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Rachel Smith
Study systems include
HIV in Namibia
Malaria
HPV
Selected publications
Smith RA, & Rimal R (2009). The impact of social capital on HIV-related actions as mediated by personal and proxy efficacies in Namibia. AIDS and Behavior, 13, 133-145.
Smith RA, & Niedermyer AJ (in press). Keepers of the secret: Desire to conceal a family member's HIV+ status in Namibia, Africa. Health Communication.
Smith RA, Rossetto K, & Peterson BL. (2008). A meta-analysis of perceived stigma, disclosure of one's HIV+status, and perceived social support. AIDS Care, 20, 1266-1275.
Smith RA, & Nguyen, L. (2008). Searching for a "generalized social agent" to predict Namibians' intentions to prevent sexual transmission of HIV. AIDS Care, 20, 1266-1275.
Smith RA, Downs E, & Witte K (2007) I want to be like you: Entertainment education, EPPM, and Health Education. Communication Monographs, 74, 133-153.
Smith RA, & Morrison D (2006) The impact of stigma, experience, and group referent on HIV risk assessments and HIV testing intentions in Namibia. Social Science & Medicine, 63, 2649-2660.
Assistant Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences
Email: ras57@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-0030
Office: 318 Sparks
Research interests
I investigate social influences in health communication. My specific CIDD-related interests include:
- Social influences in disease dynamics (e.g., transmission, survivorship, and prevention)
- Impacts of social influence (e.g., support, norms, and stigma) on communicators' susceptibility and immunity
- Identifying critical people within social networks and features of communication messages which facilitate and inhibit message diffusion and behavioral adoption
- Identifying features of critical information points in social networks involved in managing infectious disease
Recent work
Collaboration with Matt Thomas, Andrew Read, Jill Findeis, and Jonathan Lynch on the social science aspects of malaria prevention and agricultural practice in Mozambique. (Funded under McKnight, USAID CRSP, and USDA-IES)
- Investigate nature-human dynamics, such as malaria's impact on agricultural practices and the influence of bean adoption on malaria incidence, and poverty-prevention dynamics
- Identifying social influences and system dynamics involved in malaria and agricultural practices
- Design and evaluate strategies to improve prevention and promotion
Collaboration with Darla Lindberg, Tim Reluga, Jill Findeis, and Mary Poss on disease dynamics at international borders, specifically the Rio Grande, Texas-Mexico region.
Under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and in collaboration with Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, we used social network information and community characteristics to:
- Design and evaluate communication efforts to limit HIV transmission
- Increase testing and treatment
- Increase support for those living with HIV and their dependents
