Biography
Evelyn Y. Ho is a Professor of Communication Studies, Asian Pacific American Studies, and Critical Diversity Studies at the University of San Francisco. Beginning with an understanding that communication is a cultural activity and that health care systems and beliefs are profoundly cultural, Prof. Ho's teaching and research focus broadly on the intersections of health, culture and communication. Health care in the United States is increasingly confronted with a variety of domestic and international–based alternatives and complementary therapies to Western biomedicine and her research studies the discursive construction of holistic, complementary, and integrative medicine especially in relationship to biomedicine.
Recent projects have focused on creating an integrative Chinese medicine + western medicine diet for Chinese Americans with Type 2 Diabetes, understanding the use of informal/unlicensed Chinese medicine practices (such as foot reflexology, postpartum practices, Chinese medicinal foods) in Singapore, and examining communication about complementary and integrative medicines in health care visits. Previous research has examined public health acupuncture clinics in Seattle and in San Francisco, the use of acupuncture and massage therapy use for HIV–related neuropathy, and patient education about how to discuss complementary and integrative medicine with doctors. Her research has been published in Health Communication, Patient Education and Counseling, the Journal of Applied Communication Research, Research on Language and Social Interaction, Diabetes Educator, Qualitative Health Research, and elsewhere.
At USF Prof. Ho teaches courses in Communication and Culture, Ethnography of Communication, Qualitative Research Methods, Health Communication, Holistic Medicine, and Asian Pacific American Studies. In 2014, she co–taught USF’s first ever Pacific Islander course — the Davies Forum — Pondering Paradise: Contemporary Issues Through a Pacific Lens. Evelyn Ho is the current Vice-Chair of the Health Communication Division of the International Communication Association (ICA).
- Appointments
- Interim Director of Administration, MA in Asia Pacific Studies
- Education
- PhD/MA, Communication Studies, University of Iowa
- BA, Speech Communication, University of Washington
- Research
- Health communication
- Cultural communication
- Language and social interaction
- Complementary and integrative health
- Asian Pacific American studies
- Patient health education
- Publications
Ho, E. Y., Lalancette, C., & Leung, G., (in press). “Using Chinese medicine in a Western way”: Negotiating integrative Chinese medicine treatment for type 2 diabetes. Communication & Medicine.
Ho, E. Y., Cady, K. A., Robles, J. S. (2016, epub). A case study of the neti pot’s rise, Americanization, and rupture as integrative medicine in US media discourse. Health Communication. doi:10.1080/10410236.2015.1047145
Koenig, C. J., Ho, E. Y., Trupin, L., & Dohan, D. (2015). An exploratory typology of provider responses that encourage and discourage conversation about complementary and integrative medicine during routine oncology visits. Patient Education & Counseling, 98, 857-863. doi:10.1016/j.pec.2015.02.018.
Ho, E. Y., Tran, H., & Chesla, C. A. (2015). Assessing the cultural in culturally sensitive printed patient education materials for Chinese Americans with Type 2 diabetes. Health Communication, 30, 39-49. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2013.835216.
Ho, E. Y. (2015). Qi (Chinese). In K. Tracy, C. Ilie & T. Sandel (Eds.). The International Encyclopedia of Language & Social Interaction. Boston: John Wiley & Sons.
Robles, J. S. & Ho, E. Y. (2014). Interactional formats and institutional context: A practical and exploitable distinction in interviews. Text & Talk, 34, 443-465. doi: 10.1515/text-2014-0011.
Ho, E. Y., & Koenig, C. J. (2014). Provider-patient communication about complementary and alternative medicine. In H. E. Hamilton & W-Y. S. Chou (Eds.). The Routledge Handbook of Language and Health Communication. (506-519). London: Routledge.
Ho, E. Y. (2014a). Complementary and alternative medicine. In T. L. Thompson (Ed.). Encyclopedia of Health Communication. Volume 1. (65-70). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Ho, E. Y. (2014b). Socio-cultural factors in health communication. In N. G. Harrington (Ed.). Exploring Health Communication from Multiple Perspectives. (212-239). New York: Routledge.
Witteborn, S., Milburn, T., & Ho, E. Y. (2013). The ethnography of communication as applied methodology: Insights from three case studies. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 41, 188-194. doi: 10.1080/00909882.2013.782421.
Ho, E. Y., Chesla, C. A., & Chun, K. M. (2012). Health communication with Chinese Americans about type 2 diabetes. The Diabetes Educator, 38, 66-75. doi: 10.1177/0145721711428774.
Koenig, C. J., Ho, E. Y., Yadegar, V., & Tarn, D. M. (2012). Negotiating complementary and alternative medicine use in primary care visits with older patients. Patient Education & Counseling, 89, 368–373. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2012.02.020.
Ho, E. Y. & Robles, J. S. (2011). Cultural resources for health participation: Examining biomedicine, acupuncture and massage therapy for HIV–related peripheral neuropathy. Health Communication, 26(2), 135–146. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2010.541991.
Bylund, C. L., D'Agostino, T. A., Ho, E. Y., & Chewning, B. A. (2010). Improving clinical communication and promoting health through concordance-based patient education. Communication Education, 59(3), 294–311. doi: 10.1080/03634521003631952.
Ho, E. Y., Koenig, C. J., Wingard, L. & Bansavich, J. (2009). Learning LSI means doing LSI: Reflections on technology use in two Language and Social Interaction courses. Electronic Journal of Communication, 19(1-2).
Ho, E. Y., Bylund, C. L., Rosenbaum, M., & Herwaldt, L. A. (2009). Teaching health communication through found poems created from patients' stories. Communication Teacher, 23, 93–98. doi: 10.1080/17404620902779512.
Ho, E. Y. & Bylund, C. L. (2008). Models of health and models of health delivery in the practitioner-client relationship in acupuncture. Health Communication, 23, 506–515. doi: 10.1080/10410230802460234.
Baxter, L., Egbert, N. & Ho, E. (2008). Everyday health communication experiences of college students. Journal of American College Health, 56, 427–435. doi: 10.3200/JACH.56.44.427-436.
Ho, E. Y. (2007). "Have you seen your aura lately?": Examining boundary–work in holistic health pamphlets. Qualitative Health Research, 17, 26–37. doi: 10.1177/1049732306296364.
Ho, E. Y. (2006). Behold the power of Qi: The importance of Qi in the discourse of acupuncture. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 39, 411–440. doi: 10.1207/s15327973rlsi3904_3.
Zickmund, S., Ho, E. Y., Masuda, M., Ippolito, L. & LaBrecque, D. R. (2003). "They treated me like a leper": Stigmatization and the emotional burden of hepatitis C. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 18, 835–844. doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2003.20826.x.