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Bradford W. Hesse, Ph.D., Branch Chief

Bradford Hesse View CV

Bradford (Brad) Hesse was appointed Chief of the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch (HCIRB) in November, 2006. He served as the Acting Chief of HCIRB from 2004-2006.

Dr. Hesse's professional focus is bringing the power of health information technologies to bear on the problem of eliminating death and suffering from cancer, a cause to which he remains steadfastly dedicated. While at the NCI, he has championed several initiatives that evaluate and progress the science of cancer communication and informatics, two of which include the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) and the Centers of Excellence in Cancer Communication (CECCR).

As director of NCI's biennial Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), Dr. Hesse is responsible for leading a team of scientists in the development and execution of this nationally representative, general population survey of American adults. HINTS, now entering its third iteration, systematically evaluates the public's knowledge, attitudes and behaviors relevant to cancer control in an environment of rapidly changing communication technologies.

Dr. Hesse also serves as the program director for NCI's Centers of Excellence in Cancer Communication Research (CECCR). This initiative supports the research of four centers aimed at increasing the knowledge of, tools for, access to, and use of cancer communications by the public, patients, survivors, and health professionals. The centers have been instrumental in defining the next generation of interdisciplinary collaboration in cancer communication science.

Prior to his work at the National Cancer Institute, Dr. Hesse conducted research in the interdisciplinary fields of human computer interaction, health communication, medical informatics, and computer-supported decision making. In 1988, he served as a postdoctoral member of the Committee for Social Science Research on Computing at Carnegie Mellon University, and subsequently co-founded the Center for Research on Technology at the American Institutes for Research in Palo Alto, California in 1991. Working in a contract environment before coming to NCI, Dr. Hesse directed projects for the Departments of Education and Labor, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health. He has also provided usability services to Apple Computer, Hewlett Packard, Xerox, Microsoft, Sun, and Netscape.

Dr. Hesse currently serves on the board of advisors for the American Psychological Association's online resource, PsycINFO, and is a member of the American Psychological Society, the Association for Computing Machineries, Special Interest Group on Human Computer Interaction (SIG-CHI), the American Medical Informatics Association, the International Communication Association, and the Usability Professionals Association.

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Recent Publications

Hesse, B.W. (in press). Consumer Informatics. International Encyclopedia of Communication. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Han PKJ, Moser RP, Klein WMP, Beckjord EB, Hesse BW. (in press). Predictors of perceived ambiguity about cancer prevention recommendations: sociodemographic and mass media exposure factors. Journal of Health Communication.

Hesse, B.W. Of mice and mentors: Developing cyberinfrastructure to support transdisciplinary scientific collaboration. Am J Prev Med. (commentary accepted for publication).

Beckjord, E., Rutten, L.J., Arora, N.K., Moser, R.P., Hesse, B.W. (in press). Cognitive processing and negative affect: Evidence from the 2003 Health Information National Trends Survey. Health Psychology.

Finney Rutten, L.J., Hesse, B.W., Moser, R.P., McCaul, K., Rothman, A.J. (in press). Public understanding of cancer prevention, detection, and survival/cure: Comparison with state-of-science evidence for colon, skin, and lung Cancer. Journal of Cancer Education.

Hesse BW. Public Health Informatics. (2007). In: Gibbons MC, editor. eHealth Solutions for Healthcare Disparities. New York, NY: Springer; p. 109-129.

Arora NK, Hesse BW, Rimer BK, Viswanath K, Clayman ML, Croyle RT. (2007). Frustrated and Confused: The American Public Rates its Cancer-Related Information-Seeking Experiences. J Gen Intern Med.

Atkinson NL, Massett HA, Mylks C, Hanna B, Deering MJ, Hesse BW. (2007). User-centered research on breast cancer patient needs and preferences of an Internet-based clinical trial matching system. J Med Internet Res; 9(2):e13.

