University of Maryland Communication Home

New book, Diversifying the Space of Podcasting: Access, Identity, and Reflective Practices, written by Alexis Romero Walker and COMM Lecturer Tegan Bratcher was published by Rowman & Littlefield. 

The publisher states, "As the podcast studies field continues to gain momentum both within academia and in practice, scholars have been mapping and exploring the podcasting landscape from a variety of perspectives. This edited volume highlights the diverse spaces that podcasts embody and create, amplifying the unique and understudied perspectives and voices of podcasting. Through a multitude of interdisciplinary approaches, contributors explore the various cultural, racial, and identity-based markers undergirding the richness of the platform and argue that by understanding diverse content and content creators, we enrich the field of podcast studies as a whole. Scholars of media, communication, cultural, podcast, and critical race studies – among others – will find this book to be particularly useful."

The book features a chapter by COMM Assistant Professor, Briana Barner, on Black podcasting. Congrats to all on this excellent anthology! 

Digital health has become integral to public health care, advancing how services are accessed, delivered, and managed. Health organizations increasingly assess their digital health maturity to leverage these innovations fully. However, existing digital health maturity models (DHMMs) primarily focus on technology and infrastructure, often neglecting critical communication components. This systematic review addresses gaps in DHMMs by identifying deficiencies in user communication elements and proposing the digital health communication maturity model (DHCMM). The DHCMM integrates critical health communication dimensions such as satisfaction, engagement, personalization, and customization to provide a comprehensive evaluation framework.
 

We followed the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines to conduct a systematic review of studies selected from 3 databases: EBSCO, PubMed, and ProQuest. Studies were screened and included based on their focus on digital health maturity and communication elements, with the final selection limited to English-language research addressing DHMMs. Of the 1138 initially identified studies, 31 (2.72%) met the inclusion criteria. Current DHMMs heavily emphasize infrastructure while overlooking user engagement and communication; for instance, only 35% (11/31) of the reviewed models incorporated user satisfaction, and less than one-fifth (6/31, 19%) addressed personalization or customization. The DHCMM addresses these gaps with 7 maturity levels, ranging from initial to engaged, and emphasizes user-centered metrics and governance. Quantitative analysis showed substantial variations in communication metrics, with satisfaction metrics incorporated at an average rate of 22% (7/31) across the reviewed models.
 

The DHCMM shifts the focus of digital health maturity assessments by emphasizing communication and user engagement. This model provides health care organizations with a structured framework to enhance digital health initiatives, leading to better patient outcomes and system-wide efficiencies. The model delivers actionable insights for organizations aiming to achieve advanced digital maturity by addressing underrepresented dimensions. Future research should implement and refine the DHCMM across diverse health care contexts to enhance its effectiveness. The adoption of this model could result in more equitable, user-centered health care systems that integrate technological advancements with human-centered care.

"How to strategically frame advocacy in a polarized landscape" by Duli Shi, New Mexico State University, Feifei Chen, College of Charleston, and Sun Young Lee, University of Maryland, was featured on The Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication blog. Dr. Sun Young Lee is an Associate Professor in Communication and Dr. Duli Shi is a Ph.D. Alum of our program. 

Their research seeks to answer the question of how businesses can engage meaningfully on sociopolitical issues while navigating an increasingly polarized landscape.