About
Rachel graduated with a BS in Neuroscience from Michigan State University where she discovered her interest in public understanding of science, as well as health and science communication. She obtained her MA in Communication from the Ohio State University and is currently a fourth year PhD candidate in the Department of Communication.
Research Focus
Rachel's current research focuses on social support for mental health, and how interactive media can be harnessed to improve individuals' health behaviors. Additionally, she is broadly interested in the impact of technology on the physician-patient relatinoship.
Publications
Cabrera, L. Y., Brandt, M., McKenzie, R., & Bluhm, R. (2019). Online comments about psychiatric neurosurgery and psychopharmacological interventions: Public perceptions and concerns. Social Science & Medicine, 220, 184-192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.11.021
Khan, S., Gonzalez, T., McKenzie, R., & Feng, B. (2022). The Influence of Linguistic Agency and Causality Attribution in Support-seeking about Depression on Perceived Stigma and Support Messages. Journal of Health Communication, 27(5), 292-301. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2022.2104412
Layug, A., Krishnamurthy, S., McKenzie, R., & Feng, B. (2022). The Impacts of Social Media Use and Online Racial Discrimination on Asian American Mental Health: Cross-sectional Survey in the United States During COVID-19. JMIR Formative Research, 6(9), e38589. https://doi.org/10.2196/38589
McKenzie, R. (2020). Independence and Interdependence on Social Media: The Impact of Using Mental Health Instagram Posts to Induce Self-Construals (Masters thesis, The Ohio State University). http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1590339810846625
Teaching
TA
CMN 102 Empirical Methods in Communication: FQ 2021, FQ 2022, FQ 2023
CMN 120 Interpersonal Communication: WQ 2022, WQ 2023
CMN 172 Interpersonal Technologies: SQ 2022
AI
CMN 172 Interpersonal Technologies: SQ 2023
CMN 102 Empirical Methods in Communication: Summer Session I 2023