Overview

Dr. Chesser serves as Professor and Director of Graduate Programs, as well as Graduate Coordinator for the MAAS and MHA programs in the Department of Public Health Sciences at Wichita State University.

She earned her doctorate in Health Communication and focuses her research on health communication, health literacy, health equity, and aging populations. Dr. Chesser has extensive teaching experience at both graduate and undergraduate levels, offering courses such as Health Communication, Health Communication for Older Adults, Social Marketing, Organizational Communication, Global Public Health Communication, and Introduction to Communication. She also contributes to the field through service as a member of the Advisory Board for the regional Health Literacy Network and as the U.S. Health Literacy Region 7 Coordinator.

Information

Academic Interests and Expertise

Kansas Public Health Association Annual Conference

Dr. Chesser enjoys conducting research involving Health Literacy and Older Adults, Attitudes and Knowledge of Older Adults, and Mental Health Literacy and Women.

Areas of Teaching Interest

Dr. Chesser enjoys teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in Graduate Studies including:

  • Women and Aging
  • Health Communications and Aging
  • Public Health and Aging
  • Advanced Public Health and Aging
  • Practicum
  • Psychology of Aging
Publications

Selected Publications:

  • Keene Woods, N., Burkhart, K., Peterson, E., Hansford, H., Medina, M., Reyes, J. and Chesser, A. Validation of Electronically Administered Three-Question Health Literacy Screener and STOFHLA in Identifying Limited Health Literacy. Kansas Nurse. 2023:1(3); 20-23.
  • Keene Woods, N., Ali, U., Medina, M., Reyes, J., & Chesser, A. Health Literacy, Health Outcomes and Equity: A Trend Analysis Based on a Population Survey. Journal of Primary Care & Community Health. 2023;14. doi:10.1177/21501319231156132
  • Showstack R, Keene Woods N, Duque S, Lopez A, Chesser A. Lifting the Voices of Spanish-speaking Kansans: A Community-engaged Approach to Health Equity. Multilingua: Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Communication. 2021: https://doi.org/10.1515/multi-2021-0082
  • Vargas I, Keene Woods N, Bennett C, Pulari J, McCray Miller M, Chesser A. The Women’s Health Network: A evaluation of a community-based initiative. Journal of Family Medicine and Disease Prevention.2021:7:136. https://doi:10.23937/2469-5793/1510136
  • Chesser A, Green J, Norton M, Rogers N. Assessment of Student Knowledge and Opinions of Older Adults and Aging: A pilot study. Journal of Family Medicine and Disease Prevention.2021:7:140. https://doi.org/10.23937/2469-5793/1510140
  • Chesser A, Keene Woods N, Bowen A, Vargas IL & Hawley S. Mental Health Literacy and Women: A systematic review. Kansas Nurse Journal.2021:96:1:6-19.
Grants