Angela Fagerlin, Ph.D. - US grants

When thinking about infectious diseases and making decisions about how to protect themselves, people often overreact to infectious diseases with low risk of infection, such as Ebola, and at other times fail to respond to infectious diseases with higher risk of infection, such as the flu. Both types of responses can lead to negative outcomes such as stress and anxiety, less productivity at work, and inefficient use of healthcare resources (either using too much or too little depending on the disease). We think that one reason that people may exhibit these responses to infectious diseases is that there may be a conflict between their beliefs about their risk and their feelings about their risk. This research will examine areas of misinformation and emotional responses to three infectious diseases: Ebola, the flu, and MERS. After identifying key areas of misinformation and excessive or subdued emotional responses to these three diseases, the research team develops and tests a number of communication strategies that best correct misinformation and resolve conflicts between beliefs and feelings of risk to motivate more appropriate responses to infectious diseases. After determining which strategies are better at doing those things than others, the research team creates a website to display "best-practices" in communicating about infectious diseases.

This research involves conducting a number of web studies to investigate when and for whom cognitive- and affective-based communication strategies work best at modifying cognitions, affect, and behavioral intentions towards pandemic risks. The research uses the theory of "risk-as-feelings". These studies will advance our understanding of risk-as-feelings in a number of ways. First, the research team examines the frequency of simultaneous contradictory responses (SCRs) - when beliefs and feelings of risk conflict - at least with these three infectious diseases. Second, the research team tests for the existence of simultaneous contradictory affective responses. Third, the team then assesses the relative influence of cognitive and affective sources of information on cognitions, affective reactions, and behavioral intentions, as well as in the possible resolution of SCRs. Fourth, the application of risk-as-feelings to determine optimal communication strategies about these infectious diseases should serve as a test-case for the utility of incorporating risk-as-feelings into public health theories of health behavior and communication. Fifth, due to its foundation in the theory of risk-as-feelings, insights gleaned from the current studies should help shape the way information is communicated about other public health issues beyond these disease. And finally, the research tests whether resolving SCRs is key to inducing appropriate responses to pandemic risks or whether improving knowledge, acknowledging fears, and/or improving feelings of efficacy, is sufficient to improve responses, as would be predicted by standard health behavior theories from public health.

Contact PD/PI: Dere, Willard H. NRSA-Training-001 (001) ABSTRACT ? TRAINING CORE (TL1) This TL1 training program proposes to train 3 new predoctoral students and 2 new postdoctoral trainees every year with 25 trainees across 5 years. Each trainee will receive funding for two years. The TL1 program will provide the necessary predoctoral and postdoctoral training to produce scientists with a deep appreciation of the spectrum of translational science, a team science outlook and an aptitude for cross-discipline communication. The conceptual framework that guides the training program organizes the translational continuum into three Spheres of Translation Across the Research Spectrum (?STARS?): Discovery, Demonstration and Dissemination. Trainees undertake research within one of these spheres, and will also receive training across the spectrum, to emerge with an invaluable broad perspective of how their own research fits within the breadth of translational science and how discoveries move through the continuum. Training will include translational science, team science, entrepreneurship, community engagement, immersion opportunities (e.g., clinical observation, wet and dry lab experiences, externships, entrepreneurial experiences), ethics, grant and manuscript writing, communication, management and leadership development. Additionally, trainees will receive holistic mentoring and career guidance. We will create a cadre of scholars with a commanding knowledge and experiences across all three translational spheres, and a deep commitment to transdisciplinary team science. We are equally committed to ensuring a diverse group of scholars in order to ensure the pipeline of scientists are as diverse as the subjects they research. Finally, we believe strongly that it is important to train mentors, especially new mentors, on how to be effective mentors and advocates for trainees. Thus, another innovative component of this training program is the inclusion and training of ?emerging mentors?. These mentors are junior faculty with a history of external funding and significant publications and who are interested in learning how to be effective mentors. They will receive mentoring and leadership training and will co-mentor trainees with an experienced and senior mentor. Trainees will also receive significant benefit from receiving mentoring advice from a ?near peer?, particularly in terms of career development. Our overarching goal is to produce a next generation of scientists with strategic translational emphases who are successful communicators across disciplines and whose breadth of knowledge across the STARS can increase transdisciplinary cross fertilization and accelerate healthcare advances. Project Summary/Abstract Page 1393 Contact PD/PI: Dere, Willard H. NRSA-Training-001 (001) FACILITIES AND OTHER RESOURCES ? TRAINING CORE (TL1) The future success of the Utah CCTS Spheres of Translation Across the Research Spectrum (STARS) TL1 program is intrinsically linked to the seven partnering institutions. Each partner institution contributes unique attributes that strengthens the Utah CCTS clinical research enterprise and fosters the successful development of Utah TL1 pre- and post-doctoral scholars and the Utah TL1 program. This portion of the Utah CCTS TL1 application first describes the geography and population of the catchment area served. This is followed by a detailed description of the Utah CCTS scientific ecosystem and the important contributions of each partner institution including their role in promoting principal investigators able to lead scientific teams that develop, demonstrate, and disseminate translational science to advance health. INTERMOUNTAIN WEST REGION The Intermountain West The University of Utah (U of Utah) healthcare system (U Health) is the only academic health center in the Intermountain West region. The Intermountain West, comprised of Utah and Nevada, as well as parts of Wyoming, New Mexico, Idaho, Arizona, and Colorado, collectively encompasses more than 10% of the continental United States. Importantly, the Intermountain West contains not only urban and suburban, but also large rural and immense frontier areas. The population of the region, over 22 million in the 2010 census, is steadily growing (Figure 1). Utah According to the US Census Bureau, the State of Utah is the fastest growing state in the U.S. with a current population estimate of 3 million residents. This growth is attributed to a higher than the national average birth rate but also net in-migration from other states and countries. This population is unique, with lower median age (30.7% under 18, average age 29.2), larger families (3.12 persons per household compared to 2.63) Importantly, many of Utah's families are multigenerational, and have a long history in the state and surrounding region. Utah is a racially and ethnically diverse state. Utah's minority share is 21% and is comparable to national averages, with large Hispanic/Latino communities, and significant Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Asian, Black/African American, and multiethnic communities. Utah is home to seven Native American tribes/nations: Shoshone, Goshute, Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, Paiute, Navajo (Dine), White Mesa, and Ute. Of note, among Pacific Islander communities, approximately one of four people of Tongan descent living in the United States live in Utah. Over 40 languages other than English are Figure 1. Population of the Intermountain West. The eight states that form the Intermountain West (highlighted in red) have a collective population of over 22 million, and have exhibited steady population growth for over 100 years. primary languages in Utah households. Unfortunately, this diversity comes with associated healthcare disparities. Many Utah communities, particularly Native American/Alaskan Native, Black/African American, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and Hispanic/Latino communities are medically disadvantaged, with indicators of worse health and less insurance/ability to pay for healthcare than the White population. In addition to being racially, ethnically, and socially diverse, Utah has a unique combination of urban, suburban, rural, and frontier communities. Of the state's landmass, 90% is rural, with a population of less than Facilities & Other Resources Page 1394