacts of such biotechnology, food products, and feed. Through in-depth interviews with leading agricultural biotechnology consumer organizations, the research team is tasked to provide recommendations on dissemination strategies for reaching and providing information to various stakeholder groups. The research team develops strategies related to the “How,” “Where,” and “Why” of using particular information content, format, and channels.