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Andy Tan, PhD, MPH, MBA, MBBS


Medical Oncology

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Andy Tan, PhD, MPH, MBA, MBBS

Physician

  • Assistant Professor, Division of Population Sciences, Center for Community-Based Research
  • Assistant Professor, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Contact Information

Bio

Dr. Tan received his medical degree from the National University of Singapore Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. He served as a preventive medicine and health promotion physician in Singapore. He received his Master of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Master of Business Administration from the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, and PhD from the University of Pennsylvania Annenberg School for Communication. He completed his fellowship training at the NCI-funded Center of Excellence for Cancer Communication Research at the Annenberg School. He is a member of the DF/HCC Cancer Risk and Disparities Program and faculty in the Division of Population Sciences and in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. His research interests are in health communication, tobacco prevention and control, and health disparities.

Research



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.



IQOS print magazine advertising characteristics and reach before and after FDA authorisation as a modified risk tobacco product. Tob Control. 2023 Mar 23.
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Trusted messengers and trusted messages: The role for community-based organizations in promoting COVID-19 and routine immunizations. Vaccine. 2023 Mar 17; 41(12):1994-2002.
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Persuading the "Movable Middle": Characteristics of effective messages to promote routine and COVID-19 vaccinations for adults and children - The impact of COVID-19 on beliefs and attitudes. Vaccine. 2023 Mar 17; 41(12):2055-2062.
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Tobacco cessation and prevention interventions for sexual and/or gender minority-identified people and the theories that underpin them: A scoping review. Nicotine Tob Res. 2023 Jan 31.
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Incorporating Intersectionality as a Framework for Equity-Minded Tobacco Control Research: A Call for Collective Action Toward a Paradigm Shift. Nicotine Tob Res. 2023 01 01; 25(1):73-76.
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The effect of vaping cues in e-cigarette advertisements on normative perceptions about cigarettes among young adults who use cigarettes and e-cigarettes in Boston. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2022 Dec 01; 241:109698.
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Intersectionality of Sexual Orientation With Race and Ethnicity and Associations With E-Cigarette Use Status Among U.S. Youth. Am J Prev Med. 2022 11; 63(5):669-680.
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Effects of brief exposure to misinformation about e-cigarette harms on Twitter on knowledge and perceptions of e-cigarettes. Digit Health. 2022 Jan-Dec; 8:20552076221116780.
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U.S. Trends in Age of Cigar Smoking Initiation by Race/Ethnicity and Education. Am J Prev Med. 2022 10; 63(4):624-629.
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Presence of Content Appealing to Youth on Cannabis-Infused Edibles Packaging. Subst Use Misuse. 2022; 57(8):1215-1219.
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Youth tobacco use before and after flavoured tobacco sales restrictions in Oakland, California and San Francisco, California. Tob Control. 2023 Apr; 32(e1):e118-e120.
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Copycat and lookalike edible cannabis product packaging in the United States. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2022 06 01; 235:109409.
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Balancing Risks and Benefits of E-Cigarettes in the Real World. Am J Public Health. 2022 02; 112(2):e1-e2.
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Worry About the Future Health Issues of Smoking and Intention to Screen for Lung Cancer With Low-Dose Computed Tomography. Cancer Nurs. 2022 Jan-Feb 01; 45(1):E146-E152.
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Smokers' Likelihood to Engage With Information and Misinformation on Twitter About the Relative Harms of e-Cigarette Use: Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2021 12 21; 7(12):e27183.
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Emotional Responses and Perceived Relative Harm Mediate the Effect of Exposure to Misinformation about E-Cigarettes on Twitter and Intention to Purchase E-Cigarettes among Adult Smokers. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 11 24; 18(23).
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Smoking Protective and Risk Factors Among Transgender and Gender-Expansive Individuals (Project SPRING): Qualitative Study Using Digital Photovoice. JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2021 10 06; 7(10):e27417.
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How the Expansion of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Lung Cancer Screening Eligibility May Improve Health Equity Among Diverse Sexual and Gender Minority Populations. LGBT Health. 2021 11; 8(8):503-506.
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Effects of brief exposure to misinformation about e-cigarette harms on twitter: a randomised controlled experiment. BMJ Open. 2021 09 01; 11(9):e045445.
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Changes in Recall to E-Cigarette Advertisement Exposure among Florida Youth, 2016-2019. Subst Use Misuse. 2021; 56(13):2078-2083.
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Association Between Social Media Use and Vaping Among Florida Adolescents, 2019. Prev Chronic Dis. 2021 05 13; 18:E49.
