Health Communication & Equity Lab
We promote health equity and well-being through communication.
We work with our partner communities to understand how marketing, media, and messaging impact health and well-being. Together, we create communication programs that respect and reflect different needs and cultures.
Photo Credit (top image): Rawpixel.com / Shutterstock
Pursuing Health Equity
Based at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, the Health Communication & Equity Lab is employing communication science to achieve health equity for all.
5 Years of Project SMART
Project SMART is a federally funded study that explored how tailored messaging may reduce susceptibility to vaping among LGBTQ+ youth and young adults. We discuss the importance of involving our audience in the design and development of the study, reflect on what the past five years have looked like for our team, and share more as Project SMART comes to a close.
WHYY Podcast
ProjectSMART partners with WHYY to discuss the importance of Youth Engagement in Health Communication Research!
Xinyi Wang (Ph.D. ‘25) Named 2026 Penn Climate Scholar
The Health Communication and Equity Lab postdoctoral fellow studies curiosity and information seeking, particularly in the health domain.
The Lab on Video
Learn more about the work being done by the Health Communication & Equity Lab.
Professor Andy Tan joined researchers at Bristol Medical School in the UK to assess the effect of exposure to misinformation about e-cigarette harms found on Twitter.
We're all impacted by health messages, but we're not all impacted in the same way. In this video, Professor Andy Tan discusses his healthcare background and how his research on health communication disparities aims to mitigate discrimination against LGBTQ populations.