Beckjord EB, Finney Rutten LJ, Squiers L, Arora NK, Volckmann L, Moser RP, et al. (2007). Use of the internet to communicate with health care providers in the United States: estimates from the 2003 and 2005 Health Information National Trends Surveys (HINTS). J Med Internet Res;9(3):e20.

Hesse BW, Shneiderman B. (2007). eHealth Research from the User's Perspective. Am J Prev Med;32(5 Suppl):S97-S103.

Atienza AA, Hesse BW, Baker TB, Abrams DB, Rimer BK, Croyle RT, et al. (2007). Critical issues in eHealth research. Am J Prev Med; 32(5 Suppl):S71-4.

Rutten, L.F., Squiers, L.J, & Hesse, B.W. (2007). Cancer-related information sought by the general public: evidence from the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Information Service, 2002-2003. J Cancer Educ, 22(2), 91-98.

Rutten L.F., Moser R.P., Beckjord E.B., Hesse B.W., Croyle R.T. (2007). Cancer Communication: Health Information National Trends Survey. Washington, D.C.: National Cancer Institute. NIH Pub. No. 07-6214.

Blake, K., Beckjord, E. Rutten LF, Moser RP, Hesse, B. (November 2007). Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) Brief 8: On-line Communication with Health Care Providers. URL: http://hints.cancer.gov/hints

Rutten LF, Moser RP, Hesse, B. (August 2007). Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) Brief 7: Health Communication: Strategies and Priorities. URL: http://hints.cancer.gov/hints

Rutten LF, Yaroch, A., Moser RP, Hesse, B. (May 2007). Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) Brief 6: Sun Safety. URL: http://hints.cancer.gov/hints

Blake, K., Tiro, J., Rutten LF, Moser RP, Hesse, B. (March 2007). Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) Brief 5: Knowledge and Awareness of Human Papillomavirus (HPV). URL: http://hints.cancer.gov/hints

Hesse, B.W., & Shneiderman, B. (2007 (in press)). eHealth Research from the User's Perspective. American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Hesse, B.W. (Expected publication 2007). Public Health Informatics. In: Gibbons MC, editor. eHealth solutions for Healthcare Disparities. New York, NY: Springer; 2007.

Atienza, A.A., Yaroch, A.L., Masse, L.C., Moser, R.P., Hesse, B.W., & King, A. C. (2006). Identifying Sedentary Subgroups in the National Cancer Institute's Health Information National Trends Survey. Am J Prev Med, 31(5), 383-390. (PMID: 17046409).

Viswanath, K., Breen, N., Meissner, H., Moser, R.P., Hesse, B., Steele, W.R., et al. (2006). Cancer knowledge and disparities in the information age. J Health Commun, 11 Suppl 1, 1-17 (PMID: 16641071).

Hesse, B.W., Moser, R.P., Rutten, L.J., & Kreps, G.L. (2006). The health information national trends survey: research from the baseline. J Health Commun, 11 Suppl 1, vii-xvi (PMID: 16641070).

Rutten, L.J., Squiers, L., & Hesse, B. (2006). Cancer-related information seeking: hints from the 2003 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS). J Health Commun, 11 Suppl 1, 147-156 (PMID: 16641080).

Squiers, L., Bright, M. A., Rutten, L. F., Atienza, A. A., Treiman, K., Moser, R. P., et al. (2006). Awareness of the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Information Service: Results from the Health Information National Trends Survey. Journal of Health Communication, 11(S1) (PMID: 16377598).

Hesse, B.W. (2005). Harnessing the power of an intelligent health environment in cancer control. Stud Health Technol Inform, 118, 159-176 (PMID: 16301777).

Hesse, B. W., Nelson, D. E., Kreps, G. L., Croyle, R. T., Arora, N. K., Rimer, B. K., et al. (2005). Trust and sources of health information: the impact of the Internet and its implications for health care providers: findings from the first Health Information National Trends Survey. Arch Intern Med, 165(22), 2618-2624 (PMID: 16344419).

