A.Q. Miller School of Media and Communication

Nancy Muturi, Ph.D.

Professor

nmuturi@ksu.edu

Campus Office: 202 Nichols Hall

Nancy teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in public relations, health communication, gender and diversity issues in the media, as well as communication for social change. Her research is in health communication with focus on HIV/AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean and health disparities in the United States. She has several years of international professional experience mostly with non-profit and governmental organizations. Prior to joining A.Q. Miller School she worked as a health communication specialist for the University of the West Indies HIV/AIDS Response Program in the Caribbean. She also taught and served as a graduate studies director for the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication. In that capacity she developed an internationally recognized graduate program in Communication for Social and Behavior Change with a focus on health, development communication, and disaster preparedness.

Before her Caribbean expedition Nancy worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) thus gaining experience with a Federal Government agency. Nancy has also worked with several agencies in Kenya, her native country, including the Kenyan government and with non-profit and community-based organizations. She has also consulted with several international organizations including CIDA, UNICEF and UNESCO in Africa and the Caribbean. Her professional interests have been on Reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, and more recently on nutrition-related issues among children.

Since joining Kansas State University in 2005, Nancy has been an affiliate of the women’s studies and African Studies Programs and is actively involved with several community organizations in the region. Her service-learning teaching approach has enabled students to be involved in several community activities including designing HIV/AIDS prevention and watershed conservations campaigns.

Nancy’s research has been published in some of the top journals in the field including Health Communication, International Journal of Health Communication, Journal of International Communication, International Journal of Communication, Journal of Development Communication, and the Journal of Creative Communication. She has chapters in several health communication books published in the US and the Caribbean.

Recent Publications

  • Muturi, N. & Zhu, G. (2019) Students' Perceptions of Diversity Issues in Public Relations. Journal of Public Relations Education.5 (2) 75-104.https://bit.ly/2MEmBmm
  • Muturi, N., Kidd, T., Daniels, A. M., Kattelmann, K. K., Khan, T., Lindshield, E., ... & Adhikari, K. (2018). Examining the role of youth empowerment in preventing adolescence obesity in low-income communities. Journal of Adolescence, 68, 242-251.
  • Opoku-Acheampong, A., Kidd, T., Adhikari, K., Muturi, N., & Kattelmann, K. (2018). Assessing Physical Activity, Fruit, Vegetable and Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake Patterns of College Students in Kansas, Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2018.02.001
  • Muturi, N., Kidd, T., Kattelmann, Lindshield, E., Adhikari, K., Zies, S. (2017). Motivation for Obesity Reduction among Adolescents in Low-income Communities in Three U.S. States. Journal of Communication and Healthcare. 10(3), 169-179, DOI: 10.1080/17538068.2017.1343757

  • Muturi, N., Kidd, T., Khan, T., Kattelmann, K., Zies, S. & Lindshield, E. (2016). An Examination of Factors Associated With Self-Efficacy for Food Choice and Healthy Eating among Low-Income Adolescents in Three U.S. States. Frontiers in Communication: Health Communication, 1(6) 1-9 DOI: 10.3389/fcomm.2016.00006

  • Muturi, Nancy (2016). Communities’ Perspectives on Communication Strategies for Preventing Chronic Alcoholism in Rural Central Kenya. Journal of Health Communication

  • Qiu, Jing & Muturi, Nancy (2016). Asian American Public Relations Practitioners’ Perspectives on Diversity. Howard Journal of Communication

  • Kumar J, Adhikari K, Li Y, Lindshield E, Muturi N, & Kidd T. (2016). Identifying barriers, perceptions and motivations related to healthy eating and physical activity in 6th to 8th grade, rural, limited-resource adolescents. Health Education

  • Muturi, Nancy. (2015). Gender and HIV/AIDS in the Context of Excessive Alcohol Consumption in Kenya. African Journal of AIDS Research, 14(1) 57-65

  • Kumar, J., Kidd, T., Li, Y., Lindshield, E., Muturi, N., & Adhikari, K. (2014). Using the Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Approach in Childhood Obesity Prevention, International Journal of Child Health and Nutrition. 3 (4), 170-178

  • Muturi, Nancy (2014). Alcohol consumption and reproductive health risks in rural central Kenya. Sexual and Reproductive HealthCare, 5, 41–46

  • Muturi, Nancy (2014). Engaging communities in the understanding of excessive alcohol consumption in rural central Kenya. Journal of International Communication, 20 (2), 98-117

  • Muturi, Nancy, Soontae An, & Samuel Mwangi (2013). Students’ Motivations and Expectations for Service Learning in Public Relations. Submitted to the Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, 68: 387-408, doi: 10.1177/1077695813506992

  • An, Soontae & Muturi, Nancy (2011). Subjective Health Literacy and Older Adults’ Assessment of Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Ads. Journal of Health Communication, 16, 242-255 doi: 10.1080/10810730.2011.604387

  • Muturi, Nancy & Samuel Mwangi (2011). Older Adults’ Perspectives on HIV/AIDS Prevention Strategies for Rural Kenya. Health Communication, 26(8) 712-723 doi:10.1080/10410236.2011.563354

  • Muturi, Nancy & Sootae An (2010). HIV/AIDS Stigma and Religiosity among African American Women. Journal of Health Communication, 15(4), 388-401

  • Muturi, Nancy & Samuel Mwangi (2009). Theory and Practice Gap in Participatory Communication: A Caribbean Case Study, Journal of International Communication, 15(1), 74-91

    Book Chapters

  • Muturi, Nancy (2016). Digital Technology and HIV/AIDS Prevention in Kenya. In Vemula, R.K. & Gavaravarapu, S. M. Health Communication in the changing Media Landscapes: Perspectives from developing countries. A Palgrave and IAMCR Series, Springer.

  • Muturi, Nancy (2011). Religiosity, HIV Risk Communication, and HIV-Related Interventions within Faith Communities in Jamaica. In Miller A. N & D. L. Rubin (Eds.), (pp. 163-186), Health Communication and Faith-Based Communities. Hampton Press

  • Muturi, N., Mwangi, S., Ruddock-Small, M., & Page, R. (2011). Religiosity and HIV/AIDS stigma in Jamaica. In G. A. Steele (Ed.), Health communication in the Caribbean and beyond: A reader. (pp. 227-244), Kingston, Jamaica: UWI Press

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