Research

My research interests have gradually evolved through my life experiences and opportunities. With my background in nursing and health promotion, I am able to bring a unique perspective to health communication research. My research focuses on the strategic communication of health information. I utilize foundational approaches to strategic communication to engage pressing issues in health communication. My research interests are at the intersection of communication theory, visual message features, and cancer risk communication. I also utilize physiological measures (e.g., eye-tracking, skin conductance, facial expression analysis) in my research.

Peer-reviewed Publications

  1. Lillie, H. M., & Pokharel, M. (2024). Exploring appropriateness as a topic avoidance motivation: The influence of familial and social norms. Journal of Family Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/15267431.2024.2315465
  2. Pokharel, M., Lillie, H., Jensen, J. D., King, A. J., Ratcliff, C. L., & Barbour, J. B. (2024). Political party collective norms, perceived norms, and mask-wearing behavior: A test of the theory of normative social behavior. Health Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2024.2309003
  3. Adams, D. R., Ratcliff, C. L., Pokharel, M., Jensen, J. D., & Liao, Y. (2023). Communicating scientific uncertainty in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic: A message experiment. Risk Analysis. https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.14256
  4. Pokharel, M., Lillie, H., Nagatsuka, K., Barbour, J. B., Ratcliff, C. L., & Jensen, J. D. (2023). Social media narratives can influence vaccine intentions: The impact of depicting regret and character death. Computers in Human Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107612
  5. Pokharel, M., Jensen, J. D., Taylor-Burton, S., King, A. J., John, K. K., & Upshaw, S. (2023). Temporal frames, temporal focus, and behavioral expectations: The persuasive impact of near and distant threats. Social Science & Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115967
  6. Pokharel, M., Jensen, J. D., John, K. K., Christy. K. R., Taylor-Burton, S. & Upshaw, S (2022). Visual tailoring and skin cancer prevention: Comparing personalized, stock, and non-ultraviolet images. Health Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2022.2091917
  7. Lillie, H., Ratcliff, C., Pokharel, M., & Jensen, J. D. (2022). Encouraging replotting to promote persuasion: How imagining alternative plotlines influences message processing and intentions. Communication Research.
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650222111encouraging4308
  8. Upshaw, S., Jensen, J.D., Giorgi, E.A., Pokharel, M., Lillie, H.M. Adams, D.R., John, K.K., Wu, Y.P., & Grossman, D. (2022). Developing skin cancer education materials for darker skin populations: Crowdsourced design, message targeting, and acral lentiginous melanoma. Journal of Behavioral Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-022-00362-x
  9. Jensen, J. D., Parsons, B. G., Nagelhout, E. S., Pokharel, M., Christy, K. R., Ratcliff, C. L., Grossman, D., Haaland, B., & Wu, Y. P. (2022). Tailored visuals, implementation intentions, and sun safe behavior: A longitudinal message experiment. Health Psychology. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/hea0001195
  10. Lillie, H., Pokharel, M., John, K. K., Christy, K. R., Upshaw, S., Giorgi, E. A., & Jensen, J. D. (2022). Does it matter if a story character lives or dies?: A message experiment comparing survivor and death narratives. Psychology & Health. 37(4), 419-439 https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2021.1873337
  11. Lillie, H., Jensen, J. D., Pokharel, M., & Upshaw, S. J. (2021). Death narratives, negative emotion, and counterarguing: Testing fear, anger, and sadness as mechanisms of effect. Journal of Health Communication. 26(8), 586-595. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2021.1981495
  12. Coe, K., Kuttner, P. J., Pokharel, M., Park-Ozee, D., & McKasy, M. (2020). The “discourse of derision” in news coverage of education: A mixed methods analysis of an emerging frame. American Journal of Education, 126(3), 423-445. https://doi.org/10.1086/708251
  13. Jensen, J. D., Pokharel, M., Carcioppolo, N., Upshaw, S., John, K. K., & Katz, R. (2020). Cancer information overload: Discriminant validity and relationship to sun safe behavior. Patient Education & Counseling, 103(2), 309-314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2019.08.039
  14. Pokharel, M., Elrick, A., Canary, H., Clayton, M., Sukovic, M., Champine, M., Hong, S. J., & Kaphingst, K. A. (2020). Health communication roles in Latino, Pacific Islander, and Caucasian families: A qualitative investigation. Journal of Genetic Counseling, 29(3), 399-409. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgc4.1177
  15. Jensen, J. D., Pokharel, M., King, A. J., John, K. K., Wu, Y., & Grossman, D. (2020). Obstacles to skin self-examination: Are frontier adults inclined abstainers?. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 25(4), 470-479. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2019.1704035
  16. Pokharel, M., Christy, K. R., Jensen, J. D., Giorgi, E., John, K. K., & Wu, Y. P. (2019). Do ultraviolet photos increase sun safe behavior expectations via fear? A randomized controlled trial in a sample of U.S. adults. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 42(3), 401-422. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-018-9997-5
  17. Canary, H., Elrick, A., Pokharel, M., Clayton, M., & Kaphingst, K. A. (2019). Family health history tools as communication resources: Perspectives from Caucasian, Hispanic, and Pacific Islander families. Journal of Family Communication, 19(2), 126-143. https://doi.org/10.1080/15267431.2019.1580195
  18. Kaphingst, K. A., Peterson, E., Zhao, J., Gaysynsky, A., Elrick, A. H., Hong, S. J., Krakow, M., Pokharel, M., Ratcliff, C. L., Klein, W. M., Khoury, M. J., & Chou, W. S., (2019). Cancer communication research in the era of genomics and precision medicine: A scoping review. Genetics in Medicine, 21, 1691-1698. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41436-018-0402-0
  19. Jensen, J. D., John, K. K., Freeman, J., Carcioppolo, N., & Pokharel, M. (2019). Drink monitoring for self and others: Precollege drinkers and the Bad-Habit-Formation Hypothesis. Addiction Research & Theory, 27(3), 198-203. https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2018.1476499
  20. John, K. K., Jensen, J. D., King, A. J., Pokharel, M., & Grossman, D. (2018). Emerging applications of eye-tracking technology in dermatology. Journal of Dermatological Science, 91(2), 117-123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdermsci.2018.04.002
  21. Christy, K. R., Jensen, J. D., Sarapin, S. H., Yale, R. N., Weaver, J., & Pokharel, M. (2017). Theorizing the impact of targeted narratives: Model admiration and narrative memorability. Journal of Health Communication, 10, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2017.1303555
  22. Jensen, J. D., Pokharel, M. Scherr, C. L., King, A. J., Brown, N., & Jones, C. (2017). Communicating uncertainty to the public: How amount and source of uncertainty impact fatalism, backlash, and overload. Risk Analysis, 37(1), 40-51. https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.12600 *2017 Best Paper in Risk Analysis
  23. Kaphingst K. A., Blanchard, M., Milam, L., Pokharel, M., Elrick, A., & Goodman, M. S. (2016). Relationships between health literacy and genomics-related knowledge, self-efficacy, perceived importance, and communication in a medically underserved population. Journal of Health Communication, 21(sup1), 58-68. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2016.1144661
Location Department of Communication Studies, Texas State University, Centennial Hall, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666 E-mail m_p623@txstate.edu
search previous next tag category expand menu location phone mail time cart zoom edit close