Beth Hoffman

Contributions to Public Health

• I conduct research on popular media and health, with a particular focus on using media for health promotion and education. Specifically, I focus on the portrayal of health topics on popular television programs and the use of media for health education (also known as entertainment education). In this research I frequently use mixed-methods and social media data.
  • Hoffman BL, Rosenthal, EL, Colditz JB, McGarry RP, Primack BA. Use of Twitter to viewer reactions to the medical drama Code Black. Journal Health Commun. 2018;23(3), 244-253. doi: 10.1080/10810730.2018.1426660. PMID: 29452057.
  • Hoffman BL, Sidani JE, Jonassaint CR, Wolynn R, Donovan AK. Utilizing television clips for graduate medical education anti-racist curricula: An acceptability study. Cureus 2023;15(7): e41526. doi:10.7759/cureus.41526.
• Based on the research above, I developed the undergraduate course PUBHLT402: Entertainment Media and Health, which introduces students to the field of narrative influence with a specific focus on entertainment television and health. This course highlights the influence that entertainment media can have on viewers’ health-related outcomes such as disease knowledge and perceptions of the healthcare system, and also allows students to think about how to leverage popular media for health education.
  • Hoffman BL, Hoffman RM, Wessel C, Shensa A, Primack BA. Use of fictional medical television in medical education: A systematic review. Advances in Health Sciences Education. 2018;23(1), 201-06. doi: 10.1007/s10459-017-9754-5.
  • Hollywood actor Noah Wyle makes a Pitt stop
• As part of my master’s thesis in 2018, I led a project examining anti-vaccine content on Facebook. This research used quantitative, qualitative, and social network analyses, and generated a substantial amount of media attention, including coverage in news outlets such as CNN and The Washington Post. This research led to an analysis of Twitter data to analyze the pro-vaccine #DoctorsSpeakUp event and to continued work to improve public health and healthcare provider communication around vaccines.  
  • Hoffman BL, Felter EM, Chu K, Shensa A, Hermann C, Wolynn T, Williams, D, Primack BA. It’s not all about autism: the emerging landscape of anti-vaccination sentiment on Facebook. Vaccine. 2019;37(16), 2216-23. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.03.003.
  • Hoffman BL, Colditz JB, Shensa A, Wolynn R, Taneja SB, Felter EM, Wolynn T, Sidani JE. #DoctorsSpeakUp: Lessons learned from a pro-vaccine Twitter event. Vaccine. 202139(19):2684-2691. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.03.061.
• I currently serve as a co-investigator on an NIH-funded study examining nicotine and tobacco misinformation on youth-oriented social media platforms. As part of this, I led a study examining YouTube comments in response to the Netflix docuseries about the e-cigarette JUUL. Drawing on this work as well as my research in entertainment education, I have also explored how to leverage popular media for youth tobacco education.
  • Hoffman BL, Tripathi A, Dou JP, Narendorf N, Hundi N, Chu K, Sidani JE. “I have a love/hate relationship with this product: Analysis of YouTube comments in response to the Netflix docuseries “Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of JUUL.” Poster Presentation. 2024 Annual Meeting of the Society of Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. Edinburgh, Scotland. March 21-23, 2024.
  • Hoffman BL, Sidani JE, Miller E, Manganello JA, Chu K, Felter EM, Burke JG. “That was better than any DARE program”: A qualitative analysis of adolescent reactions to EVALI storylines on popular medical dramas. Health Promot Pract. 2023. 2023; 25(5):814-822. doi:10.1080/10810730.2023.2201814.
• In partnership with the Career Help, Advancement and Achievement Mentorship Program (CHAMP), the Center for Cardiac Arrest Survival (CCAS, of which I am affiliated faculty) and the nonprofit Akoma United, I bring a public health lens to prehospital care and CPR education. In this role I provide mentorship for students interested in both EMS/emergency medicine and public health and evaluate the implementation of youth CPR education programs.
  • Huang JJ, Shensa A, Fawole O, Spears N, Owusu-Ansah S, Doshi AA, Tripp R, Hoffman BL. “I Feel Good Because I Can Save Lives”: Implementation and Evaluation of a Middle School Bystander CPR Curriculum. Poster Presentation. Dena Hofkosh Pediatric Educators' Symposium. Pittsburgh, PA. May 15, 2025

My Bibliography