Jakob Jensen

Research and Teaching

Jakob (Jake) Jensen (Ph.D., University of Illinois, 2007) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at Purdue University. He is also an affiliate faculty member in the Oncological Sciences Center, the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering, and the Center for Families.

Professor Jensen is an expert in the design and evaluation of strategic health communication. Broadly speaking, his research examines whether mass communication (e.g., television, billboards, communication networks) can improve public health.

Jensen has received several top paper awards from the National Communication Association and the International Communication Association and his work has been published in the Journal of Communication, Communication Yearbook, the Journal of Health Communication, Sex Roles, Communication Studies, the Journal of American College Health, Human Communication Research, and Health Communication. Representative Publications

Representative Publications:

• Jensen, J. D. (in press). Knowledge acquisition following exposure to cancer news articles: A test of the cognitive mediation model. Journal of Communication.
• Jensen, J. D., Moriarty, C. M., Hurley, R. J., & Stryker, J. E. (in press). Making sense of cancer news coverage trends: A comparison of three comprehensive content analyses. Journal of Health Communication.
• O’Keefe, D. J., & Jensen, J. D. (2009). The persuasiveness of gain- and loss-framed messages for encouraging disease detection: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Communication, 59, 296-316.
• Jensen, J. D. (2008). Scientific uncertainty in news coverage of cancer research: Effects of hedging on scientists’ and journalists’ credibility. Human Communication Research, 34, 347-369.
• Jensen, J. D., & Moriarty, C. M. (2008). Psychosocial correlates of skin self-examinations. Journal of American College Health, 56, 701-705.