Education

B.A., Broadcast Journalism, University of Georgia
M.A., Mass Communications, University of South Carolina
Ph.D., Mass Communications, University of South Carolina

Background

Dr. Andrea Tanner is the associate dean in the South Carolina Honors College.  Before joining the Honors College, she served as the director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications and associate dean in the College of Information and Communication from 2015-2018.  She is also a founding member and student advisor for the interdisciplinary Certificate of Graduate Study in Health Communication. 

Research

Tanner's research expertise is in media communication of health information, specifically focusing on how communication practitioners identify, select, and develop health messages, and how this information contributes to the public’s health beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions. She has extensive experience evaluating health messages in the media, including broadcast, print and new media resources and use quantitative and qualitative research methods in an effort to evaluate how audiences access and comprehend health content from various communication channels. Tanner works with faculty and graduate students from disciplines across the university in the area of science and health communication.  As a former broadcast journalist, she is also interested in research focused on journalism practice and journalism education. 

Recent Publications

Bergeron, C. D., Tanner, A., Friedman, D. B., Zheng, Y., Schrock, C. S., Bornstein, D. B., Segar, M., & Swift, N. (In press). Physical activity communication: A scoping review of the literature. Health Promotion Practice.

Wigfall, L. T. & Tanner, A. (2018). Health Literacy and Health-Care Engagement as Predictors of Shared Decision-Making Among Adult Information Seekers in the USA: A Secondary Data Analysis of the Health Information National Trends Survey. Journal of Cancer Education. 33, 67-73. doi: 10.1007/s13187-016-1052-z

Kim, S.-H., Tanner, A., Kim, S. Y., Foster, C. B., Oh, S.-H., & Chang, J.-H. (2017). News Focuses on Individuals for Rising Health Care Costs. Newspaper Research Journal. 38, 293-305. doi: 10.1177/0739532917722975

Thomas, T.L., Kannaley, K., Friedman, D.B., Tanner, A., Brandt, H.M., & Spencer, S.M. (2016). Media Coverage of the 2014 West Virginia Elk River Chemical Spill: A Mixed-Methods Study Examining News Coverage of a Public Health Disaster. Science Communication. 38(5), 574-600. doi: 10.1177/1075547016662656

Thomas, L.T., Friedman, D.B., Brandt, H.M., Spencer, M.S. & Tanner, A. (2016). Uncharted Waters: Communicating Health Risks During the 2014 West Virginia Water Crisis. Journal of Health Communication. 16(9), 1062-1070. doi: link

Tanner, A., Bergeron, C.D., Zheng, Y., Friedman, D.B., Kim, S. & Foster, C. (2016). Communicating effectively about clinical trials with African American communities: A comparison of African American and White information sources and needs. Health Promotion Practice. 17,199-208. doi:  0.1177/1524839915621545