Doctor of Public Health Candidate
The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health
Ashley Bieniek-Tobasco has broad interests in environmental risk and crisis communication and its impact on attitudes and behavior. She received an MPH in Environmental Health Science from the University of Michigan and is a fourth year Doctor of Public Health candidate at The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. Her dissertation work is part of a mixed-methods evaluation of a climate change documentary series. Ashley is also the Health Program Lead and an ICF International contractor at the United States Global Change Research Program where she coordinates and supports interagency climate and health research.
Climate Change Communication through Mass Media: The Influence of Narrative Transportation on Efficacy and Risk Perceptions Across Political Affiliation
While mass media climate communications attempting to encourage action can reach a wide audience, their impacts on viewers are moderated by a number of contextual factors including individual level differences and communication modality. In this study we see that political affiliation and viewer absorption in the media interact to influence efficacy beliefs and risk perceptions.