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Personal Summary

I specialize in Health Communication. That is, my research attempts to apply communication evidence, strategy, theory, and creativity to promote behaviors, policies, and practices that advance the health and well-being of people and populations. For example, I have worked with urban homeless and migrant farm workers (using photovoice) to understand the factors that enable home stability, investigated sexuality and stigma among Latina pregnant or parenting teens (using digital storytelling), and helped to develop culturally appropriate guidelines to address zoonotic spillover (the transmission of infectious diseases between animals and humans) in Southeast Asia, utilizing a participatory approach. Most recently, I am conducting ethnographic research to understand the factors that may lead to higher vaccination confidence among rural populations. Thus, I have investigated a wide range of topics affecting very diverse communities, but the common thread in my research is the desire to understand how and why people make decisions affecting their health and wellbeing.  

Education

Ph.D.   Health Communication, 2006. University of New Mexico.

Courses Taught

PUBH 475e Issues in Medical and Public Health Ethics

PUBH 540 Social and Behavioral Science in Public Health 

PUBH 640 Qualitative Research in Public Health

Publications

Selected Publications 

1.           Ward, T., Evangelista, L. Serafica, R., Peterson J.C. et al. (2025). Promoting community engagement and capacity-building to address health disparities in diverse communities: Experiences of a Community Engagement and Outreach Team. Journal of Clinical and Translational Science.

2.           Peterson, J.C., Williams, E., Goes-Ahead Lopez, C., Jansen, K., Albers, A.N., Newcomer, S.R., Caringi, J. (2024). Influences on COVID-19 vaccine decision-making: A qualitative study with urban Indigenous and rural adults. Community Health Equity Research & Policy (CHERP). DOI: 10.1177/2752535X241273816

3.           Shattuck, D., Willging, C. E., Peterson, J., & Ramos, M. M. (2024). Outer-context determinants on the implementation of school-based interventions for LGBTQ+ adolescents. Implementation Research and Practice, 5. https://doi.org/10.1177/26334895241249417

4.           Chase-Begay, D., Peterson, J.C., Liddell, J., & A. Belcourt. (2023). Traditional Ceremonial practices as a strategy to reduce problem substance use in American Indian communities: A systematic review. Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine, 29(6-7), 408-419. DOI: 10.1089/jicm.2022.0655

5.           Chandanabhumma P., Duran B.M., Peterson J.C., Pearson C.R., Oetzel J.G., Dutta M.J., Wallerstein N.B. (2019). Space within the Scientific Discourse for the Voice of the Other?  Expressions of Community Voice in the Scientific Discourse of Community-based Participatory Research. Health Communication, 35(5), 616-627. DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2019.1581409

6.           Fiddian-Green, A., Kim.S., Gubrium, A.C., Larkey, L.K., & J.C. Peterson (2019). Restor(y)ing Health: A Conceptual Model of the Effects of Digital Storytelling. Health Promotion Practice, 20(4), 502-512. DOI:10.1177/1524839918825130

7.           Gubrium, A., Fiddian-Green, A., Lowe, S., DiFulvio, G. & J.C. Peterson (2019). Digital storytelling as critical narrative intervention with adolescent women of Puerto Rican descent, Critical Public Health, 29(3), 290-301. DOI: 10.1080/09581596.2018.1451622. 

8.           Peterson, J.C., Gubrium, A.C. & Fiddian-Green, A.  (2018). Meth Mouth, White Trash, and the Pseudo-Racialization of Methamphetamine use in the U.S. Health Communication, 7, 1-10. DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2018.1471333.

9.           Fiddian-Green, A., Gubrium, A., & Peterson, J.C. (2016). Puerto Rican Latina youth coming out to talk about sexuality and identity. Health Communication, 32(9), 1104-1111. DOI: 10.1080/10440236.2016.1214215

10.        Postma, J., Peterson, J.C., Ybarra Vega, M.J., Ramos, C., Cortes, G., (2014). Latina youths’ perceptions of children’s environmental health risks in an agricultural community. Public Health Nursing. DOI: 10.1111/phn.12112

11.        Benavides-Vaello, S., Katz, J.R., Peterson, J.C., Allen, C.B., & Paul, R. Charette-Le Bluff, A., & Morris, P. (2014). Nursing and health sciences workforce diversity research using photovoice: A college and high school participatory project. Journal of Nursing Education, 53(4), 217-222.

12.        Peterson, J.C., Antony, M.G., Thomas, R.J. (2012) “This right here is all about living”: Communicating the “common sense” about home stability through CBPR and photovoice. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 40 (3), 247-270.

13.        Peterson, J.C., Gubrium, A. (2011). Old wine in new bottles? The positioning of participation in 17 NIH funded CBPR projects. Health Communication, 26, 724-734.

Professional Experience

2024 - Present: Director, Practice Based Research Network, MT Clinical and Translational Research Center, Ñý¼§Ö±²¥

2022 - Present: Research Associate Professor, School of Public and Community Health Sciences, Ñý¼§Ö±²¥

2022 – 2024: Associate Director, Mountain West Clinical and translational Research Infrastructure Network (MW CTR-IN) Community Engagement and Outreach Core

2021- 2023: Behavioral Health Associate Research Scientist, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE), Albuquerque, NM.

2014-2018: Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs, Murrow College of Communication, Washington State University

Hobbies

I live in Eureka, MT. When I am not doing work in Public Health, I am busy working cattle and sheep on our family ranch or breaking farm equipment.