October 25, 2013

Professor honored for research on health issues and communication

Daena Goldsmith, professor of rhetoric and media studies, has received the Bill Eadie Distinguished Award for a Scholarly Article from the Applied Communication Division of the National Communication Association.

Daena Goldsmith, professor of rhetoric and media studies, has received the Bill Eadie Distinguished Award for a Scholarly Article from the Applied Communication Division of the National Communication Association. Her article, titled Patient and Partner Strategies for Talking About Lifestyle Change Following a Cardiac Event, was published in the Journal of Applied Communication Research in early 2012. There were 12 other nominees in competition for this prestigious award.

Goldsmith’s research centers on couples coping with one member’s chronic health condition, such as heart disease, cancer, or HIV. Chronic illness is an increasingly prevalent issue in the United States, so Goldsmith’s research is highly relevant to a general audience and has the ability to make a great impact on communication in these challenging scenarios. Goldsmith also teaches a course called Health Narratives, which allows students to pursue similar research on the relationship between health issues and communication.

“My teaching and research spring from the same passion—wanting to know how conversations work and how people can be empowered to reach their goals,” Goldsmith said. “Teaching challenges me to communicate to students what I’ve learned from research and to hear from them how it squares with their questions and experiences.”

Katrina Staaf ’16 contributed to this story.

Rhetoric and Media Studies