Creating a Healthy Space: Forensic Educators\u27 Sensemaking about Healthy Tournament Management Practices

Organizations are increasingly becoming concerned with the health and well-being of their members. To address these issues, organizations are creating wellness initiatives. One organization concerned with the well-being of its members is collegiate forensics. Forensic organizations have been working since the late 1990s to create formal and informal wellness initiatives to address the health of students and educators at forensic tournaments. The purpose of this study is to explore how collegiate forensic educators understand and implement these initiatives and the tensions they encounter. Collegiate forensic educators who host tournaments completed an open-ended qualitative questionnaire about formal and informal wellness initiatives. The findings suggest that educators struggle with the costs and logistics of tournaments and implementing these initiatives

Utilizing the Television Series Chasing Life to Develop a Deeper Understanding about the Complexities of Providing Social Support

Teaching students to think critically about social support and to apply it to their personal and professional lives can be challenging. This activity facilitates deeper learning about the communication processes involved with social support as well as the implications of social support. Instructors are given specific scenes from a recent television series; the scenes depict some complexities of providing social support. These scenes prompt a lively discussion as well as a critical reflection about what makes social support effective and the consequences of ineffective social support for coping, identity, and relational closeness. Instructors are provided with a lesson plan (that can be utilized for one 75-minute class period or for two class periods) and materials which facilitate this critical reflection and discussion

Forensics as a Correlate of Graduate School Success

Forensics is an extremely popular extracurricular activity in the communication discipline and often provides competitors with skills required for success in graduate school. This exploratory study examines the relationships between forensics competition and success in graduate school. Through a survey of 169 graduate students, we compare graduate students with a forensics background (n = 35) and those without a forensics background (n = 134). The study generates several important findings. First, graduate students who competed in forensics report higher levels success in graduate school and are more likely to present conference papers and publish in academic journals. Second, the level of participation and level of success in forensics plays a major role in determining graduate student success. Students who participated more in forensics and reported higher levels of success in forensics reported even higher levels of success in graduate school and participation in conferences and publications than their counterparts without a forensics background. The implications of this study as well as how this study can be used by faculty and coaches to help forensics students transition to graduate school are discussed

A Little Help from My Friends: A Relational Health Communication Competence Approach to Social Support for Forensic Educators

The purpose of this study was to examine factors that impact forensic educators’ perceived social support, including communication competence, job stress, and job burnout. Communicatively competent educators reported higher levels of administrative and family support than forensic educators who did not report high levels of communication competence. Educators who reported high levels of stress and burnout report lower levels of support from supervisors, coworkers, and family compared to educators who reported low levels of stress and burnout. Female coaches reported lower levels of support from supervisors, coworkers, and families, compared to male coaches. Educators with a large coaching staff reported high levels of coworker support; educators with small or no coaching staff did not report high levels of coworker support. These findings offer insight into the support networks of forensic educators and the impact of these networks on stress and burnout

Stress, Burnout, Job Satisfaction, and Intent to Leave Among Collegiate Forensic Educators

The purpose of this study is to explore how burnout, stress, and job satisfaction impact coaches‘ intention to leave forensics. Some 111 collegiate forensics educators completed a survey examining workplace stress, burnout, job satisfaction, and perceived intent to leave forensics. Coaches who had thought about leaving forensics reported being more emotionally exhausted than coaches who had not thought about leaving. Female coaches also reported more stress than male coaches. Although many educators feel stressed, burned out, and have thought about leaving, they were still satisfied with their jobs as educators. The article concludes with a discussion of the findings and implications of the research

