Mauryne Abwao

Ph.D. Student

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Biography —

Mauryne Abwao is a Ph.D. student in the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in Journalism and Communication Studies degree from Moi University in Kenya. After graduating Mauryne had a short stint working in print and digital media at Standard Media Group and in strategic communication at CBM International a non for profit organization working to improve their lives of persons with disabilities. She later moved to the U.S to pursue a Master of Science degree in Media Studies from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. Her current research renders an exploration how the media communicates about environmental injustices and its environmental health impacts on minority communities. In addition, her other research interests lay in media and disability, social media, health, and minority communities in the media. Her research has been published in several journals including Vaccine, Vaccines, Frontiers in Communication, Psychology & Health, American Journal of Health Education, and Vaccines. She has also presented her research work at various conferences such as the Mid-Winter AEJMC, AEJMC, ICA, and the Communicating Diversity Conference.

Research —

Health Communication
Environmental Communication
Health Disparities
Disability Communication
Science Communication
Minority Groups

Teaching —

Media Writing
Strategic Communication
Transnational Media
Organizational Communication
Information Exploration
Media and Health
Media and Culture

Selected Publications —

Abwao, M., Ittefaq, M., & Watson, J. (Accepted). People with Disabilities and self-disclosure about their sexual reproductive health on the internet. In Manning. J & Noland. C Contemporary Studies of Sexuality and Communication: Theoretical and Applied Approaches. Kendall Hunt. [Invited Book Chapter]

Abwao, M., Ittefaq, M., Baines, A., & Liu, P. (2021). “The disabled community is still waiting for equality”: What do users have to say about sexual reproductive health of persons with disabilities in online news comments. Frontiers in Communication, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2021.667627

Abwao, M. & Mishra, S. (2021). Media, culture, and framing of disability in Kenya’s Daily Nation Newspaper. In M. Jeffress (Ed.) Disability Representation in Film, TV, and Print Media. Routledge. [Book Chapter]

Ittefaq, M., Abwao, M., & Rafique, S. (2021). Polio vaccine misinformation on social media: Turning point in the fight against polio eradication in Pakistan. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 17(8), 2575-2577. https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2021.1894897

Ittefaq, M., Kamboh, S.A., & Abwao, M. (2021). COVID-19 vaccine selfie: A modest endeavor to increase vaccine acceptance. Psychology & Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2021.1957888 Baines, A., Ittefaq, M., & Abwao, M. (2021). #Scamdemic, #Plandemic, or #Scaredemic: What Parler social media platform tells us about COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccines, 9(5), 421. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9050421

Ittefaq, M., Baines, A., Abwao, M., Shah, S.F.A., & Ramzan, T. (2021). “Does Pakistan still have polio cases?”: Exploring discussions on polio and polio vaccine in online news comments in Pakistan. Vaccine, 39(3), 480-486. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.12.039

Selected Presentations —

Abwao, M., & Liu, P. In search of an answer: Cancer patients’ use of online digital platforms in Kenya during cancer treatment. Paper presented at AEMJC Mid-winter Conference Virtual (2021). March 5th -6th at University of Oklahoma, United States.

Ittefaq, M., Abwao, M., Baines, A., Belmas, G. (2021). There’s not Just a pandemic of health — there’s a pandemic of hate: A qualitative content analysis of three national newspapers from three countries. Paper presented at Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Midwinter, March 5, Oklahoma, United States.

Baines, A., Ittefaq, M., & Abwao, M. (2021). #Scamdemic, #Plandemic, or #Scaredemic: What Parler social media platform tells us about COVID-19 vaccine. Paper presented at Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, August 4-7, New Orleans, United States.

Liu, P., Abwao, M., Donghwa.C. & Noonark. C., Does it Work for You? Exploring college students’ preferences regarding tailored medicines’ information. Paper presented at AEMJC Mid-winter Virtual Conference (2021). March 5th -6th at University of Oklahoma, United States

Ittefaq, M., Kamboh, S. A., Iqbal, A., Iftikhar, U., Abwao, M., & Arif, R. (2021). Understanding public reaction to celebrity suicide cases in online news comments. Paper presented at Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, August 4-7, New Orleans, United States.

Ittefaq, M., Vu, H., Baines, A., & Abwao, M. (2021). Automated framing analysis of polio and polio vaccination coverage in 15 regional and national Pakistani English newspapers between 2012 and 2020. Paper presented at International Communication Association, May 27-31, Denver, United States.

Ittefaq, M., Baines, A., Abwao, M., Shah, S.F.A., & Ramzan, T. (2021). “Does Pakistan still have polio cases?”: Exploring discussions on polio and polio vaccine in online news comments in Pakistan. Paper presented at International Communication Association, May 27-31, Denver, United States.

Abwao, M., & Liu, P. You must be using a wheelchair! Exploring Disability Framing in Kenyan Newspaper. Paper presented at AEMJC Mid-winter conference (2020). March 6th – 8th, at University of Oklahoma, United States.

Erba, J., Geana, M., Kamanga, U., Abwao, M., Ittefaq, M., Liu, P., & Watson, J. (2020). Does a doctor’s visible identity matter? Exploring self-reported and real-time responses to a doctor’s race and gender in educational videos about clinical trials. International Communication Association annual conference, May 21-25, Gold Coast, Australia.

Liu, P., Ittefaq, M., Abwao, M., & Kamanga, U. (2020). Facebook/WeChat use and acculturation: A study of Chinese international students in the United States. Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs annual conference, October 16-18, Online, United States.

Abwao. M., Media Framing of Disability in Kenya. Paper presented at Communicating Diversity Conference (2018). March 22nd – 24th, at Texas A&M University, United States.