Health Communication Research and Advisory Services

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Health Communication Research and Advisory Services

Health Communication Research and Advisory Services

Health Communication Research & Advisory Services delivers data and insights to help partners navigate the complex world of health communication. We help our partners create positive change with their communities.

Health communication incorporates health and wellbeing communication, including advertising and social marketing, behaviour change campaigns, attitude change, health literacy development, and the public dissemination of emergency health protocols. The health communication team seek to help their partners by navigating pathways through complex technical and social communication, connecting partners with communities and individuals.

Our health communication researchers have substantial expertise in developing communication strategies that work in a variety of contexts. The team are able to work with a wide variety of people from diverse backgrounds, including cultural and linguistically-diverse (CALD) audiences, Indigenous Australians, people with lived experiences of health and mental diversity, neuro-diverse people and people who, for various reasons, have limited faith in institutional communication.

Members of the team also have a background in the use of social media and social influencers to provide targeted health and mental health content. We also have expertise in designing and creating film and television stories about health and medical treatment to provide context for health information.

Projects

Food waste in iron bowl and cutting board

Food waste

Role of packaging in reducing food waste.

Read more about food waste

Abstract people walking in network

Communicating health

Communication beyond one-to-one or group consultations can be a key tool for health professionals.

Read more about health communication

Kids in cooking class workshop preparing apple pie

Re-licious

A school-based intervention to reduce adolescents’ food waste.

Read more about Re-licious

Feeding the poor to hands of a beggar, feeding food for beggar poverty concept

Food security

Food insecurity is a significant public health problem around the world with approximately a quarter of the world’s population experiencing either moderate or severe food insecurity.

Read more about food insecurity

Communicating health during COVID-19

Communicating health and nutrition during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read more about health communication during COVID-19

Healthy masculinities

Using participatory co-design to define and support healthier masculinities.

Read more about healthy masculinities

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Higher Degrees by Research Projects

Key people

Portrait of Lukas Parker

Associate Professor Lukas Parker

Dr Lukas Parker is a lecturer in the School of Media and Communication. He lectures in advertising to postgraduate and undergraduate students, and supervises postgraduate research students. His research interests are in social marketing and marketing communication.

Find out more about Associate Professor Lukas Parker

Professor Linda Brennan

Linda Brennan is a Professor in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University. Her research interests are the use and abuse of advertising and social marketing for social change.

Find out more about Professor Linda Brennan

Portrait of Rob Cover

Professor Rob Cover

Rob Cover is Professor of Digital Communication at RMIT. He leads a number of major funded research projects on young people, health and wellbeing and digital and broadcast media.

Find out more about Professor Rob Cover

Portrait of Michaela Jackson

Dr Michaela Jackson

Michaela is a lecturer in public relations and communication with RMIT's School of Media and Communication. Her qualifications span communication, business, marketing communication and public health

Find out more about Dr Michaela Jackson

Jenny Robinson.jpg

Dr Jenny Robinson

Dr Jenny Robinson is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Media & Communication. Her research expertise is digital health solutions, especially in relation to young adults and children.

Find out more about Dr Jenny Robinson

Portrait of Dang Nguyen

Dr Dang Nguyen

Dr Dang Nguyen (Nguyễn Hồng Hải Đăng in her native Vietnamese) is a Research Fellow at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision Making & Society, located in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University, Melbourne.

Find out more about Dr Dang Nguyen

Portrait of Bruno Schivinski

Dr Bruno Schivinski

Dr Bruno Schivinski is a senior lecturer in the School of Media and Communication. He lectures in quantitative research methods to postgraduate students and supervises HDR students. His research interests are in online consumer behaviour.

