Tamar Ginossar

Professor

Photo: Tamar Ginossar

Communication

Email: 
ginossar@unm.edu
Office: 
Room 216

Ph.D., University of New Mexico, 2003

Profile

Dr. Ginossar is a health communication scholar. In addition to her primary position with C&J, she is also faculty at the BA/MD Program, Director of the Institute for Social Research (ISR), and the Community Engagement Core Co-Leader of New Mexico Integrative Science Program Incorporating Research in Environmental Sciences (NM-INSPIRES). She has taught diverse health communication courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels including a class about health, culture and diversity as part of the B.A./M.D. program. Additional courses include advanced mixed methods research, communication theories, interpersonal communication, intercultural communication and organizational communication. She also developed an implemented a few new courses, including CJ 2121, Introduction to Interpersonal Health Communication, and a Public Speaking section dedicated to STEM students. In spring 2019 she designed and taught the first communication course about cannabis and communication.

Prior to joining the department, Dr. Ginossar has held a research faculty appointment with the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. Her research interests focus on health communication and reducing health disparities. She is particularly interested in how communities and individuals are using new communication technologies for information exchange and advocacy.

She is the 2019-2020 UNM Presidential Teaching Fellow, and a past National Academies of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) presenter on digital health strategies, health disparities, and health equity. In 2022 she received the American Public Health Association Public Health Education and Health Promotion Section Everett M. Rogers Award, recognizing outstanding contributions in the study and/or practice of public health communication. She lived and traveled internationally in the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

Research

As a health communication expert, Dr. Ginossar’s research focuses on the role of communication in reducing health disparities and supporting multilevel behavior change at the individual, organizational, and community levels. Her research utilizes community-based, mixed- methods approach to examine use of communication technologies such as eHealth and mHealth in advocacy and digital inequities, cancer communication disparities, and HIV prevention and management. She led the New Mexico state-wide HIV Prevention and Services Needs Assessment to examine federally-funded prevention and service provision, needs, and gaps. As part of her research, she partners with interdisciplinary research teams, community organizations, and diverse stakeholders on health, environmental and science communication research projects. She is happy to involve motivated, engaged undergraduate and graduate students in her work.

Sample Journal Articles

*Co-author is a student, or a former student

Shah, S. F. A., Jan, F., Ginossar, T., McGrail, J. P., Baber, D., & Ullah, R. (2022). Trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder among regional journalists in Pakistan. Journalism, 23(2), 391-408. Impact factor 3.2

Ginossar, T., Cruickshank, I. J., Zheleva, E., Sulskis, J., & Berger-Wolf, T. (2022). Cross-platform spread: vaccine-related content, sources, and conspiracy theories in YouTube videos shared in early Twitter COVID-19 conversations. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 1-13.

Shah, S. F. A., Ginossar, T., Bentley, J. M., Zimet, G., & McGrail, J. P. (2021). Using the Theory of Planned behavior to identify correlates of HPV vaccination uptake among college students attending a rural university in Alabama. Vaccine, 39(51), 7421-7428.

Cruickshank, I., Ginossar, T., Sulskis, J., Zheleva, E., & Berger-Wolf, T. (2021). Content and Dynamics of Websites Shared Over Vaccine-Related Tweets in COVID-19 Conversations: Computational Analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(12), e29127.

Shah, S. F. A., Ginossar, T., & Ittefaq, M. (2021). “We always report under pressure”: Professionalism and journalistic identity among regional journalists in a conflict zone. Journalism, 14648849211050442.

Ginossar, T., Rishel Brakey, H., Sussman, A. L., Price, B., Kano, M., Davis, S., & Blair, C. K. (2021). “You’re Going to Have to Think a Little Bit Different” Barriers and Facilitators to Using mHealth to Increase Physical Activity among Older, Rural Cancer Survivors. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(17), 8929.

Selove, R., Neil-Sztramko, S., Leng, J., Walker, P. D., Salloum, R. G., Ginossar, T., ... & Ellis, S. (2020). Use of implementation science in tobacco control intervention studies in the USA between 2000 and 2020: a scoping review protocol. BMJ open, 10(11), e038617. Impact factor 2.5

Shah, S. F*., Faizulla, J,, Ginossar, T. McGrail P. J., Baber, D. Ulah, T. (2020). Trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder among regional journalists in Pakistan. Journalism, 1-8 DOI: 10.1177/1464884920965783. Journal impact factor: 2.8.

