"Helpful support is a human need we often take for granted." In this episode, we talk with Nick Iannarino, Professor of Health Communications at the University of Michigan, about the mental journey of hospital treatments as well as the types of support we should and shouldn't give to friends and family going through that experience.
Nick Iannarino (PhD, University of Kentucky; MA, University of Dayton) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Language, Culture, and Communication at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Nick specializes in health communication, and he is particularly interested in how people in close relationships manage the social experience of severe and chronic illness. His research considers the unique communication practices and challenges experienced by young adult (YA) cancer survivors and their close social network members. He has also studied the use of humor in existing narratives about traumatic illness (e.g., found in YA blogs, comedy performances, comic books), adult siblings who have made health decisions for an aging parent, and family communication patterns among cancer patients and their primary caregivers. Nick also teaches undergraduate courses on multiple topics related to health communication, qualitative and quantitative research methods, interpersonal communication, and public speaking.