Research

I conduct interdisciplinary research that investigates how place matters for the way Americans view health policy issues and access health care services. My current work evaluates the role of rural identity in how rural Americans view health and social policies, improving cancer prevention in rural communities, and the framing of substance use policy issues in political campaign advertisements. More broadly, my research agenda focuses on evaluating relationships across health politics, public opinion and political behavior, media and communications, rural health, and substance use policy.

Rural Politics and Public Opinion

How do rural Americans engage with the political process and what influences their policy preferences?  While rural Americans’ role in the political process has received increased interest in both scholarly research and the media, it is often under the lens of rural resentment or the seeming disconnect between rural Americans’ political preferences and their actual experiences with major health and social policies. My research seeks to better understand both what rural social identity is and how it informs rural Americans’ policy views. 

My current work explores two areas of rural political behavior. First, it contributes to the theoretical understanding of what rural social identity is and how it is distinct from other group identities and affects, including rural resentment, racial resentment, and partisan identification. Second, it provides insight as to the role of rural identity and rural resentment on public opinion surrounding public health, health policy, and social welfare issues.

My previous work (with Robert Blendon) exploring rural voters' views on health policy issues ahead of the 2020 election has been published in JAMA Health Forum (September 2020) and presented at the Association for Public Policy and Management Student Seminar Series.

Rural Health and Behavioral Health

Rural Americans face numerous barriers to health care and are at disproportionate risk for adverse health outcomes. My work broadly examines behavioral health disparities in rural communities, issues affecting rural patient-provider communications, and cancer control challenges in rural America.

Ongoing research (with Mariam Atkinson) explores cancer prevention practices in rural areas. We use qualitative research methods to examine the impact of health providers' perspectives on cancer control in rural communities. Through semi-structured interviews, this paper evaluates how healthcare providers perceive systemic- and individual-level factors affecting rural patients’ access to care and how this information impacts providers’ approach to cancer screening and prevention recommendations. Our findings have also informed the development of an upcoming survey examining rural patients' experiences with the health care system, who they trust for health-related information, and how they engage with cancer prevention recommendations.

I have also authored the following reports on substance use and equity issues affecting predominantly rural communities in Montana and Massachusetts:

I have also conducted experimental research investigating the relationship between optimism and health behaviors. We developed a novel intervention to induce optimism and examined the circumstances under which increased optimism influenced willingness to exercise and engage in other health behaviors. Our findings have been published in The Journal of Positive Psychology (May 2022) and presented at the American Psychosomatic Society (December 2020).

Political and Health Communications

The media, politicians, and public officials hold an important role in how health policy and public health issues are framed and communicated. Less understood is how framing decisions are made and ultimately influence public opinion on health and social policy issues. 

My current work explores how state characteristics may influence politicians' communications strategies. I use mixed methods to analyze the content, tone, and framing of substance use-related issues in campaign advertisements. I investigate how state characteristics and factors beyond partisan identity are associated with politicians' advertising and communications strategies regarding substance use policy issues.