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What Parents Need to Know About Teen Vaping and What They Can Do About It. JAMA Pediatr. 2021 04 01; 175(4):440.
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Differences in Tobacco Product Use by Sexual Orientation and Violence Factors Among United States Youth. J Pediatr. 2021 06; 233:241-248.
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Nicotine and cannabis vaping among adolescents in treatment for substance use disorders. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2021 06; 125:108304.
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Association of Coming Out as Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual+ and Risk of Cigarette Smoking in a Nationally Representative Sample of Youth and Young Adults. JAMA Pediatr. 2021 01 01; 175(1):56-63.
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We are in This Together: Promoting Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Tobacco Research for Sexual and Gender Minority Populations. Nicotine Tob Res. 2020 12 12; 22(12):2276-2279.
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Misinformation About Commercial Tobacco Products on Social Media-Implications and Research Opportunities for Reducing Tobacco-Related Health Disparities. Am J Public Health. 2020 10; 110(S3):S281-S283.
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#PuffBar: how do top videos on TikTok portray Puff Bars? Tob Control. 2021 11; 30(6):712-713.
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Sexual Health Information Sources, Needs, and Preferences of Young Adult Sexual Minority Cisgender Women and Non-Binary Individuals Assigned Female at Birth. Sex Res Social Policy. 2021 Sep; 18(3):775-787.
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Sources of awareness, perceptions, and use of JUUL e-cigarettes among adult cigarette smokers. PLoS One. 2020; 15(9):e0238377.
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Sexual and reproductive health information: Disparities across sexual orientation groups in two cohorts of U.S. women. Sex Res Social Policy. 2021 Sep; 18(3):612-620.
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Youth and Young Adult Use of Pod-Based Electronic Cigarettes From 2015 to 2019: A Systematic Review. JAMA Pediatr. 2020 07 01; 174(7):714-720.
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Associations Between Exposure and Receptivity to Branded Cigarette Advertising and Subsequent Brand Preference Among US Young Adults. Nicotine Tob Res. 2020 05 26; 22(6):1030-1035.
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Tobacco-Related Counseling and Documentation in Adolescent Primary Care Practice: Challenges and Opportunities. Nicotine Tob Res. 2020 05 26; 22(6):1023-1029.
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Gendered Conceptions of Preconception Health: A Thematic Analysis of Men's and Women's Beliefs about Responsibility for Preconception Health Behavior. J Health Commun. 2020 05 03; 25(5):374-384.
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Let's talk costs: Out-of-pocket cost discussions and shared decision making. Patient Educ Couns. 2020 11; 103(11):2388-2390.
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Effects of Current and Enhanced Tobacco Corrective Messages on Smokers' Intention to Quit Smoking and Intention to Purchase Cigarettes. Nicotine Tob Res. 2020 04 17; 22(4):569-575.
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Inequities in tobacco advertising exposure among young adult sexual, racial and ethnic minorities: examining intersectionality of sexual orientation with race and ethnicity. Tob Control. 2021 01; 30(1):84-93.
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Longitudinal Associations Between Income Changes and Incident Cardiovascular Disease: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study. JAMA Cardiol. 2019 12 01; 4(12):1203-1212.
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JUUL Labs' sponsorship and the scientific integrity of vaping research. Lancet. 2019 Aug 03; 394(10196):366-368.
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Trends in the Prevalence of Exposure to e-Cigarette Aerosol in Public Places Among US Middle and High School Students, 2015 to 2018. JAMA Netw Open. 2019 08 02; 2(8):e1910184.
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Testing the Effect of Vapor in ENDS Public Service Announcements on Current Smokers and ENDS Users' Psychophysiological Responses and Smoking and Vaping Urge. J Health Commun. 2019; 24(4):413-421.
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Engagement With Online Tobacco Marketing Among Adolescents in the United States: 2013-2014 to 2014-2015. Nicotine Tob Res. 2019 06 21; 21(7):918-925.
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Prevalence of using pod-based vaping devices by brand among youth and young adults. Tob Control. 2020 07; 29(4):461-463.
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Interpersonal Diffusion of Health Information: Health Information Mavenism among People Age 65 and over in Japan. Health Commun. 2020 06; 35(7):804-814.
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Gender Stereotypes and Preconception Health: Men's and Women's Expectations of Responsibility and Intentions to Engage in Preventive Behaviors. Matern Child Health J. 2019 Apr; 23(4):459-469.
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Online tobacco marketing among US adolescent sexual, gender, racial, and ethnic minorities. Addict Behav. 2019 08; 95:189-196.
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Disparities in knowledge and use of tobacco treatment among smokers in California following healthcare reform. Prev Med Rep. 2019 Jun; 14:100847.
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Sources of Awareness of JUUL E-cigarettes in 2 Surveys of Adults in the United States. Am J Health Behav. 2019 03 01; 43(2):279-286.
