Kelly D Blake’s research while affiliated with National Cancer Institute, mexico and other places

The National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Health Information National Trends Survey® (HINTS®), was conceived in 1997 during a multidisciplinary conference focused on risk communication that included attendees representing the fields of psychology, health behavior, health education, public health, clinical medicine, and health journalism. The key recommendation from the conference was for NCI to develop a premiere communication-specific population survey to track health and cancer communication-related phenomena. This led to NCI developing and launching HINTS in 2003. HINTS is a cross-sectional, nationally representative survey of the U.S. noninstitutionalized adult population (18 and older) that collects data on the public's need for, access to, and use of health- and cancer-related related information and health- and cancer-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. As of 2024, HINTS had been administered 17 times over a 21-year period. The resulting datasets can be utilized for secondary analysis to examine a range of social and behavioral research questions in cancer control and population sciences. The datasets can be examined individually or merged to test for trends over time or to create larger samples for analysis. The evolution of the program has included testing and changing instrument administration modes, oversampling specific populations, and assessing priority constructs, as well as conducting methodological experiments to keep pace with emerging trends in survey research. HINTS has also expanded beyond its cross-sectional format to include data linkages and a longitudinal panel, enabling researchers to address a wider range of research questions. HINTS methods, data products, and impact are discussed.

Introduction Patient-centered communication (PCC) is one important component of patient-centered care and seen as a goal for most clinical encounters. Previous research has shown that higher PCC is related to an increase in healthy behaviors and less morbidity, among other outcomes. Given its importance, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) commissioned a monograph in 2007 to synthesize the existing literature on PCC and determine measurement objectives and strategies for measuring this construct, with a particular focus on cancer survivors. Based on this effort, a seven-item PCC scale was included on the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), a probability-based survey of the US adult population. This study used HINTS data collected in 2018 to evaluate the psychometric properties of the PCC scale for the general US adult population including measures of reliability and validity. Results Through an exploratory factor analysis, the seven-item PCC scale was shown to be unidimensional with good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = .92). A confirmatory factor analysis verified the factor structure. Other construct validity metrics included known groups and discriminant validity. Known group comparisons were conducted for several sociodemographic factors and health self-efficacy confirming a priori assumptions. Discriminant validity tests with measures of social support and anxiety/depression showed relatively weak associations. Conclusions The psychometric properties of this scale demonstrate its scientific utility for both surveillance research and other smaller-scale studies. Given its association with many health outcomes, it can also be used to better understand the dynamics in a clinical encounter.

Adopting a multi-level perspective that considers the many interrelated contexts influencing health could make health communication interventions more effective and equitable. However, despite increasing interest in the use of multi-level approaches, multi-level health communication (MLHC) interventions are infrequently utilized. We therefore sought to conduct a modified Delphi study to better understand how researchers conceptualize MLHC interventions and identify opportunities for advancing MLHC work. Communication and health behavior experts were invited to complete two rounds of surveys about the characteristics, benefits, pitfalls, best practices, barriers, and facilitators of MLHC interventions; the role of technology in facilitating MLHC interventions; and ways to advance MLHC intervention research (46 experts completed the first survey, 44 completed both surveys). Survey data were analyzed using a mixed-methods approach. Panelists reached consensus on two components of the proposed definition of MLHC interventions and also put forward a set of best practices for these interventions. Panelists felt that most health intervention research could benefit from a multi-level approach, and generally agreed that MLHC approaches offered certain advantages over single-level approaches. However, they also expressed concern related to the time, cost, and complexity of MLHC interventions. Although panelists felt that technology could potentially support MLHC interventions, they also recognized the potential for technology to exacerbate disparities. Finally, panelists prioritized a set of methodological advances and practical supports that would be needed to facilitate future MLHC intervention research. The results of this study point to several future directions for the field, including advancing how interactions between levels are assessed, increasing the empirical evidence base demonstrating the advantages of MLHC interventions, and identifying best practices for the use of technology. The findings also suggest that researchers may need additional support to overcome the perceived practical challenges of conducting MLHC interventions.

HINTS (the US National Cancer Institute's Health Information National Trends Survey) is a cross‐sectional, nationally representative survey of the US noninstitutionalized adult population (18 and older) that collects data on the public's need for, access to, and use of health‐related information and health‐related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. HINTS was first fielded in 2002–2003, and at the time of this publication, this general population survey has been administered 14 times over 17 years, with the most recent iterations including annual data collection cycles. HINTS data can be used to derive population prevalence estimates, conduct inferential statistics, and to track trends over time using aggregated data to examine health communication and technology‐related phenomena related to cancer prevention and control. The purpose of this entry is to provide an overview of HINTS and its content, to provide details on the data collection methods used for each iteration of the survey, and to describe public resources that are available for analyzing HINTS data.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to describe the proportion of U.S. adults who support, oppose, or are neutral toward a policy designating R-ratings for movies depicting cigarette smoking and to identify predictors of policy opposition or neutrality among a nationally representative sample. Methods: Data from the 2020 Health Information National Trends Survey 5 Cycle 4 (fielded in 2020; N=3,865) were used to estimate the prevalence of support, neutrality, and opposition to a policy designating R-ratings for movies containing depictions of cigarette smoking. Weighted, multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the predictors of policy opposition or neutrality. Results: The analysis showed that 47.0% of U.S. adults were supportive, 20.3% opposed, and 30.3% were neutral toward designating R-ratings for movies depicting cigarette smoking. Older adults were significantly less likely to be neutral to or opposed to an R-rating policy than adults aged 18-34 years: age 50-64 years (OR=0.56; 95% CI=0.35, 0.87), age 65-74 years (OR=0.39; 95% CI=0.24, 0.64), and age ≥75 years (OR=0.27; 95% CI=0.16, 0.45). In addition, non-Hispanic Asians were significantly less likely than non-Hispanic Whites to be neutral to or opposed the policy (OR=0.46; 95% CI=0.25, 0.84). Conclusions: Study findings show that a near majority of U.S. adults support a policy that would designate R-ratings for movies depicting cigarette smoking and that there is greater neutrality than opposition toward the policy. Assessing public opinion toward a policy designating R-ratings for movies depicting cigarette smoking may inform efforts to educate the public about the value of such policies for preventing youth tobacco initiation.

Many of Appalachia’s premature deaths are attributable to preventable causes, such as smoking behaviors, obesity and healthcare avoidance. This chapter presents surveillance data from multilevel sources (i.e., local, regional, state, and national) on prominent and modifiable health behaviors contributing to the region’s disease burden. The text highlights tobacco use, lack of physical activity (and its relation to poor diet and obesity), and healthcare avoidance in outlining areas for future public health intervention. It explores why these detrimental behaviors are more common in Appalachia than elsewhere, giving particular attention to the region’s economic and educational deprivation. The chapter then highlights promising evidence-based programs working to reduce negative health behaviors in Appalachia today. It uses this abundance of data—both quantitative and qualitative—to argue that Appalachia’s health challenges, while profound, are surmountable.