Find out more about Dr Bruno Schivinski

Meet all our members

Research partnerships

Publications

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Food and research

Barklamb, A.,Molenaar, A.,Brennan, L.,Evans, S.,Choong, J.,Herron, E.,Reid, M.,McCaffrey, T. (2020). Learning the Language of Social Media: A Comparison of Engagement Metrics and Social Media Strategies Used by Food and Nutrition-Related Social Media Accounts In: Nutrients, 12, 1 - 23
Brennan, L.,Chin, S.,Molenaar, A.,Barklamb, A.,Lim, M.,Reid, M.,Truby, H.,Jenkins, E.,McCaffrey, T. (2020). Beyond Body Weight: Design and Validation of Psycho-Behavioural Living and Eating for Health Segments (LEHS) Profiles for Social Marketing In: Nutrients, 12, 2882 - 18
Brennan, L.,Langley, S.,Verghese, K.,Lockrey, S.,Ryder, M.,Francis, C.,Phan, T.,Hill, A. (2020). The role of packaging in fighting food waste: a systematised review of consumer perceptions of packaging In: Journal of Cleaner Production, 281, 1 - 46
Harrison, P.,Jackson, M. (2013). Integrated marketing communications and power imbalance: The strategic nature of marketing to children and adolescents by food and beverage companies In: Advances in Communication Research to Reduce Childhood Obesity, Springer Science & Business Media, New York, United States
Jackson, M.,Harrison, P. (2012). Integrated marketing communication, unhealthy food and power: an under-investigated dynamic In: Proceedings of the 37th Macromarketing Conference, Berlin, Germany, 13-16 June 2012
Jackson, M.,Harrison, P.,Swinburn, B.,Lawrence, M. (2014). Product, promotion, or audience? Exploring concerns associated with the promotion of unhealthy food and beverages to children and adolescents In: Proceedings from the 47th Academy of Marketing Conference, Bournemouth, United Kingdom, 8-11 July, 2014
Jackson, M. (2015). Marketing ethics in context: The promotion of unhealthy foods and beverages to children In: Handbook on Ethics and Marketing, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, United Kingdom
Jackson, M.,Harrison, P.,Swinburn, B.,Lawrence, M. (2014). Unhealthy food, integrated marketing communication and power: a critical analysis In: Critical Public Health, 24, 489 - 505
Jenkins, E.,Legrand, S.,Brennan, L.,Molenaar, A.,Reid, M.,McCaffrey, T. (2021). Psycho-Behavioural Segmentation in Food and Nutrition: A Systematic Scoping Review of the Literature In: Nutrients, 13, 1 - 16
Lockrey, S.,Hill, A.,Langley, S.,Ryder, M.,Francis, C.,Brennan, L.,Verghese, K. (2020). Consumer Perceptions and Understanding of Packaging Journey Mapping Insights Report In: Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre; Woolworths; and Sustainability Victoria Urrbrae, Australia
Lockrey, S.,Verghese, K.,Langley, S.,Brennan, L. (2020). Coke and the environment In: Decoding Coca-Cola: A biography of a global brand, Routledge, Abingdon, United Kingdom
Kraak, V.,Harrigan, P.,Lawrence, M.,Harrison, P.,Jackson, M.,Swinburn, B. (2012). Balancing the benefits and risks of public-private partnerships to address the global double burden of malnutrition In: Public Health Nutrition, 15, 503 - 517
Micallef, D., Brennan, L., Parker, L., Schivinski, B., & Jackson, M. (2021). Where Do Online Games Fit into the Health Behaviour Ecology of Emerging Adults: A Scoping Review. Nutrients, 13(8), 2895. MDPI AG. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu13082895

Westberg, K.,Stavros, C.,Parker, L.,Druce, A.,Martin, D.,Worsley, A.,Reid, M.,Fouvy, D. (2021). Promoting healthy eating in the community sport setting: a scoping review In: Health Promotion International, , 1 - 17