Lobdell, D. T., Gilboa, S., Mendola, P., & Hesse, B. W. (2005). Use of focus groups for the environmental health researcher. J Environ Health, 67(9), 36-42. (PMID: 15957321)

Squiers, L., Finney Rutten, L. J., Treiman, K., Bright, M. A., & Hesse, B. (2005). Cancer patients' information needs across the cancer care continuum: evidence from the cancer information service. J Health Commun, 10 Suppl 1, 15-34. (PMID: 16377598).

Nelson, D. E., Kreps, G. L., Hesse, B. W., Croyle, R. T., Willis, G., Arora, N. K., et al. (2004). The Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS): development, design, and dissemination. J Health Commun, 9(5), 443-460; discussion 481-444 (PMID: 15513791).

Robinson, S. J., Hesse, B. W., Shaikh, A., R., Coss, M., & Crawford, C. (2003, April 5-10). Using converging methods across disciplines to guide the redesign of a large, information-rich web site. Paper presented at the CHI '03 extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA.

Recent Presentations

Hesse, B.W. (December, 2007). Marshalling the Power of Consumer Health Technologies. Informatics in Action, Bethesda, MD.

Beckjord, E.B., Rutten, L.J., Hesse, B.W. Arora, N.K. (December 2007) Breast Cancer Risk Perceptions, Self-Efficacy, and the "Activated Patient:" A Population-Level Analysis of the Risk Perception Attitude Framework. Submitted to the American Association for Cancer Research, Frontiers in Cancer Prevention: Philadelphia, PA.

Hesse, B.W., Beckjord, E.B., Finney Rutten, L.J., Moser, R.P. (November 2007). Health Communication and Informatics: Research and Practice as the World Goes Flat. Workshop accepted at the 2nd International Cancer Control Congress, November 25-28, 2007 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Finney Rutten, L.J., Hesse, B.W., Beckjord, E.B., Moser, R.P. (November 2007) Gathering an Evidence Base for Health Communication and Informatics. Oral Presentation accepted for presentation at the 2nd International Cancer Control Congress, November 25-28, 2007 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Hesse, B.W. (2007). Emerging Themes in Technology and Urban Health: The Role of Populomics. October 31-November 2 2007.

Hesse, B.W. (October 2007). The Health Information National Trends Survey. eCDC seminar presented in-person and through videocast.

Hesse, B.W. (August 2007). Navigating the Future of Cancer Control. CDC’s Cancer Conference, invitation by Eddie Reed.

Hesse, B.W. (2007). Using behavioral data to inform cancer communication. Invited presentation to the ACS, Atlanta.

Hesse, B.W. (July 2007). Computerized Tailored Interventions: Addressing Issues of Dissemination. CTI Workshop, Rhode Island.

Hesse, B.W. (July 2007) Harnessing the Power of an Intelligent Health Environment. Summer Curriculum presentation for the NCI Cancer Prevention Fellowship.

Hesse, B.W., Finney Rutten, L.J. (June 2007). The Health Information National Trends Survey: Progress, Plans, and Potential. Update to the Cancer Information Service.

Hesse, B.W. (June 2007). Enhancing Consumer Involvement in Health Care. Presented by invitation to the Columbia Schools of Medicine and Journalism.

Hesse, B.W. (May 2007). A Cancer Communication and Informatics Agenda for the 21st Century. University of Wisconsin Medical School Grand Rounds.

Hesse, B.W. (May 2007). Building from the Baseline. Keynote address at the 2nd biennial HINTS Data Users Conference.

Finney Rutten, L.J., Hesse, B.W., Moser, R.P., McCaul, K., Rothman, A.J. (2007). Public understanding of cancer prevention, detection, and survival/cure: Comparison with state-of-science evidence for colon, skin, and lung Cancer. Poster accepted for presentation at the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) Data Users Conference, May 4-5, 2007, Pasadena, CA.

