New study examines how Minority Health Leaders helped bridge the COVID-19 healthcare crisis communication gap between marginalized & dominant U.S. communities.

WHITEWATER, WI, UNITED STATES, February 22, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- WHITEWATER, WI - The coveted Communication Studies Article of the Year Award bestowed by the Central States Communication Association (CSCA) recognizes the single best article for the calendar year prior to the CSCA convention. This year the CSCA has selected the article by Alberto González, Eun Young Lee, SangHee Park & Sung-Yeon Park (2023): The Health Equity Discourse of Immigrant Public Health Leaders: A Critical Application of the IDEA Model. To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/10510974.2022.2160997

Health experts emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic to deliver crisis messaging to a public that desperately needed information to understand the nature of the mega-crisis and how to mitigate the risk of infection. Some of these public health experts were also immigrants whose advocacy drew attention to healthcare disparities in the U.S. and called for systemic reform of healthcare delivery.

“Our research examines how Immigrant Public Health Leaders negotiated their stereotyped “model minority” status during the pandemic with proactive communication strategies designed to increase awareness for racialized healthcare disparities, call upon government agencies and medical institutions to reform their practices, and ultimately help bridge the U.S. Healthcare communication gap between marginalized and dominant communities,” said Dr. SangHee Park, co-author and Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at UW-Whitewater.

Dr. Park teaches Public Relations classes for the online master of science degree in Communication at UW Whitewater, and her research focuses on Public Relations, social media, and the perceptual process of media message usage and its influence, with special concentration on the effects of health campaign messages using mass communication and social psychological theories.

“Dr. Park’s important research advances our understanding of how immigrant public health leaders employed successful health equity messaging strategies to better reach minority populations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study provides a blueprint for government agencies, health organizations, and future “model minorities” as they continue to advocate for more equitable healthcare outcomes in minority populations,” said Dr. Corey Davis, Professor or Communication and Graduate Program Coordinator at UW-Whitewater.

Dr. Park will be recognized and awarded for her research at the Central States Communication Association Hall of Fame and Awards Ceremony in Grand Rapids, Michigan in April 2024.

About the UW Whitewater Online Master of Science in Communication
Designed to allow you to master the message, the fully online master of science degree in communication from University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will give you the tools you need to practice communication at the intersection of technology, diversity and influence. Earn standalone graduate certificates in health communication, organizational communication, strategic communication, or social and new media. Or, stack together three 9-credit certificates and combine with a capstone course to earn the full 30-credit master’s degree. UW-Whitewater’s graduate credentials give professionals a boost in careers such as social media management, message generation and analysis, training and development, campaign design and management for healthcare, PR, advertising , social advocacy, and politics and governance.

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University of Wisconsin - Whitewater Communication
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