Social marketing

Brennan, L. (2020). It Takes a Village: Co-creation and Co-design for Social Media Health Promotion In: Broadening Cultural Horizons in Social Marketing, Springer Nature, UK
Nguyen, D.,Brennan, L.,Parker, L.,Phan, T.,Chorazy, E. (2020). Social media mechanics and marketing strategy In: Social Marketing and Advertising in the Age of Social Media, Edward Elgar, United Kingdom
Molenaar, A.,Saw, W.,Brennan, L.,Reid, M.,Lim, M.,McCaffrey, T. (2021). Effects of Advertising: A Qualitative Analysis of Young Adults’ Engagement with Social Media About Food In: Nutrients, 13, 1 - 18
Pochun, T.,Brennan, L.,Parker, L. (2020). The use of emotions in social marketing and social advertising In: Social Marketing and Advertising in the Age of Social Media, Edward Elgar , United Kingdom
Brennan, L.,Parker, L.,Chorazy, E. (2020). Social marketing frameworks In: Social Marketing and Advertising in the Age of Social Media, Edward Elgar, United Kingdom
Brennan, L.,Poole, L.,Morgan, P.,Parker, L.,Prasch, J. (2020). The Four Es: ingredients for successful social advertising In: Social Marketing and Advertising in the Age of Social Media, Edward Elgar, United Kingdom
Brennan, L.,Pochun, T.,Parker, L. (2020). Social marketing with fear, guilt and shame In: Social Marketing and Advertising in the Age of Social Media, Edward Elgar , United Kingdom
Brennan, L.,Chin, S.,Molenaar, A.,Barklamb, A.,Lim, M.,Reid, M.,Truby, H.,Jenkins, E.,McCaffrey, T. (2020). Beyond Body Weight: Design and Validation of Psycho-Behavioural Living and Eating for Health Segments (LEHS) Profiles for Social Marketing In: Nutrients, 12, 2882 - 18
Brennan, L.,Parker, L.,Nguyen, D.,Pochun, T. (2020). Positive emotions in social marketing and social advertising using humour In: Social Marketing and Advertising in the Age of Social Media, Edward Elgar , United Kingdom
Brennan, L. (2020). It Takes a Village: Co-creation and Co-design for Social Media Health Promotion In: Broadening Cultural Horizons in Social Marketing, Springer Nature, UK
Dingeldei, J.,Brennan, L.,Parker, L.,Nguyen, D.,Chorazy, E. (2020). Telling stories: the science of social media content In: Social Marketing and Advertising in the Age of Social Media, Edward Elgar , United Kingdom
Fry, M.,Brennan, L.,Previte, J. (2020). Engaging dissensus: Innovating social change In: Stakeholder Involvement in Social Marketing, Routledge, Abingdon, United Kingdom
Jackson, M.,Harrison, P.,Swinburn, B.,Lawrence, M. (2015). Using a qualitative vignette to explore a complex public health issue In: Qualitative Health Research, 25, 1395 - 1409
Jackson, M.Parker, L.,Brennan, L.,Robinson, J. (2020). Balancing benefits: evidence-based guidelines for school-banking programmes In: International Journal of Bank Marketing, , 1 - 31
Jackson, M. (2020). Ethical Challenges Associated with Social Marketing Communication In: Social Marketing and Advertising in the Age of Social Media, Edward Elgar, United Kingdom
Micallef, D., Brennan, L., Parker, L., Schivinski, B., & Jackson, M. (2021). Where Do Online Games Fit into the Health Behaviour Ecology of Emerging Adults: A Scoping Review. Nutrients, 13(8), 2895. MDPI AG. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu13082895
Molenaar, A.,Saw, W.,Brennan, L.,Reid, M.,Lim, M.,McCaffrey, T. (2021). Effects of Advertising: A Qualitative Analysis of Young Adults’ Engagement with Social Media About Food In: Nutrients, 13, 1 - 18
Nguyen, D.,Brennan, L.,Parker, L.,Phan, T.,Chorazy, E. (2020). Social media mechanics and marketing strategy In: Social Marketing and Advertising in the Age of Social Media, Edward Elgar, United Kingdom
Parker, L.,Sidik, M.,Trang, T. (2021). Towards universal helmet use: Advocating for change in Vietnam In: Stakeholder Involvement in Social Marketing, Routledge, United Kingdom

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Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Luwaytini' by Mark Cleaver, Palawa.

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aboriginal flag

torres strait flag

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business.

More information