KUANG Kai
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
