Dr. Rachael A. Record

headshot of Dr. Rachael Record

Professor
School of Communication
College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts

SDSU

Email

Primary Email: [email protected]

Building/Location

Communication - 201
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182-4560

Files

Website Links

Bio

Dr. Record is a Professor in the School of Communication at San Diego State University. She earned her B.A. (2009) in Communication from SUNY, University at Buffalo and her M.A. (2011) and Ph.D (2014) in Communication from the University of Kentucky. She also earned Graduate Certificates in Health Communication (2011) and Applied Statistics (2013) from the University of Kentucky. Her research, grounded in behavior change theories, employs mixed methods to examine campaign and intervention strategies to improve health behavior outcomes, with an emphasis in the context of tobacco prevention. In addition, Dr. Record explores social media platforms for health promotion. Her most recent projects have focused on intervention strategies for increasing awareness of the health risks associated with thirdhand smoke exposure. As the Associate Director of the Thirdhand Smoke Resource Center, she oversees the design, implementation, and evaluation of educational thirdhand smoke materials, which seek to increase awareness of the dangers affiliated with exposure to toxic thirdhand smoke residue.

Education

  • Ph.D (2014), Communication, University of Kentucky
  • M.A. (2011), Communication, University of Kentucky
  • B.A. (2009), Communication, SUNY, University at Buffalo 

Areas of Specialization

Mixed research methods, tobacco prevention, public health campaigns & interventions, behavior change

Certifications

Health Communication, Statistics

Awards & Honors

SDSU Senate Distinguished Professor for Excellence in Teaching

Courses

  • COMM 321: Intro to Health Communication
  • COMM 420: Quant Methods in Communication
  • COMM 421: Health Communication and Service Learning
  • COMM 424: Health Communication Campaigns
  • COMM 427: Health Communication and Culture
  • COMM 610: Advanced Communication Theory
  • COMM 508: Media Literacy
  • COMM 620: Seminar in Quantitative Methods
  • COMM 721: Seminar in Health Communication
  • COMM 724: Seminar in Health Communication Campaigns
  • COMM 750: Health Communication & Culture
  • COMM 792: Persuasion

Grants

  • $451,500 (Tobacco-related Disease Research Program [TRDRP], 2022-2025; Award ID: T32PT5945). Thirdhand smoke research consortium: THS messaging among priority populations. PI: R. A. Record; Co-Is: L. Greiner & G. Matt.
  • $30,000 (Tobacco-related Disease Research Program [TRDRP], 2024-2025; Award ID: T32PT5945H). Cornelius Hopper Diversity Supplement for Graduate Student Researcher. PI: R. A. Record; Student researcher: E. Carrillo.
  • $473,166 (Tobacco-related Disease Research Program [TRDRP], 2022-2024 [NCE approved through 2025]; Award ID: T32IP4797). Testing persuasive messages for California’s tobacco endgame among diverse & underserved communities. PI: R. A. Record; Co-Is: L. Greiner & G. Matt.
  • $152,435 (Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science [TCORS], U.S. Food and Drug Administration [FDA], 2021-2022; Award ID: 140390795). Should Hashtags be Part of Tobacco Marketing Regulations?: An exploration of hashtag use in ENDS marketing. PI: R. A. Record.

Publications

Recent Publications with Students

*Student collaborator

  • Record, R. A., *Azzam, K., *Gonzales, M. M., Greiner, L. H., & Matt, G. E. (2025). Identifying how tobacco industry-targeted communities perceive California’s Tobacco Endgame initiative. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, 20, 1-11. https://doi.org/ https://doi.org/10.1186/s13011-025-00674-6
  • Record, R. A., Greiner, L. H., Wipfli, H., *Mejia, M., *Pugel, J., & Matt, G. E. (2025). Examining Facebook’s algorithmic priorities and user engagement: A case study of educational narratives on thirdhand smoke exposure risks to children. Journal of Social Media in Society, 14(2), 85-100.
  • *Groznik, M., *Jimenez, R., *Tellesen, S., *Azzam, K., *Anderson, S., *Marium, S., & Record, R. A. (2025). Big tobacco’s hashtag hijacking: A network analysis approach to social media hashtag use among FDA-registered vaping establishments. Online Information Review, 49(7), 1302-1319.  https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-07-2024-0473
  • *Juarez, J., Record, R. A., & Dykstra-Devette, T. (2025). The road to healthcare is paved with good intentions: Perceptions of Mexico City’s government-managed healthcare program. Health Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2025.2535041
  • Record, R. A., *Groznik, M., & Sussman, M. (2023). Communicative processes underlying DIY eJuice mixing among young adult international ENDS users. Health Communication, 39(4), 666-674. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2023.2179718
  • Record, R. A., *Groznik, M., & Sussman, M. (2023). Using the theory of planned behavior to anticipate do-it-yourself ejuice mixing among young adult international e-cigarette users. Addiction and Health, 15(1), 23-30. https://doi.org/10.34172/ahj.2023.1385
  • Record, R. A., Greiner, L. H., Wipfli, H., *Strickland, J., *Owens, J., *Pugel, J., & Matt, G. E. (2023). Evaluation of a social media campaign designed to increase awareness of thirdhand smoke among California adults. Health Communication, 38(3), 437-446. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2021.1954760
  • Record, R. A., Greiner, L. H., Wipfli, H., *Pugel, J., & Matt, G. E. (2022). Thirdhand smoke knowledge, attitudes, and behavior: Development of reliable and valid self-report measures. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 24(1), 141-145. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntab133
  • *Silberman, W., & Record, R. A., (2021). We post it, u reddit: Exploring the potential of reddit for health interventions targeting college populations. Journal of Health Communication. Early online release. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2021.1949648.