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Patient-Provider Sexually Transmitted Infection Prevention Communication among Young Adult Sexual Minority Cisgender Women and Nonbinary Assigned Female at Birth Individuals. Womens Health Issues. 2019 Jul - Aug; 29(4):308-314.
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Designing Shared Decision-Making Interventions for Dissemination and Sustainment: Can Implementation Science Help Translate Shared Decision Making Into Routine Practice? MDM Policy Pract. 2018 Jul-Dec; 3(2):2381468318808503.
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Disparities in the Receipt of Tobacco Treatment Counseling within the US Context of the Affordable Care Act and Meaningful Use Implementation. Nicotine Tob Res. 2018 11 15; 20(12):1474-1480.
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Validating the Hornik & Woolf approach to choosing media campaign themes: Do promising beliefs predict behavior change in a longitudinal study? Commun Methods Meas. 2019; 13(1):60-68.
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Receipt of Tobacco Direct Mail Coupons and Changes in Smoking Status in a Nationally Representative Sample of US Adults. Nicotine Tob Res. 2018 08 14; 20(9):1095-1100.
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Keeping the patient in the center: Common challenges in the practice of shared decision making. Patient Educ Couns. 2018 12; 101(12):2195-2201.
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Comparing the effects of organic, natural, and no additives labels on tobacco packaging between Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual (LGB) and heterosexual smokers. Addict Behav. 2019 04; 91:175-179.
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Assertive communication about others' smoking and vaping in public venues: Results from a National Survey of US adults. Addict Behav. 2018 12; 87:196-199.
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Receipt of tobacco direct mail/email discount coupons and trajectories of cigarette smoking behaviours in a nationally representative longitudinal cohort of US adults. Tob Control. 2018 Jun 19.
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Effects of exposure to anti-vaping public service announcements among current smokers and dual users of cigarettes and electronic nicotine delivery systems. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2018 Jul 01; 188:251-258.
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When Visual Cues Activate Moral Foundations: Unintended Effects of Visual Portrayals of Vaping within Electronic Cigarette Video Advertisements. Hum Commun Res. 2018 Jul; 44(3):223-246.
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Documentation of e-cigarette use and associations with smoking from 2012 to 2015 in an integrated healthcare delivery system. Prev Med. 2018 04; 109:113-118.
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Speaking up about Lighting up in Public: Examining Psychosocial Correlates of Smoking and Vaping Assertive Communication Intentions among U.S. Adults. Health Commun. 2019 04; 34(4):500-510.
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Online Tobacco Marketing and Subsequent Tobacco Use. Pediatrics. 2018 02; 141(2).
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Effects of health-oriented descriptors on combustible cigarette and electronic cigarette packaging: an experiment among adult smokers in the United States. Tob Control. 2018 09; 27(5):534-541.
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The Use of Substances Other Than Nicotine in Electronic Cigarettes Among College Students. Subst Abuse. 2017; 11:1178221817733736.
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To vape or not to vape? Effects of exposure to conflicting news headlines on beliefs about harms and benefits of electronic cigarette use: Results from a randomized controlled experiment. Prev Med. 2017 Dec; 105:97-103.
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Comparing perceived effectiveness of FDA-proposed cigarette packaging graphic health warnings between sexual and gender minorities and heterosexual adults. Cancer Causes Control. 2017 Oct; 28(10):1143-1155.
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Do you vape? Leveraging electronic health records to assess clinician documentation of electronic nicotine delivery system use among adolescents and adults. Prev Med. 2017 Dec; 105:32-36.
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Who's Responsible? Media Framing of Pediatric Environmental Health and Mothers' Perceptions of Accountability. J Health Commun. 2016 12; 21(12):1217-1226.
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Knowledge about Chemicals in e-Cigarette Secondhand Vapor and Perceived Harms of Exposure among a National Sample of U.S. Adults. Risk Anal. 2017 06; 37(6):1170-1180.
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To Regulate or Not to Regulate? Views on Electronic Cigarette Regulations and Beliefs about the Reasons for and against Regulation. PLoS One. 2016; 11(8):e0161124.
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Use of Electronic Cigarettes Among Cancer Survivors in the U.S. Am J Prev Med. 2016 11; 51(5):762-766.
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Patient-provider discussions about lung cancer screening pre- and post-guidelines: Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS). Patient Educ Couns. 2016 11; 99(11):1772-1777.
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Predictive Validity of an Empirical Approach for Selecting Promising Message Topics: A Randomized-Controlled Study. J Commun. 2016 06; 66(3):433-453.
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Integration of molecular pathology, epidemiology and social science for global precision medicine. Expert Rev Mol Diagn. 2016; 16(1):11-23.
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Comparison of beliefs about e-cigarettes' harms and benefits among never users and ever users of e-cigarettes. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2016 Jan 01; 158:67-75.
