Personal profile
Research Interests
- Community-engaged public health
- Emergency preparedness and risk communication
- Environmental health literacy
- Stakeholder-centered health communication
- Public engagement related to hazardous waste sites
- Research translation
- Dissemination and implementation sciences
Biography
Anna Goodman Hoover, M.A., Ph.D., is a public health researcher and participatory communication scientist. She studies health and risk communication strategies designed to ensure that the best available scientific evidence informs individual, community, policy, and practice decisions. She has been involved professionally in translating environmental health research with UK’s Superfund Research Center for more than seventeen years, including six as co-lead of the Research Translation Core. She also works directly with local stakeholders on numerous research projects that are intended to improve environmental health literacy and strengthen communication. Her research has examined how knowledge gaps and distrust combine to negatively affect capacity to understand health hazards and take protective action. Dr. Hoover’s recent environmental health literacy research has surfaced stakeholder concerns about the need for more accessible, understandable, and useful health-related information to help people protect themselves from diseases that have been linked to exposures. She previously served several years as co-director of the National Coordinating Center for Systems for Action and deputy director of the National Health Security Preparedness Index program management office, both programs of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. A native Appalachian, Dr. Hoover centers both her research and her teaching on ensuring stakeholder-engaged and audience-centered environmental health communication supports community-engaged, evidence-informed health decisions. As Assustant Dean for Graduate Public Health Practice Programs, Dr. Hoover supports the UK College of Public Health Master of Public Health, Master of Health Administration, and Doctor of Public Health degree programs.
Courses Taught
CPH 351 Population Health and Crisis Management
CPH 395 Independent Study
CPH 476G Global Public Health
CPH 621 Understanding and Communicating Environmental Health Risk
CPH 729 Independent Studies in Occupational and Environmental Health
CPH 942 Public Health Communication: Translating Public Health Science for Diverse Audiences
Education/Academic qualification
Doctor of Philosophy, University Of Kentucky
2012
Master of Arts, University Of Kentucky
2007
Keywords
- H Social Sciences (General)
- RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
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SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation
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SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
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SDG 13 Climate Action
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SDG 15 Life on Land
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SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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PIPP Phase II: Environmental Surveillance for Assessing Pathogen Emergence (ESCAPE) (ALN 47.074)
Berry, S. (PI), Alameh, S. (CoI), Arora, V. (CoI), Burgess, D. (CoI), Gallimore, J. (CoI), Hoover, A. (CoI), Messer, T. (CoI), Ormsbee, L. (CoI) & Xiang, L. (CoI)
9/1/24 → 8/31/31
Project: Research project
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ALN 47.075: PIPP Phase II: Environmental Surveillance for Assessing Pathogen Emergence (ESCAPE)
Berry, S. (PI), Alameh, S. (CoI), Hoover, A. (CoI) & Xiang, L. (CoI)
9/1/24 → 8/31/31
Project: Research project
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ALN 47.041: PIPP Phase II: Environmental Surveillance for Assessing Pathogen Emergence (ESCAPE)
Berry, S. (PI), Burgess, D. (CoI), Hoover, A. (CoI) & Messer, T. (CoI)
9/1/24 → 8/31/31
Project: Research project
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R21-UKY East Palestine Train Derailment Health Tracking Study
Haynes, E. (PI), Christian, J. (CoI) & Hoover, A. (CoI)
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
1/23/24 → 3/31/26
Project: Research project
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A University-Community Partnership to Reduce Exposure to Disinfection Byproducts in Appalachia
Hoover, A. (PI)
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
11/1/23 → 10/31/26
Project: Research project
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Bringing Pandemic Science to the Classroom: Building Public Health Capacity at a Rural Kentucky High School
Alameh, S., Hoover, A. G., Keck, J. W., Berry, S. M., Goodpaster, S., Tucker, S. & Goodin, A., Jan 1 2026, In: Public Health Reports. 141, 1, p. 17-23 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Integrating Wastewater Surveillance Into Science Education: Implementing the 5E Learning Cycle and Storyline Approach in Rural Schools
Alameh, S., Holm, R. H., Chigwechokha, P., Chunga, B. A. & Hoover, A. G., 2026, (Accepted/In press) In: School Science and Mathematics.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Barriers and facilitating factors for COVID-19 vaccination in rural appalachia
Cardarelli, K. M., Gillespie, R., Hoover, A. G., Francis, D. B. & Kiviniemi, M. T., Dec 2025, In: BMC Public Health. 25, 1, 3545.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
COVID-19 Risk and Crisis Communication Challenges and Opportunities: Qualitative Insights from Rural Wastewater Surveillance Partners
Tucker, S. G., May, B., Liversedge, M., Berry, S., Keck, J. W. & Hoover, A. G., Feb 19 2025, In: Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness. 19, e41.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Social ecological system framework as a decision-making tool for risk mitigation: A superfund site case study
Tay, H. C., Rezaei, N., Hoover, A. G. & Pennell, K. G., Aug 20 2024, In: Science of the Total Environment. 939, 173595.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access