Jennifer L Hay
Biographic Data
| ID | 75863 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jennifer L Hay |
| GIVEN NAMES | Jennifer L |
| FAMILY NAME | Hay |
| SIGNATURE | HAY J L |
| AFFILIATIONS | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3492-9331 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 37 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 27 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 37 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2005 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Reasons people avoid colorectal cancer information
OBJECTIVE: With screening, colorectal cancer can be detected when treatable, or even prevented. However, approximately one in five people tend to avoid colorectal cancer information, and avoidance is associated with being less likely to have been screened for the disease. Crucial to developing strategies to reduce information avoidance, we sought a comprehensive understanding of reasons people avoid colorectal cancer information. METHODS AND MEAS…
Contextualizing HPV vaccination intention among Haitian immigrant and migrant women through exploring cultural worldviews and affective risk perception
Culture, affective risk perception, and past experiences may be relevant toward Haitian women's decision making to engage in HPV vaccination practices. Our results underscore the importance of using alternative methods in understanding HPV vaccination intention and scaling up HPV vaccination efforts for Haitian women both in the U.S. and in Haiti
Sun protection, sunburn, tanning, and family factors among melanoma survivors and their minor children
Use of recommended sun protection strategies among minor children of melanoma survivors is suboptimal and as a result, these children receive excess ultraviolet radiation exposure that further increases their melanoma risk. Among a sample of 368 melanoma survivor-child dyads, the relationship between family-focused factors and child sun protection and related outcomes was examined, as well as the relations of family factors with individual sun-pr…
Moderating influences on parents' fatalistic beliefs about cancer and their association with sun safety behaviors among children of melanoma survivors
The purpose of this study is to examine the association between parents' fatalism about melanoma and their children's sun protection, and the potential moderating role of parent-child communication. In this observational study of N = 69 melanoma-surviving parents of children ages 8-17, parents reported on their own melanoma fatalism, as well as their children's sun safety behaviors and parent-child discussion about sun safety. Parent gender, fami…
I don’t know my child’s asthma risk
Several studies suggest that "don't know" (DK) responses to risk perception items may represent meaningful expressions of uncertainty about disease risk. However, researchers are often discouraged from including a DK response option in survey items due to concerns about respondents overusing it to minimize cognitive effort-a phenomenon often referred to as satisficing . Our objective was to investigate whether patterns of DK responses to risk per…
Dismissing “Don’t Know” Responses to Perceived Risk Survey Items Threatens the Validity of Theoretical and Empirical Behavior-Change Research
Since the middle of the 20th century, perceptions of risk have been critical to understanding engagement in volitional behavior change. However, theoretical and empirical risk perception research seldom considers the possibility that risk perceptions do not simply exist: They must be formed. Thus, some people may not have formulated a perception of risk for a hazard at the time a researcher asks them, or they may not be confident in the extent to…
‘I had a bigger cancer risk than I thought…’
BACKGROUND: Diagnoses of both melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancers are becoming increasingly common among young adults. Interventions in this population are a priority because they do not consistently follow skin cancer prevention recommendations. OBJECTIVES: The goal of the current study was to examine college students' perspectives on and experience with receiving a skin cancer prevention intervention that provided personalized skin cancer ris…
Racial/Ethnic Differences in Prosocial Beliefs and Prevention Behavior During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Prevention is political
This differential response may affect virus transmission patterns and poses a considerable challenge for health communications efforts
Examining strategies for addressing high levels of ‘I don’t know’ responding to risk perception questions for colorectal cancer and diabetes
Objective Many people say they ‘don’t know’ their risk for common diseases (DK responders). Inadequate health literacy and higher disease information avoidance may suppress risk knowledge and thereby increase DK responding. Study goals were to examine two plausible interventions to address the health education needs of DK responders. Design: Participants were identified in a pre-screener as DK responders for either diabetes or colorectal cancer (…
Agency beliefs are associated with lower health information avoidance
Background: Avoiding health information is relatively common and is associated with lower knowledge of health risks and lower engagement in protective health behaviour. Health information avoidance likely limits the effectiveness of health communication interventions. Objective: To identify beliefs associated with avoiding health information. Design: Two cross-sectional studies. Setting: Two representative samples of adults residing in the USA. M…
Comprehension of skin cancer genetic risk feedback in primary care patients
Sun Exposure, Tanning Behaviors, and Sunburn
‘Don’t know’ responding and estimates of perceived risk
