Departmental Affiliations
Center & Institute Affiliations
Meghan Moran, PhD, MA, studies how communications from advertising to misinformation shape public health issues such as vaccine promotion, cancer screening, and tobacco control.
Contact Info
Research Interests
health communication; persuasion; social influence; media; media effects; pop culture; social norms; tobacco control; cancer communication; cervical cancer; HPV; HPV vaccination; vaccine hesitancy; adolescent health
Experiences & Accomplishments
I am a health communication scholar studying how health information can best be communicated to individuals in different contexts and through different channels. I study both micro-level processes of persuasion and social influence, as well as the more macro-level health communication that occurs in society. I am particularly interested in how media and pop culture influence health. Areas of interest include tobacco control, vaccination, and cancer prevention. More specifically, I am currently leading research to inform regulation of tobacco marketing, as well as the development of tobacco prevention and education messages. I have also conducted research examining vaccine hesitancy and effective strategies for vaccine promotion, and strategies for increasing cancer screening. These research areas leverage my expertise in health communication and persuasion, message design, media effects and health behavior.
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Honors & Awards
PHEHP (Public Health Education and Health Promotion section of APHA) Early Career Award (2018)
Select Publications
Selected publications
Dowd, A. N., Thrul, J., Czaplicki, L., Kennedy, R. D., Moran, M. B., & Spindle, T. R. (2024). A cross-sectional survey on oral nicotine pouches: characterizing use-motives, topography, dependence levels, and adverse events. Nicotine and Tobacco Research, 26(2), 245-249. Available at: https://doi-org.proxy1.library.jhu.edu/10.1093/ntr/ntad179
Luc, M. H., Tsang, S. W., Thrul, J., Kennedy, R. D., & Moran, M. B. (2020). Content analysis of online product descriptions from cannabis retailers in six US states. International Journal of Drug Policy, 75, 102593.
Moran, M.B., *Heley, K., *Baldwin, K., *Xiao, C., * Lin, V., & Pierce, J.P. (2019) Selling tobacco: A comprehensive analysis of the U.S. tobacco advertising landscape. Addictive Behaviors, 96, 100-109. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2019.04.024
Moran, M. B., Walker, M. W., Alexander, T. N., Jordan, J. W., & Wagner, D. E. (2017). Why peer crowds matter: Incorporating youth subcultures and values in health education campaigns. American Journal of Public Health, 107(3), 389-395.
Moran, M. B., Frank, L. B., Chatterjee, J. S., Murphy, S. T., & Baezconde-Garbanati, L. (2016). A pilot test of the acceptability and efficacy of narrative and non-narrative health education materials in a low health literacy population. Journal of Communication in Healthcare, 9(1), 40-48.
Moran, M.B., *Lucas, M., *Everhart, K., *Morgan, A., & *Prickett, E. (2016). What makes anti-vaccine websites persuasive? A content analysis of techniques used by anti-vaccine websites to engender anti-vaccine sentiment. Journal of Communication in Healthcare, 9(3), 151-163. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/17538068.2016.1235531