New Publications, Presentations, and Fall Updates from the Message Laboratory

The Message Lab has been busy this fall, and work continues on three major projects: the PROMISE Initiative (Preventing Opioid Misuse in the Southeast), HappyHealthy (a SNAP-Ed social marketing campaign), and EXCITE (the Extension Collaborative on Immunization Teaching and Engagement).

We are excited to share three new publications from the Message Lab that have been published over the last couple of months:

1. Robertson, M. N., Seitz, H. H., Downey, L. H., Hardman, A., Steen, J., & Buys, D. (2022). Increasing uptake of prescription drug take-back boxes: Eliciting preferences and applying the theory of planned behavior to predict use. Health Education and Behavior. http://doi.org/10.1177/10901981221116778
2. Seitz, H. H., Robertson, M. N., Steen, J., Dulaney, S., & Buys, D. (2022). Development and pretesting of prescription opioid misuse prevention messages: Results and implications for practice. Health Communication. http://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2022.2124059
3. Okafor, M. I., Seitz, H. H., Downey, L. H., & Buys, D. R. (2022). Formative research to inform COVID-19 vaccine education in Mississippi. Journal of Public Health in the Deep South, 3(2).

It has also been a busy fall for conferences, and the Message Lab has been represented at the American Public Health Association annual meeting and the National Communication Association annual convention:

1. Seitz, H. H., Dulaney, S., Okafor, M., Downey, L., & Buys, D. (2022, November 6-9). Rural perspectives on federal COVID-19 vaccine messages: Recommendations for practice [Oral presentation]. American Public Health Association Annual Meeting & Expo, Boston, MA, United States.
2. Seitz, H. H., Downey, L., & Byrd, S. (2022, November 17-20). Evaluation of a social marketing campaign to increase fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity among individuals eligible for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits [Oral presentation]. National Communication Association 108th Annual Convention, New Orleans, LA, United States.

Also, this fall we bid farewell to graduate assistant Shelby Hall, who is starting her career in agricultural education. Best of luck, Shelby!