Volckmann, L. Finney Rutten, L.J., Hesse, B.W., Beckjord, E., Moser, R.P. (May 2007). A growing disconnect between the public’s actual and preferred source of cancer information. Poster accepted for presentation at the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) Data Users Conference, May 4-5, 2007, Pasadena, CA.

Sullivan, H.W., Beckjord, E.B., Finney Rutten, L.J., & Hesse, B.W. (May 2007). Nutrition-related cancer prevention attitudes and behavioral intentions: Testing the Risk Perception Attitude Framework. Poster accepted for presentation at the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) Data Users Conference, May 4-5, 2007, Pasadena, CA.

Hesse, B.W. Envisioning a "Population Grid" in Cancer Prevention. Talk given at the annual conference of the American Society of Preventive Oncology, Houston, TX.

Sullivan, H.W., Beckjord, E.B., Finney Rutten, L.J., & Hesse, B.W. Nutrition-related cancer prevention attitudes and behavioral intentions: Testing the Risk Perception Attitude Framework. Poster presented at the annual conference of the American Society of Preventive Oncology, Houston, TX.

Finney Rutten, L.J., Hesse, B.W., Moser, R.P., McCaul, K., Rothman, A.J. (March 2007) Public understanding of cancer prevention, detection, and survival/cure: Comparison with state-of-science evidence for colon, skin, and lung Cancer. Accepted as a poster presentation at the Society of Behavioral Medicine's 28th Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions, March 21-24, 2007, Washington, DC.

Hesse, B.W. (December 1, 2006). Health System Design from the User's Perspective. Pacific Edge E-Health Innovations: Linking Research, Practice and Policy to Benefit Consumers & Communities; Claremont, CA, December 1-2, 2006.

Hesse, B.W. (October 31, 2006). Lessons from the Centers of Excellence in Cancer Communication Research. Science of Team Science: Assessing the Value of Transdisciplinary Research, October 30-31, 2006.

Hesse, B.W., Moser, R.P., Rutten, L.F., & Beckjord, E. (October 14, 2006). Identifying Consumer Needs for Health Information: HINTS, CIS, and Web Metrics. Mednet 2006: 11th World Congress on Internet in Medicine, Toronto, Canada, October 14-17, 2006.

Hesse, B.W. (October 5, 2006). Deep Support: Using eHealth Technologies to Foster Healing Relationships. Cancer Survivorship: Embracing the Future, Bethesda, MD, October 4-6, 2006.

Hesse, B.W. (September 11, 2006). Critical Issues in Tailored Communication. Critical Issues in eHealth Research: Methodology to Improve Clinical Care, Bethesda, MD, September 11-12, 2006.

Hesse, B.W., Beckjord, E., Rutten, L.F., Moser, R.P. (July 10, 2006). Surveillance of Cancer Prevention and Communication Constructs in the General U.S. Population. The World Cancer Congress, Washington, DC, July 8-15, 2006.

Hesse, B.W. (June 21, 2006). Roundtable on Measuring Media Exposure in the "Information Age:" Conceptual and Measurement Challenges in the 21st Century. International Communication Association, 2006 Conference, Dresden, Germany, June 19-23, 2006.

Hesse, B.W. (June 16, 2006). The Patient, an Actor Informed of his Health, AGIPHARM Conference: Access to Pharmaceutical Innovation, United Nations, New York, June 16, 2006.

Contractor, N. & Hesse, B.W. (May 22, 2006). Next Steps in Envisioning Cyberinfrastructure for Public Health. Digital Government 2006, San Diego, CA., May 21-24, 2006.

Hesse, B.W. (May 10, 2006). Why Communication Science is Vital to Progress against Disease in the 21st Century. NIH Symposium on Health Communication Science, Bethesda, MD, May 10, 2006.

Hesse, B.W. (March 29, 2006). Awash in Information: The Importance of the Cancer Information Service. CIS National Meeting, Bethesda, MD, March 28-30.