Contact Information
702 South Wright St
M/C 456
Urbana, IL 61801
Research Areas
Research Interests
- interpersonal and health communication
- patient-provider communication
- uncertainty, stigma, contested illness
Research Description
I study health communication in personal and patient-provider relationships, specifically focusing on the role uncertainty plays in how people understand health. My research illuminates two perspectives: individuals’ understandings of their own health and individuals’ understandings of others’ health. My first line of research examines how people in personal relationships navigate illness uncertainty and uncertain illnesses, primarily those conditions such as mental illness and chronic pain that are not visible and not well understood. My second research area involves improving health care through educational trainings for medical students and physicians centered on uncertainty management, including implicit bias.
Education
University of Texas at Austin, Communication, Ph.D.
Arizona State University, Communication, B.A., M.A.
Courses Taught
CMN 462: Interpersonal Health Communication
Additional Campus Affiliations
Associate Professor, Biomedical and Translational Sciences
Recent Publications
Caban, S., Makos, S., & Thompson, C. M. (Accepted/In press). The Role of Interpersonal Communication in Mental Health Literacy Interventions for Young People: A Theoretical Review. Health communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2022.2121473
Kerr, A. M., & Thompson, C. M. (2022). A longitudinal study of third-year medical students’ communication competence, communication anxiety, and attitudes toward patient-centered care. Patient Education and Counseling, 105(5), 1298-1304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2021.09.004
Kerr, A. M., & Thompson, C. M. (2022). Medical Students’ Reactions to Uncertainty During Clinical Rotations. Family Medicine, 54(4), 285-289. https://doi.org/10.22454/FamMed.2022.947719
Krist, D. T., Naik, A., Thompson, C. M., Kwok, S. S., Janbahan, M., Olivero, W. C., & Hassaneen, W. (2022). Management of brain metastasis. Surgical resection versus stereotactic radiotherapy: a meta-analysis. Neuro-Oncology Advances, 4(1), [vdac033]. https://doi.org/10.1093/noajnl/vdac033
Romo, L. K., Thompson, C. M., & Ben-Israel, P. (2022). An Examination of How People Appraise and Manage Health-Related Financial Uncertainty. Health communication, 37(8), 935-943. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2021.1876813