HRCC Faculty Feature March

March 26, 2024 - Ashley Wilson

Dr. Holtz's  research explores the adoption, perceptions, and outcomes of telemedicine, mobile phone health apps (mhealth), consumer grade sensors (i.e., Fitbit, Apple Watch, etc.), electronic medical records, AI, and social media for health topics.

More generally, Dr. Holtz’s research sits at the intersection of health communication, information communication technologies (ICT or “technologies”) and the promotion of healthy behaviors through persuasion. Within this space, she is especially interested in the adoption of consumer health technology, telehealth services, and artificial intelligence (AI) in health communication. Her goal is to help improve health outcomes and individuals’ quality of life and has built a successful record of mixed methods research around this mission. This record includes 40 peer-reviewed articles, five book chapters, and numerous presentations (both conference and invited). I have also submitted proposals for internal, foundation, and federal funding and demonstrated success with more than $2 million in research awards, as either the PI or a Co-I.

Dr. Holtz studies a variety of technologies, populations, and conditions on an array of health topics, which tend to include chronic illnesses, mental health, and activities conducted over longer periods of time (e.g., fitness, nutrition). She uses a variety of theoretical frameworks from both health communication and information systems to match the questions/phenomenon. 

Dr. Holtz has been recognized as an outstanding instructor having been awarded both the Faculty Impact Award and an Adams Academy Teaching Fellow by Michigan State University. Where in her classes she focuses on professional development, campaign planning and design, and health communication. She regularly brings students to Chicago to visit Public Relations firms.

She received her B.A. in Telecommunication from MSU, her MSc in Information Systems from the London School of Economics, and her Ph.D. in Media and Information Studies from MSU. She completed her postdoctoral training at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System in the Health Services Research and Development Department. She returned to MSU’s College of Communication Arts and Sciences in 2012.

RESEARCH AND TEACHING