Individuals sometimes report that they don’t know their risk for a health problem, but many studies of illness risk perception do not provide a ‘don’t know’ (DK) response option. We examined how providing versus not providing a DK option affected responding – either the number of DK responses when the option was provided or the number of skips when a DK option was not provided. We also examined whether it systematically affected perceived risk es…
Cultural worldviews and perceived risk of colon cancer and diabetes
Individuals with different cultural worldviews conceptualize risks in distinct ways, yet this work has not extended to personal illness risk perception. The purpose of this study was to 1) examine the relationships between two types of cultural worldviews (Hierarchy-Egalitarian; Individualism-Communitarianism) and perceived risk (perceived severity and susceptibility) for diabetes and colon cancer, 2) test whether health literacy modifies the abo…
Indoor Tanning Trends Among US Adults, 2007–2018
Objectives. To examine indoor tanning trends among US adults, and the relation to indoor tanning youth access legislation. Methods. This study analyzed the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), a mailed survey, from the years 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2018 (combined n = 20 2019). Results. Indoor tanning prevalence decreased significantly over time among all US adults from 2007 (10%) to 2018 (4%; P Conclusions. This study iden…
Causes and consequences of uncertainty about illness risk perceptions
We identified determinants of uncertainty about perceived risk judgments and demonstrated that uncertainty is associated with lower engagement in risk-reducing behavior. We found that people likely have metacognitive awareness of when their judgments are overly pessimistic, resulting in uncertainty and that question context (more constraints) and people's time orientation (future orientation) are associated with lower uncertainty. Uncertainty abo…
Differences in Rural and Urban Health Information Access and Use
PURPOSE: Rural residents may have lower access to and use of certain health information sources relative to urban residents. We investigated differences in information source access and use between rural and urban US adults and whether having low health literacy might exacerbate rural disparities in access to and use of health information. METHODS: Six hundred participants (50% rural) completed an online survey about access and use of 25 health i…
Regarding the Yin and Yang of Precision Cancer- Screening and Treatment
In this commentary, we submit that the current emphasis of precision cancer screening and treatment (PCST) has been to provide and interpret the implications of "positive" screening results for those deemed to be at greatest risk for cancer or most likely to benefit from targeted treatments. This is an important, but proportionately small target group, regardless of the cancer context. Overlooked by this focus is the larger majority of those scre…
Measurement invariance of intuitive cancer risk perceptions across diverse populations
Intuitive cancer risk perceptions may inform strategies to motivate cancer prevention behaviors. This study evaluated factor structure and measurement invariance of two new measures of intuitive cancer risk, the Cognitive Causation and Negative Affect in Risk scales. Single- and multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis models were fit to responses from three diverse samples. The confirmatory factor analysis models fit the data well, with all c…
Health Literacy and Use and Trust in Health Information
There is a need to investigate which health information sources are used and trusted by people with limited health literacy to help identify strategies for addressing knowledge gaps that can contribute to preventable illness. We examined whether health literacy was associated with people's use of and trust in a range of potential health information sources. Six hundred participants from a GfK Internet survey panel completed an online survey. We a…
Hearing r-sandhi
This article reports on patterns in the production and perception of New Zealand English r -sandhi. We report on two phoneme-monitoring experiments that examine whether listeners from three regions are sensitive to the distribution of r -presence in linking and intrusive environments. The results provide evidence that sound perception is affected by a listener's experience-driven expectations: greater prior experience with a sound in a given cont…
Incorporating Spirituality in Primary Care
Examining Intuitive Cancer Risk Perceptions in Haitian-Creole and Spanish-Speaking Populations
Background: There is a developing emphasis on intuition and affect in the illness risk perception process, yet there have been no available strategies to measure these constructs in non-English speakers. This study examined the comprehensibility and acceptability of translations of cancer risk beliefs in Haitian-Creole and Spanish. Method: An established, iterative, team-based translation process was employed. Cognitive interviews ( n = 20 in Hai…
Translation and adaptation of skin cancer genomic risk education materials for implementation in primary care
Avoiding cancer risk information
Causes and consequences of uncertainty about illness risk perceptions
We identified determinants of uncertainty about perceived risk judgments and demonstrated that uncertainty is associated with lower engagement in risk-reducing behavior. We found that people likely have metacognitive awareness of when their judgments are overly pessimistic, resulting in uncertainty and that question context (more constraints) and people's time orientation (future orientation) are associated with lower uncertainty. Uncertainty abo…
Tanning and beauty
