Assistant Clinical Teaching Professor and Associate Director of the Center for Public Health Readiness and Communication
Environmental and Occupational Health
267.359.6044
tjh87@drexel.edu
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Degrees

MSPH, Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
MA, Health Communication, Pennsylvania State University
BA, Communication Studies, The College of New Jersey

Bio

Tom Hipper is the Associate Director of the Center for Public Health Readiness and Communication (CPHRC) and an Assistant Clinical Teaching Professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health. Tom also serves as the Director of Drexel’s online Certificate in Public Health and is a Fellow at the Center for Risk Communication.

Tom’s interests center on developing, evaluating, and delivering effective health and risk messages during disasters and crisis situations. Through teaching, conducting trainings, and leading research projects, his work focuses on improving risk communication to a wide-variety of audiences, including at-risk populations who are disproportionately impacted when disasters occur.

Research Interests

• Crisis Communication
• Risk Communication
• Health Communication
• Public Health Preparedness
• Emergency Management
• Social Media

Publications

Griffin, J.S., Hipper, T.J., Chernak, E.C., Kurapati, P., Lege-Matsuura, J., Popek, L., Turchi, R.M. (2023). Home-based emergency preparedness for families of children and youth with special healthcare needs: A Scoping Review. Health Security, 21(3), 193-206.

Hipper, T. J., Popek, L., Davis, R., Turchi, R. M., Lubell, K. M., ... & Chernak, E. (2022). Communication preferences of parents and caregivers of children and youth with special healthcare needs during a hypothetical infectious disease emergency. Health Security, 20(6), 467-478.

Peters R, Hipper T., Kricun H., Chernak E. (2019). A quantitative public health risk assessment tool planning for at-risk populations. American Journal of Public Health. 109(S4), S286-S289.

Hipper, T. J., Davis, R., Massey, P. M., Turchi, R. M., Lubell, K. M., ... & Chernak, E. (2018). The disaster information needs of families of children with special healthcare needs: A scoping review. Health Security. 16(3), 178-192.

Peters R., Hipper T., Chernak E. (2018). Primary care medical practices and emergency preparedness: Findings from a survey of primary care practices. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 1-5.

Purtle, J., Field, R. I., Hipper, T., Nash-Arot, J., Chernak, E., & Buehler, J. W. (2018). The Impact of Law on Syndromic Disease Surveillance Implementation. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 24(1), 9-17.

Hipper, T., Orr, A., & Chernak, E. (2015). Are human service agencies ready for disasters? Findings from a mixed methods needs assessment and planning project. Health Security, 13(2), 106-114.

Abel, M.L., Lee, K., Loglisci, R., Righter, A., Hipper, T., & Cheskin, L.J. (2014). Consumer understanding of calorie labeling: A healthy monday e-mail and text message intervention. Health Promotion Practice. 16(2), 236-243.

Hipper, T., Catona, D., & Nussbaum, J. F. (2011). Transitioning from independence to dependence: Family relational adaptation to Alzheimer’s disease. In M. Miller-Day (Ed.), Going through this together: Family communication and health transitions.

Smith, R. A., & Hipper, T. (2010). Label management: Investigating how confidants encourage the use of communication strategies to avoid stigmatization. Health Communication, 25(5), 410-22.