The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has a long tradition of funding cutting-edge health communication and health journalism research. There is a rich history of partnering with schools of communication, journalism, news organizations, professional organizations, and other institutes within the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIH funds and conducts disease-specific and statistical training for health journalists in the U.S. and abroad. Because news media are a primary source of health information for the public, and because the landscape of journalism is ever-evolving, HCIRB is planning a funding initiative in health journalism research to address gaps and inform cancer communication practice. Extramural investigators will be encouraged to submit applications in the areas of:

• Agenda-setting
• Health news construction (how health reporters use sources, resources, and emerging technologies; framing/priming)
• Health news exposure, attention, and information processing
• Media effects/how media exposure affects personal and population health
• Best-practices for training journalists on health and science topics
• Development of useful, reliable online toolkits for health reporters and editors
• The overwhelming transformation of journalism, and how it will affect health journalism research and practice

Contact:
Kelly Blake, ScD
kelly.blake@nih.gov
301.402.8425