Tanning increases dramatically through the teenage years, but the family context of this health risk behavior is relatively unstudied. We conducted videotaped conversations between teenage girls (10th and 11th grade) and their mothers. We developed a coding system for discussion content and highlight findings including inadequate knowledge concerning the harms of tanning and positive views of outdoor tanning over indoor tanning, yet agreement tha…
Indoor Tanning Trends Among US Adults, 2007–2018
Objectives. To examine indoor tanning trends among US adults, and the relation to indoor tanning youth access legislation. Methods. This study analyzed the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), a mailed survey, from the years 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2018 (combined n = 20 2019). Results. Indoor tanning prevalence decreased significantly over time among all US adults from 2007 (10%) to 2018 (4%; P Conclusions. This study iden…
Hearing r-sandhi
This article reports on patterns in the production and perception of New Zealand English r -sandhi. We report on two phoneme-monitoring experiments that examine whether listeners from three regions are sensitive to the distribution of r -presence in linking and intrusive environments. The results provide evidence that sound perception is affected by a listener's experience-driven expectations: greater prior experience with a sound in a given cont…
Thinking Through Cancer Risk
The perception of cancer risk motivates cancer risk reduction behaviors. However, common measurement strategies for cancer risk perceptions, which involve numerical likelihood estimates, do not adequately capture individuals' thoughts and feelings about cancer risk. To guide the development of novel measurement strategies, the authors used semistructured interviews to examine the thought processes used by smokers (N = 15) as they considered their…
Family Communication Patterns After Melanoma Diagnosis
To examine health communication in families after cancer diagnosis, we conducted qualitative interviews examining communication processes among recently diagnosed melanoma patients and one of their adult children. Communication regarding melanoma and prevention is common in these families, yet adherence to recommended prevention and screening behaviors is inconsistent. Our study objectives were to examine processes regarding disclosure of the mel…
Reliability of adverse symptom event reporting by clinicians
Awareness of the 2009 US Preventive Services Task Force recommended changes in mammography screening guidelines, accuracy of awareness, sources of knowledge about recommendations, and attitudes about …
Despite widespread coverage of the recommendation changes, overall awareness in the relevant population is low. Increasing awareness and addressing attitudes about the changes is necessary to ensure the use of recommendations to impact screening behavior
Factors Associated With Inconsistent Sun Protection in First-Degree Relatives of Melanoma Survivors
First-degree relatives (FDRs) of melanoma survivors are at heightened risk for developing melanoma, but use sun protection inconsistently. To develop appropriate interventions, in this article we identify factors related to sun protection inconsistency in melanoma FDRs using ethnographic decision tree modeling. We conducted in-home interviews with 25 melanoma FDRs balanced across gender and sunbathing attitudes and identified factors related to d…
Cognitive Rationalizations for Tanning-Bed Use
Findings indicate that cognitive rationalizations help explain discrepancy between inconsistent cognitions
Cognitive interviewing of the US National Cancer Institute’s Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE)
Examining intuitive risk perceptions for cancer in diverse populations
In this article we examine intuitive dimensions of personal cancer risk likelihood, which theory and empirical evidence indicate may be important elements in the risk perception process. We draw on data from a study of risk perceptions in three social groups, university students, men living in the community, and primary care patients living in urban area. The study took place in 2007-2011, in New York State (Garden City and New York City) and Bos…
Indoor tanning addiction tendencies
This study explored the utility of mCAGE in identifying individuals who display tanning addiction tendencies and examined correlates of indoor tanning addiction tendencies including (a) demographic variables, (b) use patterns and future intentions, and (c) attitudinal and knowledge constructs in a young adult college sample. Participants (n = 587 undergraduate students at a large university in the North-Eastern United States) completed paper-and-…
Tanning and beauty
Tanning increases dramatically through the teenage years, but the family context of this health risk behavior is relatively unstudied. We conducted videotaped conversations between teenage girls (10th and 11th grade) and their mothers. We developed a coding system for discussion content and highlight findings including inadequate knowledge concerning the harms of tanning and positive views of outdoor tanning over indoor tanning, yet agreement tha…
Health Literacy, Information Seeking, and Trust in Information in Haitians
Constructing a culturally-tailored and appropriate intervention regarding health promotion requires understanding how the population accesses and conveys health information
Avoiding cancer risk information
Incorporating Spirituality in Primary Care
Examining Intuitive Cancer Risk Perceptions in Haitian-Creole and Spanish-Speaking Populations
