E-mail address: kuangkai@tsinghua.edu.cn

Associate Professor

School of Journalism & Communication, Tsinghua University

Education

Ph.D.   Communication (2015)
            Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

M.A.    Public Relations and Issue Management (2011)
            Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

B.A.     International and Broadcast Journalism (2009)

 Communication University of China, Beijing, China

Research Expertise

Uncertainty in illness and health information management;

Support seeking and provision in health communication;

Risk message design and evaluation; societal risk perceptions and collective actions;

Communication resilience processes and outcomes.

Recent Teaching Experience

Associate & Assistant Professor, Department of Communication Studies, Bloomsburg (2015-present):
Health Communication (undergraduate), e-Health (undergraduate), Communication and Emerging Technology (undergraduate), Interpersonal Communication (undergraduate), Communication Research Methods (undergraduate)

Graduate Lecturer, Brian Lamb School of Communication, Purdue (2009-2015):
Communication and Emerging Technology (undergraduate), Quantitative Methods for Communication Research (undergraduate), Mass Communication and Society (undergraduate), Introduction to Advertising (undergraduate), Fundamentals of Speech Communication (undergraduate)

Selected Awards

International & National Awards

Top Paper Award
National Communication Association, Interpersonal Communication, 2020

Gerald R. Miller Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award
National Communication Association, 2016

Top Paper Award
National Communication Association, Health Communication, 2016

Top Paper Award
International Communication Association, Organizational Communication, 2015

Emerging Leaders in Science and Society Fellow
American Association for the Advancement of Science (2014-2015)

Top Paper Award
National Communication Association, Applied Communication, 2013

University-wide Awards

Influential Professor Award
Bloomsburg, 2019

Provost’s Award for Excellence in Research/Scholarly Activity
Bloomsburg, 2018

Ross Fellow
Purdue (2011-2015)

Selected Publications

Peer-reviewed Journal Articles

Kuang, K., & Gettings, P. E. (2021). Interactions among actual uncertainty, desired uncertainty, and uncertainty discrepancy on anxiety and information seeking. Journal of Health Communication, 26(2), 127-136.https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2021.1883774

Wilson, S. R., Kuang, K., Hintz, E., & Buzzanell, P. M. (2021). Developing and validating the Communication Resilience Processes (CRP) Scale. Journal of Communication, online first. https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqab013

Kuang, K., & Gettings, P. E. (2020). Applying the theory of motivated information management to family health history. Personal Relationships, 27(4), 846-879. https://doi.org/10.1111/pere.12340

Kuang, K., & Gettings, P. E. (2020). Testing the theory of motivated information management across three contexts: Theoretical and practical implications. Communication Quarterly, 68(5), 473-498.https://doi.org/10.1080/01463373.2020.1821736

Kuang, K., & Gettings, P. E. (2020). Uncertainty management in sexual communication: Testing the moderating role of marital quality, relational closeness, and communal coping. Health Communication, online first. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2020.1751401

Kuang, K., & Wilson, S. R. (2020). Theory of motivated information management: A meta-analytic review. Communication Theory, online first. https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtz025

Kuang, K., Connaughton, S. L., Linabary, J. R., Krishna, A., Vibber, K. S., Anaele, A., & Yakova, L. (2020). Extending communication campaign from health to peacebuilding: A locally driven communication campaign approach as part of a peacebuilding initiative in Liberia. Health Communication, 35(8), 984-993. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2019.1602818

Kuang, K. (2018). Reconceptualizing uncertainty in illness: Commonalities and variations in the literature, and the multidimensional nature of uncertainty. Annals of the International Communication Association, 42(3), 181-206. https://doi.org/10.1080/23808985.2018.1492354

Kuang, K., & Wilson, S. R. (2017). A meta-analysis of uncertainty and information management in illness contexts. Journal of Communication, 67(3), 378-401. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12299

Kuang, K., & Cho, H. (2016). Delivering vaccination messages via interactive channels: Examining the interaction among threat, response efficacy, and interactivity in risk communication. Journal of Risk Research, 19(4), 476-495. https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2014.988284

Book Chapters

Kuang, K. (2020). Interaction effects between health message content and message modality: The use of interactive technologies in health promotion. In J. Kim & H. Song (Eds.), Technology and health: Promoting attitude and behavior change (pp. 3-25). Elsevier.

Kuang, K. (2020). The role of interactivity in new media-based health communication. In J. Kim & H. Song (Eds.), Technology and health: Promoting attitude and behavior change (pp. 377-397). Elsevier.

Kuang, K. (2018). A “fast and frugal approach” to risk judgment and decision making and its implications for natural disasters. In V. Fletcher & J. Lovejoy (Eds.), Natural disasters and risk communication: Implications of the Cascadia Subduction Zone Megaquake (pp. 121-145). Lexington Books.

Selected Professional Service and Leadership

Professional Organizations

International Communication Association, Health Communication
Secretary (2019-2021), Travel Funds Committee (2018-2019)

National Communication Association, Interpersonal Communication
Social Media Manager (2019-2023)

National Communication Association, Health Communication
Outstanding Scholar Award Committee (2020-2021), Distinguished Article Award Committee (2019-2020)

International and Interdisciplinary Service

Social Impact Project, United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Mentor, 2018-2020

Emerging Leaders in Science and Society (ELISS) Fellowship Program, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS):
Central Selection Review Committee, 2016
Mentor, ELISS Fellows Orientation in Seattle, 2016
Interviewer, Communications Coordinator position, 2016

Editorial & Review Service

Journal reviewer:
Asian Journal of Communication
Communication Methods and Measures
Communication Monographs
Communication Quarterly
Communication Research
Frontiers in Communication: Health Communication
Health Communication
Human Communication Research
Journal of Applied Communication Research
Journal of Health Communication
Management Communication Quarterly

Selected Research Grants

PI, Pennsylvania State System for Higher Education
This grant was established by the Board of Governors’ Policy in 1985 is competitively selected across all 14 universities within the Pennsylvania State System for Higher Education.
$9,585 to Kuang, 2019-2020

PI, Research and Scholarship Grant
Bloomsburg: $5,026, 2020; $5,000, 2019; $9,400, 2017; $6650, 2016