Digital Media and Communication for Health & Politics Research Group

.At the Digital Media and Communication (DMC) research group, we study how we communicate and interact with digital media about health and political issues. We conduct theory-based, culturally sensitive, and interdisciplinary research using quantitative research methods. If you have any questions, please email Dr. Sun Hong (sunhong@unm.edu) or our student leader Esther Fan (qinjunfan25@unm.edu).
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Spring 2022 DMC Research Group meeting with a Visiting Scholar Dr. CJ Lee
2022 DMC Research Group Meeting_© DMC
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DMC's current projects: 
  • Motivations for Instagram Use and Political Use of Instagram: A Latent Profile Analysis (Led by Moonsun Choi) 
  • Relationships between Social Media Use, Exposure to HPV Vaccine Misinformation, and Health Information Seeking (Led by Lian Kim) 
  • Applying Influence of Presumed Media Influence (IPI) and Descriptive Norms to the Uncertain and Politicized Health Context, COVID-19 Vaccination for Children under 12 (Led by Moonsun Choi & Courtney FitzGerald) 
  • The Impact of Risk Perceptions on Social Media Engagement: The case of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea” (Led by Qinjun Fan) 
  • The Interaction Between Online Media Use and Interpersonal Health Communication in the Context of Health-Related Lifestyle Behaviors (Led by Rachel Taylor) 
  • Patient-Provider Communication and Muslim Refugees (Led by Sumaira Abrar)
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Director

Photo: Yangsun Hong

Yangsun Hong

Assistant Professor

sunhong@unm.edu

Interests

social determinants of health inequities, communication inequalities, social norms approach, perception of media bias, misinformation, intersectionality, public opinion, political conversation, political participation, stigma

Graduate Students

Photo: Sumaira Abrar

Sumaira Abrar

Ph.D. candidate

sumairaabrar@unm.edu

Interests

health communication, patient-provider communication, health disparities, social determinants of health
Photo: Moonsun Choi

Moonsun Choi

Ph.D. student

moonsunchoi@unm.edu

Interests

Media/digital literacy, Internet studies, digital citizenship, political communication/activism, Internet-infused education, critical thinking, online participation
Photo: Qinjun  Fan

Qinjun  Fan

Ph.D. student

qinjunfan25@unm.edu

Interests

social media, health information on the internet, health intervention, misinformation
Photo: Rachel Taylor

Rachel Taylor

Ph.D. student

rtaylor6@unm.edu

Interests

Media studies, health communication

Collaborators

Photo: Courtney FitzGerald

Courtney FitzGerald

Associate Scientist, Prevention Research Center

hsccafitzgerald@gmail.com

Interests

resilience, youth development, youth/student voice, culture-centered approaches, community-based participatory research, participatory action research, public health surveillance, survey research
Photo: Nathania Tsosie

Nathania Tsosie

Associate Director, Center for Native American Health

nttsosie@unm.edu

Interests

Health Communication, Intercultural Communication