2023 Abby Prestin Dissertation of the Year Award Recipient
Dr. Rochelle R. Davidson Mhonde, George Mason University, “Silencing as an Act of Protection: A Mixed-Methods Intersectional Ecological Exploration of Black Parents’ Beliefs, Perceptions, and Behaviors about Sexual Health and Trauma.”
Each year, a committee composed of leaders from the Health Communication Divisions of the ICA and NCA reviews Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations submitted for consideration. Authors of the top-rated thesis and top-rated dissertation (and their faculty advisors) are recognized at the Annual Divisional Business Meeting during ICA’s conference with the presentation of a plaque and cash award. A description of the application process can be found here.
About Abby Prestin
The Dissertation Award is given in honor of the late Abby Prestin, an exemplary health communication scholar and person, who tragically passed away on September 3, 2014 at the age of 34 after a year-long battle with lymphoma. Both her MA Thesis and PhD Dissertations won awards within the Health Communication Division, and, fittingly, the Dissertation of the Year Award is now endowed in Abby’s name by her family and friends.
Donate to the Prestin endowment
Abby Prestin Dissertation of the Year Award Winners
2023
Dr. Rochelle R. Davidson Mhonde, George Mason University, “Silencing as an Act of Protection: A Mixed-Methods Intersectional Ecological Exploration of Black Parents’ Beliefs, Perceptions, and Behaviors about Sexual Health and Trauma.”
2022
Dr. Youllee Kim, University of Denver
“Health Activism: Investigating the Role of Hope and Neighborhood-Related Perceptions in Solving Neighborhood Health Issues”
2021
Alice Binder, Department of Communication, Universitat Wien
The influence of healthy food placements within children’s movies: Persuasive mechanisms and effects
2020
Dr. Sijia Yang
Morality in Tobacco Control Messaging: Effects of Moral Appeals on Persuasion and Retransmission
2019
Nathan Walter, Northwestern University
Advisors: Michael Cody, Sheila Murphy
Hard to Argue Against Coherence: A Meta- Cognitive Approach to Correction of Misinformation.
2018
Kristen Farris, University of Texas Austin
Advisor: Erin Donovan
The Impacts of Recurring Supportive Interactions on Couples’ Psychological, Relational, and Health Outcomes in the Context of Rheumatic Diseases.
2017
Corine Meppelink, University of Amsterdam
Advisors: Edith Smit, Julia van Weert
Designing Digital Health Information in a Health Literacy Context.
2016
Nan Zhao, University of Southern California
Advisor: Sheila Murphy
Understanding Normative Influence of Neighborhoods: A Multilevel Approach to Promoting Latinas’ Cervical Cancer Prevention Behaviors in Urban Ethnic Communities.
2015
Hanneke Hendriks, Leiden University
Advisor: Bas van den Putte
Let’s talk about alcohol: The role of interpersonal communication and health campaigns.
2014
Jessica Gall Myrick, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Advisor: Sriram Kalyanaraman
Searching from the heart: The interplay between emotions and customization in online health information seeking .
2013
Sherine El-Toukhy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Advisor: Jane D. Brown
Priming Optimism: The Automaticity of Health Risk Perceptions.
2012
Joe Phua, University of Southern California
Advisor: Michael J. Cody
The Social Groups Approach to Quitting Smoking: An Examination of Smoking Cessation in Social Networking Sites through the Influence of Social Norms, Social Identification, Social Capital, and Social Support.
2011
Elizabeth Gardner, University of Missouri
Advisor: Glenn Leshner
The Role of Narrative and Other-Referencing in Attenuating Psychological Reactance to Diabetes Self-Care Messages.
2010
Shelly R. Hovick, University of Georgia
Advisor: Vicki Freimuth
Seeking Family Health Information: A Test of the Revised Theory of Motivated Information Management.
2009
Sally Dunlop, University of Melbourne
Co-Advisors: Melanie Wakefield & Yoshihisa Kashima
Changing Health Behaviors: The Roles of Intra- and Inter-Personal Responses to Public Health Mass Media Campaigns.
2008
Janice Krieger, Pennsylvania State University
Co-Advisors: Roxanne Parrott & Jon Nusbaum
An Empirical Test of Metaphors as a Strategy for Creating Culturally Appropriate Health Messages.
2007
Melissa Harris, University of Kentucky
Co-Advisors: Nancy Harrington & Philip Palmgreen
The Role of Emotion in Anti-Drug PSAs: Investigating the Impact of Guilt Arousal on Perceived Message Effectiveness and Behavioral Intentions to Use Drugs.