Rachel Smith

Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences

Rachel Smith

Research Summary

Quantitative social scientist whose interests lie broadly in social influence and social systems, specializing on power, networks, and stigma. Design and evaluation of effective health campaigns. Infectious diseases and genomics.

Huck Affiliations

Links

Most Recent Publications

Character, contact, and stigma reduction: Investigating mediated contact hypothesis and stories of opioid use disorder

Rachel Smith, Ruth Osoro, G Sterner, Journal of Applied Communication Research.

Stigmatizing communication and mental health

Xun Zhu, Rachel Smith, Ruth Osoro,

Understanding the Effects of Digital Storytelling on OUD Stigma Reduction: Exploring Character and the Recovery Plot

Rachel Annette Smith, Ruth A. Osoro, Glenn Sterner, 2025, Health Communication

Motivating neighborhood-focused health activism: exploring the nexus of collective efficacy, social hope, and neighborhood activism

Youllee Kim, Rachel Smith, 2025, Journal of Applied Communication Research

Digital storytelling and public stigma: Investigating recovery narratives and intersectionality

Ruth A. Osoro, Rachel Annette Smith, Glenn Sterner, 2025, Communication Monographs

When Best Practices Fail: Nuances of Using Narratives in Disseminating Substance Use Research to Policymakers

E Long, Jessica Pugel, Leanna Kalinowski, Patrick O'Neill, G Sterner, C Hsuan, Rachel Smith, Camille Coiffi, Daniel Crowley, T Scott, 2024, Drug and Alcohol Dependence

Character, contact, and stigma reduction: investigating mediated contact and U.S. digital stories of opioid use disorder

Rachel Annette Smith, Ruth A. Osoro, Glenn Sterner, 2024, Journal of Applied Communication Research on p. 381-400

Vivifying Outbreaks: Investigating the Influence of a Forecast Visual on Risk Perceptions, Time-Urgency, and Behavioral Intentions

Rachel Annette Smith, Youzhen Su, Katie Yan, Katriona Shea, 2024, Health Communication

Extending the Theory of Normative Social Behavior: Collective Norms, Opinion Leadership, and Masking During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Xun Zhu, Christopher Carpenter, R Smith, Jessica Myrick, M Martin, R Lennon, M Small, L Van Scoy, 2024, Health Communication on p. 49-61

CHARACTER PERCEPTIONS OF STORYTELLERS: INVESTIGATING THE MEDIATED CONTACT HYPOTHESIS AND STORIES ABOUT LIVING WITH HIV

Rachel A. Smith, Ruth A. Osoro, 2023, AIDS Education and Prevention on p. 69-84

Most-Cited Papers

Antibiotic Resistance: A Primer and Call to Action

Rachel A. Smith, Nkuchia M. M’ikanatha, Andrew F. Read, 2015, Health Communication on p. 309-314

Mental health stigma and communication and their intersections with education

Rachel A. Smith, Amanda Applegate, 2018, Communication Education on p. 382-393

Persuasive Messages, Social Norms, and Reactance: A Study of Masking Behavior during a COVID-19 Campus Health Campaign

James Price Dillard, XiXi Tian, Shannon Cruz, Rachel Smith, Lijiang Shen, 2021, Health Communication

Living with a rare health condition: the influence of a support community and public stigma on communication, stress, and available support

Xun Zhu, Rachel A. Smith, Roxanne L. Parrott, 2017, Journal of Applied Communication Research on p. 179-198

Understanding the Effects of Stigma Messages: Danger Appraisal and Message Judgments

Rachel A. Smith, Xun Zhu, Edward L. Fink, 2019, Health Communication on p. 424-436

A Meta-Analysis of Weight Stigma and Health Behaviors

Xun Zhu, Rachel A. Smith, Emily Buteau, 2022, Stigma and Health on p. 1-13

Unique Predictors of Intended Uptake of a COVID-19 Vaccine in Adults Living in a Rural College Town in the United States

Robert P. Lennon, Meg L. Small, Rachel A. Smith, Lauren J. Van Scoy, Jessica G. Myrick, Molly A. Martin, Data4 Action Research Group, 2021, American Journal of Health Promotion

Evaluating the impact of screening plus eave tubes on malaria transmission compared to current best practice in central Côte d'Ivoire: A two armed cluster randomized controlled trial

Eleanore D. Sternberg, Jackie Cook, Ludovic P. Ahoua Alou, Carine J. Aoura, Serge Brice Assi, Dimi Théodore Doudou, A. Alphonsine Koffi, Raphael N'Guessan, Welbeck A. Oumbouke, Rachel A. Smith, Eve Worrall, Immo Kleinschmidt, Matthew B. Thomas, 2018, BMC Public Health

Integrating Models of Diffusion and Behavior to Predict Innovation Adoption, Maintenance, and Social Diffusion

Rachel A. Smith, Youllee Kim, Xun Zhu, Dimi Théodore Doudou, Eleanore D. Sternberg, Matthew B. Thomas, 2018, Journal of Health Communication on p. 264-271

Insights into stigma management communication theory: considering stigmatization as interpersonal influence

Rachel A. Smith, Rachael E. Bishop, 2019, Journal of Applied Communication Research on p. 571-590