Ginossar, T., Diaz-Fuentez, C., Oetzel, J. (2020). Understanding Willingness to Participate in Cancer Clinical Trials Among Patients and Caregivers Attending a Minority-Serving Academic Cancer Center. Journal of Cancer Education. Journal impact factor 1.8

Kalke, K.,* Ginossar, T., Carver, H.,* Shah, S.F.A.,* Bentley, J., & Kinney, A.Y. (2020). Use of Behavior Change Theories in Commercial Breast Cancer Mobile Phone Applications: A Systematic Analysis. JMIR mHealth uHealth. Journal impact factor: 4.3

Book Chapters

· Ginossar, T. (2023). Mixed Methods Research in Health Communication. Encyclopedia of Health Communication, Wiley

· Ginossar, T. & Oetzel, J. (2015). Stress and burnout in a small non-governmental organization. In J. Mize Smith & M. W. Kramer (Eds.). Case studies in volunteering and NGOs. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.

· Ginossar, T. (2014). “In a Group of Our Own.” The role of stigma, smoking, and the tobacco industry in communication in lung Internet cancer support group. In K. L. Walker, S. L. Esrock, & J. L. Hart (Eds.) Talking tobacco: Interpersonal, organizational, and mediated messages (pp. 62-80.). New York: Peter Lang Publishing.

· Ginossar, T. (2013). Promoting women leadership as a strategy for reducing health and digital disparities in Latino/a immigrant communities. In G. L. Kreps & M. Dutta (Eds.). Reducing health disparities: Working with communities (pp.95-112). New York: Peter Lang Publishing.

· Ginossar, T. (2011). Bridging the health and digital divide in a low income Hispanic community: Using community-based participatory research to advance communities’ well-being. In M. Brann (Ed.). Contemporary case studies in health communication: Theoretical and applied approaches. Dubuque, IA:Kendall Hunt.

· Ginossar, T. Media Globalization and "The Secondary Flow": Consumption of Telenovelas in Israel. In: D. I. Rios & M. Castaneda (Eds.). Soap Operas and Telenovelas in the Digital Age: Global Industries, Hybrid Content, and New Audiences (in press).

· Ginossar, T. Content, Participants, and Dynamics in Online Discussion in a Lung Internet Cancer Support Group: A Case Study (2010). In: L. Shedletsky & J. E. Aitken (Eds). Cases on Online Discussion and Interaction: Experiences and Outcomes. IGI Global.

· Ginossar, T. The Role of Stigma, Smoking, and the Tobacco Industry in Communication in Lung Internet Cancer Support Group. Accepted for publication in K. L. Walker, S. L. Esrock, & J. L. Hart (Eds.) Talking Tobacco: Interpersonal, Organizational, and Mediated Messages. Peter Lang Publishing.

· Ginossar, T. & Nelson, S. Promoting women leadership as a strategy for reducing health and digital disparities in Latino/a immigrant communities. In: G. L. Kreps & M. Dutta (Eds). Reducing Health Disparities: Working with Communities. Peter Lang (invited chapter, under review).

Sample Funded Research

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences P-30

Blossom (PI). 01/01/2021-2025 ($3,200,000).

Project Title: New Mexico Integrative Science Program Incorporating Research in Environmental Science (NM-INSPIRES).

Role: Community Engaged Core Leader

 

Participant Engagement and Cancer Genome Sequencing (PE-CGS). Engagement of American Indians of Southwestern Tribal Nations in Cancer Genome Sequencing. ($3,701,064). 2020-2026. Joined in 2022.

Role: Communication and health literacy specialist.

 

Women faculty in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Seed Money Award, Office of Academic Affairs ($10,000) 09/2020-05/2023

Project Title: Social Networks Analysis of Vaccination-Related Discourse on Twitter Before and After the Coronavirus Outbreak

Role: PI

 

7/01/2014-/30/2016 

Ginossar (PI)

Assessment of HIV Prevention and Care Services in New Mexico.

Funded by the New Mexico Department of Health ($100,000) The goal of the study is to carry out a multi-level assessment of the quality of prevention and care services and service gaps in federally-funded, Ryan-White Clinics in New Mexico.

 

2/01/2015-2/30/2016

Ginossar (PI) 

Applicability of Mobile Health Applications for Cancer Prevention Communication and Behavior Change among Ethnically Diverse Breast Cancer Survivors and Their Families

Funded by the American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant (ACS-IRG) The goal of this research is to examine the current state of the arts in breast cancer related mobile applications and to develop strategies for culturally-appropriate messages and interventions targeting diverse breast cancer survivors and their families.

Teaching Style

I utilize an interactive approach that challenges students. I encourage creativity and provide students with the opportunity to apply concepts and theories in their own work. As in my personal life, I believe that growth happens when we are challenged and have to step out of our comfort zones.

Why UNM?

I love the diversity and the culture. New Mexico is home for me and my family, and I'm excited every day about being here.

Spare Time

Traveling, hiking, and keeping up with my family.

Additional Affiliations

· BA/MD Program

· Director, Institute for Social Research

· Community Core Co-Leader, NM INSPIRES

· Adjunct Professor, the Prevention Research Center at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine

· Associate Member, the University of New Mexico Cancer Center

· Senior Fellow at the Center for Reducing Health Disparities (NM CARES)

VITA

CV Dr. Ginossar