Summary
Thursday, April 12, will be devoted to a preconference on Interventions to Improve Patient Involvement across the Cancer Control Continuum.
Friday, April 13, will feature competitive paper, poster, and panel sessions covering not only issues related to the conference theme but also issues pertinent to health communication research and practice broadly defined. The conference reception Friday evening offers participants an opportunity to relax after a full day of sessions.
Saturday, April 14 will feature additional competitive paper, poster, and panel sessions and a luncheon presentation by the winner of the Lewis Donohew Outstanding Scholar in Health Communication Award.
About
The Department of Communication hosts the biennial Kentucky Conference on Health Communication (KCHC). The first KCHC, Persuasive Communication and Drug Abuse Prevention, was held in 1989 with funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. That conference was a small, invitation-only event focused entirely on research in substance abuse prevention. Since that beginning, our conference has evolved into a venue for health communication researchers, practitioners, and students to come together to share research on a variety of health-related topics and discuss current health communication issues, as well as develop working relationships to promote the health communication research agenda. Conference topics now range from individual-level health behavior risk reduction (e.g., substance abuse prevention, HIV/STD prevention, patient-provider communication) to media and technology-level issues (e.g., interactive health communication and informatics, media advocacy, public communication campaigns).
KCHC is held in Lexington, Kentucky, and is scheduled over three days in April during even years. Competitive paper, poster, and panel sessions, workshops/panels on topical issues, and a limited number of invited speakers comprise the conference. The conference features a keynote speaker, awards for the top student paper and top young scholar paper (up to five years post-PhD), and a Donohew Scholar award.
Beginning in 2012, funding for KCHC and its partner conference, DCHC, was made possible in part by a grant (R13CA168316) from the National Cancer Institute and the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade name, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
Lewis Donohew Outstanding Scholar in Health Communication Award
Lewis Donohew, Professor Emeritus, was on the faculty in the Department of Communication, University of Kentucky, from 1964 to 1999. His research focused on finding ways to increase the persuasive effectiveness of anti-drug messages. He was instrumental in bringing more than $30 million in federal funding to the University and played a large part in establishing the health communication program for which the department is known. In 2001, he received the NCA–ICA Outstanding Health Scholar award. Although retired from the University of Kentucky, Dr. Donohew remains active in funded research, serving as co-principal investigator or consultant on various projects.
The Lewis Donohew Outstanding Scholar in Health Communication Award was established in Dr. Donohew’s name in 1998 to recognize outstanding research contributions to the health communication field made during the biennium preceding each conference. The list of award recipients includes some of the most highly funded and recognized communication scholars in the world.
Conference Staff
Professor, Director of Dissemination and Implementation Sciences Consortium
University of Kentucky
Professor and Department Chair; Director, Health Communication Research Collaborative
University of Kentucky
Director, Center for HIV Prevention
University of Kentucky
Technical Developer
University of Kentucky
Associate Professor
University of Kentucky
Web/Database Developer
University of Kentucky
Professor, Associate Dean for Research
University of Kentucky
Associate Professor
University of Kentucky
Director of Research and Instructional Technology
University of Kentucky
Assistant, Research and Instructional Technology; Technology Coordinator
University of Kentucky
Lecturer
University of Kentucky
Associate Professor
University of Kentucky
Assistant Professor
University of Kentucky
Department Office Manager/Project Manager
University of Kentucky
Advisory Board
Assistant Professor
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Professor, Director of Center for Health and Risk Communication
George Mason University
Professor
University of Southern California – Annenberg
Distinguished Professor Emerita of Communication Arts and Sciences
Penn State University
Director, Institute of Communication and Health; Professor, University of Lugano
Università della Svizzera italiana
Professor of Communication, Social and Behavioral Sciences Distinguished Professor
The Ohio State University
Health and Risk Communications Director, Professor
Michigan State University
Professor
Texas A&M University
Professor
University of Dayton
Program Group Director of Persuasive Communication
University of Amsterdam
Professor of Health Communication & Director, Health Communication Core, Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center
Harvard University
Program
The program for the 2018 conference will be available in January, 2018.
Accommodations
Conference accommodations and activites will be provided at:
Reservation details:
Room rate: TBA
Rates apply to single, double, triple, and quadruple occupancy. Complimentary wireless internet is provided in the guest rooms and meeting rooms.
April is a very busy month in Lexington, with Keeneland thoroughbred racing in session, so we strongly urge you to make reservations early.
Registration
Registration for KCHC 2018 will open in January, 2018.
