How to inform college students about meningitis B vaccine? Comparative effectiveness of an online theory-based text and video intervention.

Objective The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of text and video formats of an online theory-based Meningitis B (MenB) health message intervention on college students. Participants: College freshmen and transfer students admitted at a Southern U.S. University. Methods: In a 2-arm randomized study, knowledge, perceptions, and intention to receive the vaccine were compared pre- and post-intervention. Results: Post intervention, participants in both the written and video interventions had significantly higher scores of knowledge, perceptions, and intentions. Upon comparing the change in scores pre- to post-intervention between both text and video groups, no significant differences were found between both groups. Conclusions: This study, a first in using a theory-based MenB online education intervention and questionnaire to compare text and video formats, suggests that both text and video formats are equally effective in raising young adults' awareness about the MenB vaccine.

Communication skills training in a hospice volunteer training program.

As hospice services have expanded, patient care volunteers have become increasingly important in providing support to the dying and their families. Fundamental to the success of hospice volunteers is the quality of interaction among the volunteer, the dying patient, and his or her family. This article examines the extent to which a specific hospice program provided communication skills training for its volunteers. Results indicate that, while listening, empathy, and nonverbal communication were touched upon, broader communication skills were not addressed and specific communication skills training was not provided. The implications for this lack of communication training are noted and methods of increasing active empathetic listening skills are proposed. The article concludes with a discussion of potential theoretical and pragmatic research contributions that the field of communication studies can make to hospice training programs.

Plaintiff life-taking: the effect of mock juror attitudes toward suicide on assignment of negligence and damages in a civil suit.

Social scientific and legal scholars have examined the potential of a variety of case-relevant biases to distort juror decision-making (inter alia, death penalty attitudes, attitudes toward corporations, attitudes toward physicians, etc.). However, previous research has yet to address empirically the impact of attitudes toward suicide on juror decision-making. This study sought to examine the impact of mock juror's attitudes toward, and experiences with, suicide on assignment of negligence and damages in a civil suit. While results suggest that mock juror attitudes toward suicide do not directly affect a juror's assignment of negligence or damage awards, they do suggest that jurors may be susceptible to a reactance effect. As a result, attorneys should exercise caution when considering whether to directly address issues of possible plaintiff suicide.

The influence of opening statement/closing argument organizational strategy on juror verdict and damage awards.

This study examines the influence of the organizational strategy used to structure opening statements and closing arguments on presentation effectiveness in a simulated civil trial. Two organizational structures, a narrative and a legal-expository format, were manipulated to produce a 2 (plaintiff organizational strategy) x 3 (defense organizational strategy) experimental design. Results indicate that a mixed organizational strategy (narrative opening/legal-expository closing) is more effective for the plaintiff than a strict narrative strategy, and either a mixed or strict legal-expository organizational strategy is more effective than a strict narrative strategy for the defense.