Doctoral alumna wins award for top health communication dissertation

Jessica Gall Myrick, a 2013 doctoral alumna of the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, won the 2014 Doctoral Dissertation Award given by the health communication divisions of the International Communication Association (ICA) and the National Communication Association (NCA).

The win marks the second time in as many years that a UNC doctoral alumna has won the award. Sherine El-Toukhy, a 2012 graduate, won in 2013.

Myrick’s dissertation, “Searching from the Heart: The interplay between emotions and customization in online health information seeking,” stemmed from the growing practice of turning to the Internet for health-related information — information that is often suspect.

Her research found that health information seekers’ discrete emotions have an important impact on multiple steps in the health information search process, from search query generation to post-search cognitions, attitudes and behaviors. The results also indicated that customizing health-related search results based on situational factors may not be as effective as customizing search results based on dispositional aspects of a user’s identity.

Associate professor Sri Kalyanaraman served as Myrick’s dissertation adviser.

Myrick is an assistant professor at the Indiana University School of Journalism. Her recent research — conducted with UNC J-school professor Seth Noar and recent doctoral alumna Jessica Fitts Willoughby — found that health communicators have a critical window of opportunity after a public figure dies to disseminate information about disease protection and detection.