Development and Validation of the Communication Apprehension About Death Scale

Two studies (N=621) were conducted to develop and initially validate the Communication Apprehension About Death Scale (CADS). In Study 1, 302 general public participants completed a preliminary list of 66 items. An exploratory factor analysis identified two distinct dimensions of communication apprehension about death: communication anxiety and communication avoidance. A different group of participants (n=319) participated in Study 2. Participants in Study 2 completed the CADS measure, a fear of death measure, and a general communication apprehension measure. Concurrent validity support was provided through the significant positive correlations between communication apprehension about death and fear of death as well as communication apprehension about death and general communication apprehension. Collectively, the results suggest that the CADS is a reliable and valid self-report measure of communication apprehension about death. We conclude with a discussion of the findings as well as future directions needed to more critically examine CADS

Communication Apprehension about Death, Religious Group Affiliation, and Religiosity: Predictors of Organ and Body Donation Decisions

Communication willingness has previously been identified as an important communication factor in influencing individuals’ decisions to become an organ donor. Missing from this conversation is the role of communication apprehension about death and its impact on donation decisions. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between communication apprehension about death, religiosity, and religious affiliation, and donation decisions. Three hundred and thirty-three individuals participated in an online survey. Findings suggest that communication apprehension about death, especially communication avoidance about death, negatively impact donation decisions. Additionally, religiosity and affiliation with a specific religion also negatively impact donation decisions. These variables were also predictors of organ and body donation. The findings show a need for more research on what prevents conversations about donation. Additionally, the stark difference between organ donation likelihood and body donation likelihood underscore the need for communication scholars to examine communication about body donation

“I Feel Like It’s One of Those Things that Everyone Feels the Same Way About, No One Wants to Discuss It”: A Qualitative Examination of Female College Students’ Pap Smear Experience

The purpose of this study was to examine female college students’ Pap smear experience and communication with their provider before, during, and after the exam. In fall 2019, 158 female college students completed an online survey with closed and open-ended questions. Open-ended responses from participants reporting a previous Pap smear (n=36) were qualitatively analyzed to generate themes to explain female college students’ Pap smear experience and communication behavior with their provider before, during, and after the exam. The main themes identified included: Uncomfortable, Low Patient Engagement, Provider Support, and Provider Trust. Female college students overwhelmingly reported discomfort around the exam and were unaware of how to communicate with their provider; however, participants reported satisfaction with their care when the provider offered support and guidance. Findings suggest a need to develop strategies to address discomfort and enhance female college students’ communication skills with providers concerning the Pap smear exam

College students' communication about complementary and alternative medicine practices

While the use of Complementary/Alternative Medicine (CAM) has increased over the last two decades, how patients communicate about their decisions to use CAM has yet to be fully explored. The purpose of this study is to examine college students’ decision-making and communication about CAM. Fourteen college students participated in semi-structured focus group interviews about their CAM use and communication about CAM with family, friends, and health care providers. Participants use CAM to improve their physical and mental health. However, they have difficulties justifying their decision to practice CAM to others. They relied on CAM not only for physical and mental stability, but also as a sounding board for larger spiritual issues. Participants use passive communication strategies to communicate about their CAM use and often do not disclose CAM use to their providers because of the stigmas related to CAM. There is potential danger for CAM users who do not disclose CAM use to providers, family, and friends. More efforts are needed to encourage open and honest communication about CAM use

Waiting for the doctor to ask: influencers of lesbian, gay, and bisexual identity disclosure to healthcare providers

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals encounter multiple barriers in healthcare, resulting in problematic care. Many LGB patients wrestle with whether to disclose their sexuality to healthcare providers. This article explored what influences LGB patients’ decision to disclose their sexuality to healthcare providers. Guided by Communication Privacy Management theory, the authors conducted in-depth interviews with 20 LGB patients. LGB patients heavily relied on boundary management when negotiating the disclosure of their sexuality. The findings suggest several factors influence LGB patients’ disclosure of sexuality: i) experience with family; ii) fear of gossip and connections; iii) concern for provider care refusal; iv) religion; v) age; and vi) level of trust with providers. Boundary turbulence can be created between patient and provider when there is uncertainty about if and when sexuality is considered private information. Additionally, a site of tension for LGB patients was their concern about providers sharing private information outside the clinic setting