Andy Tan, PhD, MPH, MBA, MBBS

Health communication, tobacco-related health disparities, tobacco regulatory science
My research focuses on health communication research to influence cancer prevention and control outcomes at the individual, community, population, and policy levels. Health communication is the study and practice of using communication strategies to inform and influence decisions and behaviors that improve individual and population health. One important theme in my research is to understand communication-related determinants and pathways of tobacco-related health disparities among diverse populations including young adults, socioeconomically disadvantaged, and sexual and gender minority populations. I have in-depth expertise in research on patient-centered communication, message effects, and health campaign evaluations utilizing mixed methods including media content analysis, interviews, focus groups, population surveys, web-based and in-person laboratory experiments, message testing, and developing anti-tobacco health messages. The long-term goal of my research is to translate evidence from communication science into effective, scalable, and culturally tailored interventions to reduce tobacco-related health disparities including tobacco use, secondhand smoke exposure, tobacco cessation treatment, lung cancer screening, and health outcomes among sexual and gender minority populations.