Background: There is a developing emphasis on intuition and affect in the illness risk perception process, yet there have been no available strategies to measure these constructs in non-English speakers. This study examined the comprehensibility and acceptability of translations of cancer risk beliefs in Haitian-Creole and Spanish. Method: An established, iterative, team-based translation process was employed. Cognitive interviews ( n = 20 in Hai…
Translation and adaptation of skin cancer genomic risk education materials for implementation in primary care
Health Literacy and Use and Trust in Health Information
There is a need to investigate which health information sources are used and trusted by people with limited health literacy to help identify strategies for addressing knowledge gaps that can contribute to preventable illness. We examined whether health literacy was associated with people's use of and trust in a range of potential health information sources. Six hundred participants from a GfK Internet survey panel completed an online survey. We a…
Hearing r-sandhi
This article reports on patterns in the production and perception of New Zealand English r -sandhi. We report on two phoneme-monitoring experiments that examine whether listeners from three regions are sensitive to the distribution of r -presence in linking and intrusive environments. The results provide evidence that sound perception is affected by a listener's experience-driven expectations: greater prior experience with a sound in a given cont…
Differences in Rural and Urban Health Information Access and Use
PURPOSE: Rural residents may have lower access to and use of certain health information sources relative to urban residents. We investigated differences in information source access and use between rural and urban US adults and whether having low health literacy might exacerbate rural disparities in access to and use of health information. METHODS: Six hundred participants (50% rural) completed an online survey about access and use of 25 health i…
Regarding the Yin and Yang of Precision Cancer- Screening and Treatment
In this commentary, we submit that the current emphasis of precision cancer screening and treatment (PCST) has been to provide and interpret the implications of "positive" screening results for those deemed to be at greatest risk for cancer or most likely to benefit from targeted treatments. This is an important, but proportionately small target group, regardless of the cancer context. Overlooked by this focus is the larger majority of those scre…
Measurement invariance of intuitive cancer risk perceptions across diverse populations
Intuitive cancer risk perceptions may inform strategies to motivate cancer prevention behaviors. This study evaluated factor structure and measurement invariance of two new measures of intuitive cancer risk, the Cognitive Causation and Negative Affect in Risk scales. Single- and multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis models were fit to responses from three diverse samples. The confirmatory factor analysis models fit the data well, with all c…
‘Don’t know’ responding and estimates of perceived risk
Individuals sometimes report that they don’t know their risk for a health problem, but many studies of illness risk perception do not provide a ‘don’t know’ (DK) response option. We examined how providing versus not providing a DK option affected responding – either the number of DK responses when the option was provided or the number of skips when a DK option was not provided. We also examined whether it systematically affected perceived risk es…
Cultural worldviews and perceived risk of colon cancer and diabetes
Individuals with different cultural worldviews conceptualize risks in distinct ways, yet this work has not extended to personal illness risk perception. The purpose of this study was to 1) examine the relationships between two types of cultural worldviews (Hierarchy-Egalitarian; Individualism-Communitarianism) and perceived risk (perceived severity and susceptibility) for diabetes and colon cancer, 2) test whether health literacy modifies the abo…
Indoor Tanning Trends Among US Adults, 2007–2018
Objectives. To examine indoor tanning trends among US adults, and the relation to indoor tanning youth access legislation. Methods. This study analyzed the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), a mailed survey, from the years 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2018 (combined n = 20 2019). Results. Indoor tanning prevalence decreased significantly over time among all US adults from 2007 (10%) to 2018 (4%; P Conclusions. This study iden…
Causes and consequences of uncertainty about illness risk perceptions
We identified determinants of uncertainty about perceived risk judgments and demonstrated that uncertainty is associated with lower engagement in risk-reducing behavior. We found that people likely have metacognitive awareness of when their judgments are overly pessimistic, resulting in uncertainty and that question context (more constraints) and people's time orientation (future orientation) are associated with lower uncertainty. Uncertainty abo…
Examining strategies for addressing high levels of ‘I don’t know’ responding to risk perception questions for colorectal cancer and diabetes
Objective Many people say they ‘don’t know’ their risk for common diseases (DK responders). Inadequate health literacy and higher disease information avoidance may suppress risk knowledge and thereby increase DK responding. Study goals were to examine two plausible interventions to address the health education needs of DK responders. Design: Participants were identified in a pre-screener as DK responders for either diabetes or colorectal cancer (…
Medicine (31 works) · Psychology (29 works) · Environmental health (18 works) · Perception (15 works) · Risk perception (13 works) · Social Psychology (13 works) · Population (12 works) · Nursing (11 works) · Behavioral Health and Interventions (10 works) · Psychiatry (10 works)