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Perceived Harm of Secondhand Electronic Cigarette Vapors and Policy Support to Restrict Public Vaping: Results From a National Survey of US Adults. Nicotine Tob Res. 2016 May; 18(5):686-93.
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Public support for selected e-cigarette regulations and associations with overall information exposure and contradictory information exposure about e-cigarettes: Findings from a national survey of U.S. adults. Prev Med. 2015 Dec; 81:268-74.
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Nonmedical information seeking amid conflicting health information: negative and positive effects on prostate cancer screening. Health Commun. 2016; 31(4):417-24.
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Talking About Quitting: Interpersonal Communication as a Mediator of Campaign Effects on Smokers' Quit Behaviors. J Health Commun. 2015; 20(10):1196-205.
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Evolving Information Needs among Colon, Breast, and Prostate Cancer Survivors: Results from a Longitudinal Mixed-Effects Analysis. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2015 Jul; 24(7):1071-8.
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Is exposure to e-cigarette communication associated with perceived harms of e-cigarette secondhand vapour? Results from a national survey of US adults. BMJ Open. 2015 Mar 26; 5(3):e007134.
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Knowledge About E-Cigarette Constituents and Regulation: Results From a National Survey of U.S. Young Adults. Nicotine Tob Res. 2015 Oct; 17(10):1247-54.
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A Study of the Frequency and Social Determinants of Exposure to Cancer-Related Direct-to-Consumer Advertising Among Breast, Prostate, and Colorectal Cancer Patients. Health Commun. 2015; 30(11):1102-11.
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Causes and features of erythroderma. Ann Acad Med Singap. 2014 Aug; 43(8):391-4.
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Sociodemographic correlates of self-reported exposure to e-cigarette communications and its association with public support for smoke-free and vape-free policies: results from a national survey of US adults. Tob Control. 2015 Nov; 24(6):574-81.
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Potential spillover educational effects of cancer-related direct-to-consumer advertising on cancer patients' increased information seeking behaviors: results from a cohort study. J Cancer Educ. 2014 Jun; 29(2):258-65.
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E-cigarette awareness and perceived harmfulness: prevalence and associations with smoking-cessation outcomes. Am J Prev Med. 2014 Aug; 47(2):141-9.
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Associations between cancer-related information seeking and receiving PET imaging for routine cancer surveillance--an analysis of longitudinal survey data. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2014 Mar; 23(3):481-9.
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Predicting continuance-findings from a longitudinal study of older adults using an eHealth newsletter. Health Commun. 2014; 29(9):937-46.
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Measuring Exposure to Direct-to-Consumer Advertising-A Validation Study in the Context of Cancer-Related Treatment Advertising. Commun Methods Meas. 2014 Jan 01; 8(1):52-78.
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Navigating the cancer information environment: The reciprocal relationship between patient-clinician information engagement and information seeking from nonmedical sources. Health Commun. 2014; 29(10):974-83.
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An analysis of the association between cancer-related information seeking and adherence to breast cancer surveillance procedures. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2013 Jan; 22(1):167-74.
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Reducing anxiety levels in preschool children undergoing cryotherapy for cutaneous viral warts: use of a portable video player. Arch Dermatol. 2012 Sep; 148(9):1001-4.
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Patient-clinician information engagement improves adherence to colorectal cancer surveillance after curative treatment: results from a longitudinal study. Oncologist. 2012; 17(9):1155-62.
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Anxiety and depression among cancer survivors: the role of engagement with sources of emotional support information. Health Commun. 2013; 28(4):389-96.
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A longitudinal study on engagement with dieting information as a predictor of dieting behavior among adults diagnosed with cancer. Patient Educ Couns. 2012 Aug; 88(2):305-10.
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Meta-analysis of randomized, controlled trials comparing griseofulvin and terbinafine in the treatment of tinea capitis. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2011 Apr; 64(4):663-70.
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How does patient-clinician information engagement influence self-reported cancer-related problems?: findings from a longitudinal analysis. Cancer. 2011 Jun 01; 117(11):2569-76.
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An approach to building the case for nutrition policies to limit trans-fat intake - a Singapore case study. Health Policy. 2011 May; 100(2-3):264-72.
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Risk factors associated with having psoriatic arthritis in patients with cutaneous psoriasis. J Dermatol. 2010 May; 37(5):426-30.
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A case study of the New York City trans-fat story for international application. J Public Health Policy. 2009 Apr; 30(1):3-16.
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