In response to the increasing request for cancer cluster investigations and the challenges in communicating the complexities of the studies and results, the author conducted case studies of childhood cancer cluster investigations in Dover Township, New Jersey and Fallon, Nevada to review state government communication and responses from residents. The purpose was to assess the residents' understanding and acceptance of the communication and to recommend guidelines for similar investigations based on lessons learned by officials and on recommendations by health risk communication experts in the public and private sectors. The study included content analyses of newspaper articles, intercept surveys, mail and e-mail surveys, and interviews with state officials, citizen committee leaders, and reporters.
","abstract_html":"<p>In response to the increasing request for cancer cluster investigations and the challenges in communicating the complexities of the studies and results, the author conducted case studies of childhood cancer cluster investigations in Dover Township, New Jersey and Fallon, Nevada to review state government communication and responses from residents. The purpose was to assess the residents' understanding and acceptance of the communication and to recommend guidelines for similar investigations based on lessons learned by officials and on recommendations by health risk communication experts in the public and private sectors. The study included content analyses of newspaper articles, intercept surveys, mail and e-mail surveys, and interviews with state officials, citizen committee leaders, and reporters.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["O'Donnell, Loretta A."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A. in Public Relations","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Public Relations & Advertising","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Fitzgerald, Suzanne Sparks"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2003,"date_issued":"2003-05-16T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2003-05-16T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:14:25Z","subjects":["Cancer--Epidemiology; Government publicity","Public Relations and Advertising"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/1348","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Fitzgerald, Suzanne Sparks"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["O'Donnell, Loretta A."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-05-10T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Public Relations & Advertising"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A. in Public Relations"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Cancer--Epidemiology; Government publicity","Public Relations and Advertising"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/1348"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In response to the increasing request for cancer cluster investigations and the challenges in communicating the complexities of the studies and results, the author conducted case studies of childhood cancer cluster investigations in Dover Township, New Jersey and Fallon, Nevada to review state government communication and responses from residents. The purpose was to assess the residents' understanding and acceptance of the communication and to recommend guidelines for similar investigations based on lessons learned by officials and on recommendations by health risk communication experts in the public and private sectors. The study included content analyses of newspaper articles, intercept surveys, mail and e-mail surveys, and interviews with state officials, citizen committee leaders, and reporters.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Cancer cluster communications: bridging the gap between science and public perception"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Fitzgerald, Suzanne Sparks"],"dc:creator":["O'Donnell, Loretta A."],"dc:date.available":["2016-05-10T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["In response to the increasing request for cancer cluster investigations and the challenges in communicating the complexities of the studies and results, the author conducted case studies of childhood cancer cluster investigations in Dover Township, New Jersey and Fallon, Nevada to review state government communication and responses from residents. The purpose was to assess the residents' understanding and acceptance of the communication and to recommend guidelines for similar investigations based on lessons learned by officials and on recommendations by health risk communication experts in the public and private sectors. The study included content analyses of newspaper articles, intercept surveys, mail and e-mail surveys, and interviews with state officials, citizen committee leaders, and reporters.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/1348"],"dc:subject":["Cancer--Epidemiology; Government publicity","Public Relations and Advertising"],"dc:title":["Cancer cluster communications: bridging the gap between science and public perception"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Public Relations & Advertising"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A. in Public Relations"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:14:25Z"}