Associate Professor, Communication and Media & Director of Master of Arts in Communication
The focus of my research centers on interactions within the patient-provider relationship. Research in this area includes how the awareness of self-relevant stereotypes influence the dissemination of information within the patient-provider relationship. Additionally, I am interested in how individuals communicatively cope with chronic illness, specifically cancer. I have published on topics ranging from patient uncertainty and health literacy as they relate to medical documentation to the role of communication within the cancer trajectory. My work has appeared in publications such as Patient Education and Counseling, Health Communication, and the Journal of Applied Communication Research.
Tollison, A. C., & Winslow, L. (2017). “LoveLife: A Critical Analysis of Health Communication Strategies in a South African HIV-Prevention Campaign.” Pennsylvania Communication Annual, 73, 27-49.
Rossetto, K. R., & Tollison, A. C. (2017). “Feminist Agency, Sexual Scripts and Sexual Violence: Developing a Model of Post-gendered Family Communication.” Family Relations, 66, 61-74.
Tollison, A. C., & Turner, J. S. (Accepted: 9-Feb-2017). “Cooperating Across Classrooms: Experiential and Cooperative Learning Through Design and Implementation of Health Campaign Messages.” Pedagogy in Health Promotion (Online First).
Donovan, E. E., Thompson, C. M., LeFebvre, L., & Tollison, A. C. (2017). “Emerging Adult Confidants’ Judgments of Parental Openness: Developing a Model of Disclosure Quality and Post-Disclosure Relational Closeness.” Communication Monographs, 84, 179-199.
Donovan-Kicken, E., Mackert, M., Guinn, T. D., Tollison, A. C., & Breckinridge, B. (2013). “Sources of Patient Uncertainty When Reviewing Medical Disclosure and Consent Documentation.” Patient Education and Counseling, 90, 254-260.
Brooks, A. M., & Tollison, A. C. (2012). “Teaching Persuasion and Audience Analysis via Advertising and Infomercials.” In F. Mullen & W. Mullen (Eds.). Teaching Communication Creatively. Lynchburg, VA: Liberty University Press.
Donovan-Kicken, E., Mackert, M., Guinn, T. D., Tollison, A. C., Breckinridge, B., & Pont, S. J. (2012). “Health Literacy, Self-Efficacy and Patients’ Assessment of Medical Disclosure and Consent Documentation.” Health Communication, 27, 581-590.
Donovan-Kicken, E., Tollison, A. C., & Goins, E. S. (2012). “The Nature of Communication Work During Cancer: Advancing the Theory of Illness Trajectories.” Health Communication, 27, 641-652.
Donovan-Kicken, E., Tollison, A. C., & Goins, E. S. (2011). “A Grounded Theory of Control Over Communication Among Individuals With Cancer.” Journal of Applied Communication Research, 39, 310-330.
Brooks, A. M., & Tollison, A. C. (2009). “Making Verbal Pauses Taboo : Gaming to Improve Communication.” Communication & Theater Association of Minnesota Journal, 36, 134-138.
Giulia Martins-Cavalcante ’26 hopes to one day work as a neurosurgeon or neurologist.
