Communication Matters for Promoting Health.
Communication Matters for
Promoting Health.
Our research analyzes human communication behavior
to guide public health outreach strategies.
Our Mission
Why Communication Research?
We aim to improve public health by addressing communication phenomena. Our research involves examining factors influencing vaccine decisions, communication about cancer screening, and vaccine misinformation. We are committed to leading research efforts to improve the health and lives of communities and to prioritize improving the lives of communities disproportionately impacted by adverse health outcomes.
Research
Areas of Investigation
About Me
About Dr. Hopfer
Dr. Suellen Hopfer is an Associate Professor in the Program in Public Health at UC Irvine. She received a master's in human genetics from the University of Arizona, a PhD in health communication from Penn State University, and completed post-doctorate training at Penn State Methodology Center. Her PhD involved communication theory and designing prevention interventions. Her post-doctorate training involved training in latent class analysis and multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) randomized trial designs. Guided by a framework to design prevention and communication interventions, Dr. Hopfer takes an ecological approach to analyze vaccine attitudes and climate change related community impacts.
The Hopfer Lab uses qualitative and quantitative methods to examine communication phenomena relevant to public health (e.g., misinformation and narratives related to HPV and COVID-19 vaccination). A subset of research focuses on dissemination strategies to scale prevention interventions. Dr. Hopfer's intervention implementation research is not only guided by narrative communication theory, but also by frameworks for disseminating and adapting interventions to various contexts and multiple levels.
Dr. Hopfer developed the first National Cancer Institute (NCI) nationally recognized evidence-based cancer control program (EBCCP) for making informed decisions about HPV vaccination. The program is disseminated currently at Planned Parenthood centers and is being tested in randomized trials for its effectiveness across University of Texas (UT) health centers.