Texas Advertising and Public Relations
Michael Mackert

Michael Mackert, Ph.D.

Ph.D., Michigan State University, Mass Media and Information Studies, 2006
M.A., Michigan State University, Information and Telecommunication Management, 2003
B.S., Michigan State University, Chemistry, 2001

Dr. Mackert's current research focus is on health literacy, with a particular interest in the best ways to design health messages to reach low health literate populations. This work applies to both new digital media (e.g., e-health interventions designed specifically for low literate and low health literate audiences) and traditional media (e.g., health literacy issues in direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising). Other research interests include telemedicine implementations to provide healthcare services at a distance, the role of trust in communication and advertising, and mass media/interpersonal impacts on healthy behaviors.

Current research projects include:

  • evaluating specially-designed websites to provide information to low health literate audiences on mobile devices
  • investigating the cultural and socioeconomic factors that make it challenging for parents to raise children with healthy eating and exercise habits
  • evaluating and developing campaigns to promote folic acid usage in Mexican-born women living in the United States
  • evaluating direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceuticals to evaluate their educational content for low health literate audiences

Most recently his research has appeared in the Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, Telemedicine and e-Health, the International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care, the Journal of Palliative Care, and the Journal of School Health. Forthcoming publications will appear in Fertility and Sterility, Journal of Technology in Human Services, and International Journal of Healthcare and Technology Management.

Contact Information:
Michael Mackert, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Advertising
The University of Texas at Austin
1 University Station A1200
Austin, TX 78712-0116
Office: 512-471-8558
Fax: 512-471-7018
E-mail: mackert@mail.utexas.edu


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