Higher education institutions face profound communication challenges managing risks for university communities during the ongoing pandemic. This commentary shares 1) findings from our study involving analysis of 17 focus groups of students, faculty, staff, and parents of students to explore effective COVID-19 messages about campus safety, and 2) insights into the process of integrating the expertise of a university health communication center into campus-wide responses to COVID-19. Key focus group takeaways highlight the importance of communicating empathetically, acknowledging those who are made vulnerable through their work on campus, and that promises to return to normal would be perceived as unrealistic. Bringing the evidence base of health communication to the typical work of professional communicators on campus allowed us to create a communication toolkit for consistent messaging, and in turn, learn about the vital role health communication scholars can play in university crisis messaging.

This study investigates psychosocial factors that influence people's face-touching mitigation behaviors. A nationwide survey was conducted online, and the results showed that perceived risk severity of touching face, and barriers and self-efficacy of not touching face were stable predictors. COVID-19 was related to a higher likelihood of mitigation behavior in public spaces. This study provides important implications to health communication and promotion for COVID-19 and general infection control.

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The World Health Organization states that we are facing a global public health issue surrounding the abuse of prescription drugs, defined as either taking a prescription in a dose that is not prescribed, or taking someone else's prescription. For some, this misuse may be for legitimate reasons, including pain relief, heightened anxiety, or trouble focusing or sleeping. For others, they are merely taking the medication to get a high or to feel a sense of disassociation. This misuse of prescription drugs could have even started as one reason and morphed into another. To better understand the public health issue surrounding prescription drugs and substance use, and the communicative processes surrounding the issue, we examine patient–clinician communication, intraprofessional communication, as well as the role of mass media, and important interpersonal relationships.