Susan E. Morgan

Dr. Susan E. Morgan (BA, University of Massachusetts, 1990; MA, University of Arizona, 1993; Ph.D., University of Arizona, 1997) is a Full Professor in the Communication Studies department in the School of Communication at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, USA.

Dr. Morgan’s research interests involve the design and evaluation of persuasive messages targeting health behavior change in multicultural populations. Her research has been supported by over $9 million in grant funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Much of her recent research involves conducting and evaluating multimedia campaigns to promote organ donation in worksite and community settings. Additionally, Dr. Morgan has conducted large-scale studies of how the mass media frames organ donation and the effects of that framing on public attitudes and behaviors.

Dr. Morgan’s current research continues to utilize qualitative and quantitative research methodologies to investigate message design features that increase the effectiveness of health-promotive campaigns.  Her current area of interest is the development of interventions designed to improve accrual rates of patients to clinical trials.

Dr. Morgan serves on the Editorial Board of five journals and is an active reviewer for 15 journals. She has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in the area of health communication. Her research has appeared in medical and leading social science journals including Clinical Transplantation, Communication Monographs, Journal of Communication, Communication Theory, Journal of Applied Communication Research, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Health Psychology, and the Journal of the National Medical Association. She is also the author of a book, From Numbers to Words: Reporting Statistical Results for the Social Sciences.

On a personal note, Dr. Morgan was born and raised in rural Pennsylvania, outside of Reading, PA, where her parents, brother, and nieces still reside.  Her family roots are in Hungary and the coal regions of Pennsylvania.  She has lived in a number of other states, including Maryland, Massachusetts, California, Arizona, Kentucky, New Jersey, and Indiana, and has been fortunate to be able to travel to many parts of the world for both work and fun.  She is married to Tyler R. Harrison and they have a shy, rather odd gray cat named Zoe as well as a rambunctious tiger-wanna be named Molly.

Featured Publications

Morgan, S.E. and Mouton, A. (in press, 2015). Improving patient accrual to research studies through communication design interventions.  In T.H. Harrison and E. Williams (Eds.) Organizations, communication, and health. Routledge.

Morgan, S. E., Stephenson, M. T., Afifi, W., Harrison, T. R., Long, S. D., & Chewning, L. V.  (2011). The University Worksite Organ Donation Campaign: An evaluation of the impact of communication modalities on the willingness to donate. Clinical Transplantation, 25, 600-605.

Morgan, S.E. (2012). Designing exciting messages for adolescents who seek excitement: Tailoring health messages to high sensation seekers. H. Cho (Ed.) Designing Messages for Health Communication Campaigns: Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Morgan, S.E., King, A.J., & Ivic, R. (2011).  The use of new technology to inform and improve health communication research. Handbook of Health Communication, 2nd Edition (T.L. Thompson, R. Parrott, and J. Nussbaum, Eds.), pp. 578-592.

Morgan, S.E.  (2011). Developing, implementing, and evaluating theory-based public communication campaigns to promote organ donation. R. Rice and C. Atkin (Eds). Public Communication Campaigns, 4th Edition.

Morgan, S.E., King, A.J., Smith, J.R., & Ivic, R. (2010). A kernel of truth? The impact of storylines exploiting myths about organ donation on the public’s willingness to donate. Journal of Communication, 60, 778-796.

Featured Projects

From Numbers to Words: Reporting Statistical Results for the Social Sciences

Clean Gear as the New Badge of Honor: Cancer Prevention Campaign for Firefighters

Organizations, Communication, and Health

Training of the Colombian National Police

Clinical Trials Website