Risk Communication

The Risk Communication Laboratory

The Risk Communication Laboratory (RCL) is a state-of-the-art facility located in the Department of Public Health, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA. The RCL was established in 2006 with a grant awarded by the Vice President for Research at Temple University.

The mission of the RCL is to advance public health through the design and testing of effective health communication messages and public health campaigns.

The RCL is equipped with the latest in instrumentation for assessing emotional and physiological reactions to health messages -- including heart rate, respiration rate, skin conductance (sweating), skin temperature, and brain wave patterns. The lab is also equipped with an eye-tracking and pupilometer system to monitor how subjects process visual, graphic, Web, or textual message elements.

Using specialized perceptual mapping software, message strategies are tailored around the conceptual frames of a target audience. Recent RCL research includes projects for the Pennsylvania Health Department, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, the National Cancer Institute, and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering.