Melinda M. Krakow

Melinda M. Krakow

Instructor

Department:
SPH-Population Health Science

Email:
mkrakow@umc.edu

Work Phone:
(601) 984-1020

Biography

I am a public health communication scholar with training and experience in the fields of health communication, media studies, epidemiology, and program evaluation. My work primarily focuses on the development and evaluation of public health campaigns for cancer prevention and control, including vaccination, tobacco control, and cancer screening. I employ a variety of research methods in my work, including surveys, interviews, focus groups, and secondary data analysis. I teach courses in the John D. Bower School of Population Health on science communication, implementation science, and research methods.

I earned my doctorate in Health Communication at the University of Utah and completed an MPH in Epidemiology and Biostatistics during my postdoctoral training as a Cancer Prevention Fellow in the Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch, Division of Cancer Control and Population Health of the National Cancer Institute.

Education

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, MPH, Epidemiology and Biostatistics2016
University of Utah, PhD, Health Communication2015
University of California, Berkeley, BA, Sociology and Legal Studies
San Francisco State University, MA, Radio and Television (Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts)

Publications

News

Jensen JD, King AJ, Torres DP, Krakow M, Coe K, Upshaw S, Is News Surveillance related to Cancer Knowledge in Underserved Adults? Testing Three Versions of the Cognitive Mediation Model. Journalism studies, 2020;21(9):1186-1199

Letter

Jensen JD, Yale RN, Carcioppolo N, Krakow M, John KK, Weaver J, Confirming the two factor model of dispositional cancer worry. Psycho-oncology, 2015 Jun;24(6):732-52015

