Sanders and Team Awarded JAC Article of the Year

At this year’s Association for Communication Excellence (ACE) conference, Katie Sanders and colleagues at the University of Georgia, Kristin Gibson, Allison Byrd, Tatevik Markosyan, and Alexa Lamm, received the Journal of Applied Communications (JAC) Article of the Year Award. The article, “Exploring Health Communication Patterns on Social Media Among Rural Georgia Residents,” highlights the critical importance of communication in bringing agricultural and health research to the public. Sanders and colleagues’ article tied for this award with another article published last year: “Berry Convenient: Online Design Preferences for Local Strawberries.”

Sanders, an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist of Food Systems Communication in the Department of Agriculture and Human Sciences, led this research to explore social media’s role in health communication among rural audiences and was recognized for its significant contributions to both academia and practical application. By leveraging social media as a communication channel, Sanders and colleagues explored its potential as a resource for health communication among diverse rural communities in Georgia.

The research, guided by an audience segmentation framework, employed an online survey to explore the health communication patterns of rural Georgia residents across demographic characteristics. Through cluster analyses of social media users, the study identified three distinct groups: low, medium, and high users, each characterized by unique engagement patterns and perceptions of health information. Of particular note are the findings that high-frequency social media users tended to perceive health information more positively, whereas low-frequency users often held more negative perceptions. These insights are crucial for extension practitioners and health promotion experts aiming to enhance the effectiveness of tailored messages and interventions targeted at rural populations. You can read the study in JAC here.

Sanders, Gibson, and Lamm also received this award in 2023 for their article, “Perceived Government Control and its Influence on Climate Change Knowledge and Perceptions: Applications for Effective Communication.” This marks the second year in a row the author team has achieved this honor.