Carina M. Zelaya

Welcome!

My name is Carina Mazariegos Zelaya, and I am a fourth year Ph.D. candidate in Communication at the University of Kentucky.

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My research interests concern health communication and health equity - leveraging interpersonal communication and mass media in health contexts, I study the impact of interpersonal conversations in cognitive processing of mass media campaign messages and how that affects perceptions of message effectiveness and future health behaviors. My past and current projects develop and evaluate evidence-based campaigns and interventions that focus on disparities driven by social, racial, economical, and environmental factors.

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As an acontextual researcher in health communication, my projects have focused on several topics, such as, sexual health communication, women’s sexual and reproductive health, cancer screening, rural health, minority health, and internet-based interventions. I have experience writing grants and conducting research in multi-disciplinary teams working to achieve health equity among vulnerable populations.

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