Journal Article

Scherr CL, Lillie H, Ratcliff CL, Krakow M, Liu M, Jensen JD, Are some narratives better than others?: The impact of different narrative forms on adolescents' intentions to text and drive. Risk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk Analysis, 2022 Oct;42(10):2176-21882022
Ratcliff CL, Krakow M, Greenberg-Worisek A, Hesse BW, Digital Health Engagement in the US Population: Insights From the 2018 Health Information National Trends Survey. American journal of public health, 2021 Jul;111(7):1348-13512021
Krakow M, Rising CJ, Trivedi N, Yoon DC, Vanderpool RC, Prevalence and Correlates of Family Cancer History Knowledge and Communication Among US Adults. Preventing chronic disease, 2020 Nov 19;17:E1462020
Maggio LA, Krakow M, Moorhead LL, 'There were some clues': a qualitative study of heuristics used by parents of adolescents to make credibility judgements of online health news articles citing research. BMJ open, 2020 Aug 26;10(8):e0396922020
Ratcliff CL, Jensen JD, Scherr CL, Krakow M, Crossley K, Loss/Gain Framing, Dose, and Reactance: A Message Experiment. Risk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk Analysis, 2019 Dec;39(12):2640-26522019
Krakow M, Hesse BW, Oh A, Patel V, Vanderpool RC, Jacobsen PB, Addressing Rural Geographic Disparities Through Health IT: Initial Findings From the Health Information National Trends Survey. Medical care, 2019 Jun;57 Suppl 6 Suppl 2:S127-S1322019
Roberts MC, Krakow M, Wheldon CW, Silver MI, Differences in Family Health History Knowledge Among Bisexual and Lesbian Women. LGBT health, 2019 Apr;6(3):134-1372019
Maggio LA, Ratcliff CL, Krakow M, Moorhead LL, Enkhbayar A, Alperin JP, Making headlines: an analysis of US government-funded cancer research mentioned in online media. BMJ open, 2019 Feb 19;9(2):e0257832019
Wheldon CW, Krakow M, Thompson EL, Moser RP, National Trends in Human Papillomavirus Awareness and Knowledge of Human Papillomavirus-Related Cancers. American journal of preventive medicine, 2019 Apr;56(4):e117-e1232019
Kaphingst KA, Peterson E, Zhao J, Gaysynsky A, Elrick A, Hong SJ, Krakow M, Pokharel M, Ratcliff CL, Klein WMP, Khoury MJ, Chou WS, Cancer communication research in the era of genomics and precision medicine: a scoping review. Genetics in medicine : official journal of the American College of Medical Genetics, 2019 Aug;21(8):1691-16982019
Rositch AF, Atnafou R, Krakow M, D'Souza G, A Community-Based Qualitative Assessment of Knowledge, Barriers, and Promoters of Communicating about Family Cancer History among African-Americans. Health communication, 2019 Sep;34(10):1192-12012019
Beavis A, Krakow M, Levinson K, Rositch AF, Reasons for Lack of HPV Vaccine Initiation in NIS-Teen Over Time: Shifting the Focus From Gender and Sexuality to Necessity and Safety. The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, 2018 Nov;63(5):652-6562018
Huntley JH, Coley RY, Carter HB, Radhakrishnan A, Krakow M, Pollack CE, Clinical Evaluation of an Individualized Risk Prediction Tool for Men on Active Surveillance for Prostate Cancer. Urology, 2018 Nov;121:118-1242018
Rositch AF, Krakow M, Invited Commentary: Moving From Evidence to Impact for Human Papillomavirus Vaccination-The Critical Role of Translation and Communication in Epidemiology. American journal of epidemiology, 2018 Jun 1;187(6):1277-12802018
Peterson EB, Chou WS, Gaysynsky A, Krakow M, Elrick A, Khoury MJ, Kaphingst KA, Communication of cancer-related genetic and genomic information: A landscape analysis of reviews. Translational behavioral medicine, 2018 Jan 29;8(1):59-702018
King AJ, Jensen JD, Guntzviller LM, Perez Torres D, Krakow M, Ethnic newspapers and low-income Spanish-speaking adults: influence of news consumption and health motivation on cancer prevention behaviors. Ethnicity & health, 2018 May;23(4):410-4242018
Krakow M, Yale RN, Perez Torres D, Christy K, Jensen JD, Death narratives and cervical cancer: Impact of character death on narrative processing and HPV vaccination. Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association, 2017 Dec;36(12):1173-11802017
Krakow M, Beavis A, Cosides O, Rositch AF, Characteristics of Adolescents Lacking Provider-Recommended Human Papillomavirus Vaccination. The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, 2017 May;60(5):619-6222017
Jensen JD, Yale RN, Krakow M, John KK, King AJ, Theorizing Foreshadowed Death Narratives: Examining the Impact of Character Death on Narrative Processing and Skin Self-Exam Intentions. Journal of health communication, 2017 Jan;22(1):84-932017
Krakow M, Graphic Narratives and Cancer Prevention: A Case Study of an American Cancer Society Comic Book. Health communication, 2017 May;32(5):525-5282017
Jensen JD, Liu M, Carcioppolo N, John KK, Krakow M, Sun Y, Health information seeking and scanning among US adults aged 50-75 years: Testing a key postulate of the information overload model. Health informatics journal, 2017 Jun;23(2):96-1082017
Jensen JD, Holton AE, Krakow M, Weaver J, Donovan E, Tavtigian S, Colorectal cancer prevention and intentions to use low-dose aspirin: A survey of 1000 U.S. adults aged 40-65. Cancer epidemiology, 2016 Apr;41:99-1052016
Krakow M, Rogers B, Collateral Damage and Critical Turning Points: Public Health Implications of HPV Vaccine News Coverage for Boys and Men in 2011. Health communication, 2016 Sep;31(9):1081-82016
Sun Y, Liu M, Krakow M, Health e-mavens: identifying active online health information users. Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy, 2016 Oct;19(5):1071-832016
Jensen JD, Ratcliff C, Weaver J, Krakow MM, Payton W, Loewen S, Explicating perceived barriers to mammography for the USCREEN project: concerns about breast implants, faith violations, and perceived recommendations. Breast cancer research and treatment, 2015 Nov;154(1):201-72015
Jensen JD, King AJ, Carcioppolo N, Krakow M, Samadder NJ, Morgan S, Comparing tailored and narrative worksite interventions at increasing colonoscopy adherence in adults 50-75: a randomized controlled trial. Social science & medicine (1982), 2014 Mar;104:31-402014
Moorhead L, Krakow M, Maggio L, What cancer research makes the news? A quantitative analysis of online news stories that mention cancer studies. PloS one, 2021;16(3):e0247553
Chih MY, McCowan A, Whittaker S, Krakow M, Ahern DK, Aronoff-Spencer E, Hesse BW, Mullett TW, Vanderpool RC, The Landscape of Connected Cancer Symptom Management in Rural America: A Narrative Review of Opportunities for Launching Connected Health Interventions. Journal of Appalachian health, 2020;2(4):64-81
Krakow M, Ratcliff CL, Hesse BW, Greenberg-Worisek AJ, Assessing Genetic Literacy Awareness and Knowledge Gaps in the US Population: Results from the Health Information National Trends Survey. Public health genomics, 2017;20(6):343-348
Sun Y, Krakow M, John KK, Liu M, Weaver J, Framing Obesity: How News Frames Shape Attributions and Behavioral Responses. Journal of health communication, 2016;21(2):139-47
Krakow MM, Jensen JD, Carcioppolo N, Weaver J, Liu M, Guntzviller LM, Psychosocial predictors of human papillomavirus vaccination intentions for young women 18 to 26: religiosity, morality, promiscuity, and cancer worry. Women's health issues : official publication of the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health, 2015 Mar-Apr;25(2):105-11
Jensen JD, Krakow M, John KK, Liu M, Against conventional wisdom: when the public, the media, and medical practice collide. BMC medical informatics and decision making, 2013;13 Suppl 3(Suppl 3):S4

Honors, Awards, and Recognition

NCI Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program Merit Award, National Cancer Institute
Top Paper Award, D.C. Health Communication Conference
Kenneth Harwood Dissertation Award, Broadcast Education Association
MPH Capstone Achievement Award, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Professional Membership and Service

Society of Behavioral Medicine, Member
National Communication Association, Health Communication division

Other Service

Preventing Chronic Disease (journal)09/2023 - Present
Health Communication (journal)09/2019 - Present

Teaching Experience

PHS750, Population Health, Lecture, Course Director, Population Health Research Methods I
PHS712, Population Health, Course, Course Director, Science Communication & Dissemination I
PHS739, Population Health, Course, Course Director, Science Communication & Dissemination II
PHS713, Population Health, Course, Course Director, Implementation Science