Najma Akhther

Najma Akhther

Doctoral Candidate & Rumble Fellow

508 Manoogian Hall najakhther@wayne.edu

https://nakhther.wordpress.com/

Najma Akhther

Biography

Najma Akhther (Assistant Professor, Journalism and Media Studies, Jahangirnagar University) is a current Ph.D. Candidate and Rumble Fellow in the Department of Communication at Wayne State University. Najma is originally from Bangladesh, where she started her academic career. She is a faculty member of the Journalism and Media Studies program at Jahangirnagar University (JU) in Bangladesh. Presently, she is on leave for her doctoral study.

Najma's research centers around social media-based strategic health risk communication and its effects, particularly understanding the psychological and social factors influencing public health outcomes. She investigate these processes within three key domains of health risk communication: mental health promotion, public health emergencies, and environmental risks. In studying message effects, Najma's research primarily addresses health disparities targeting the health needs of marginalized populations, particularly those who are racially, ethnically, and sexually minoritized. Employing an interdisciplinary approach that encompasses an array of theoretical and methodological frameworks, Najma aims to develop culturally sensitive and population-specific health risk communication that empower marginalized communities, foster health equity, and contribute to the advancement of public health.

You can learn more about Najma's work here: nakhther.wordpress.com

Degrees and Certifications

Ph.D. in Communication, Expected Graduation 2024 (Spring), Wayne State University

Bridge Graduate Certificate in Public Health Practices, Expected Graduation 2021 (Fall), Wayne State University

M.A., Communication Studies, 2021, Wayne State University (WSU)
Thesis: Information-Seeking and Information-Sharing About Mental Health on Social Media: Role of Depression and Anxiety Ratings, Perceived Health-related Social Media Peer Support, and Perceived Health Benefits of Social Media

M.S.S, Mass Communication and Journalism, 2015, University of Dhaka (DU)
Thesis: Corporate Relevance in News Coverage of Bangladeshi Newspapers: A Study on Four Mainstream National Dailies
Monograph: Photo Sharing Mania of Bangladeshi Facebook Prosumers: A Quantitative and Psychological Evaluation

B.S.S., Mass Communication and Journalism, 2014, University of Dhaka (DU)
 

Recent Publications

Akhther, N. & Stoycheff, E (2024). The effects of peer mental illness narratives on reducing stigma among U.S. marginalized college students. Mass Communication and Society, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2024.2321532

Islam, K., Akhther, N., & Seeger, M. W. (2023) Variability in Media Content of Public Health Outbreak Coverage: A Crisis Communication Approach. Communication Studies, 74(2), 113-130. https://doi.org/10.1080/10510974.2023.2183516

Akhther, N., & Islam, K. (2022). Communicating mental health coping resources among college students of color: A resilience approach to COVID-19 response. Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research. 5 (2), 203–232. https://doi.org/10.30658/jicrcr.5.2.5

Akhther, N. & Islam, K. (2022). Promoting COVID-19 vaccine among communities of color: An analysis of U.S. minority serving higher education institutions’ message framing strategies. Proceedings of the International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference (pp. 8-11). Orlando Fl: Nicholson School of Communication and Media. https://doi.org/10.30658/icrcc.2022.01

Eckert, S., Metzger-Riftkin, J., Albrehi, F., Akhther, N., Aniapam, Z., Steiner, L. (2022). #MeToo academia: News coverage of sexual misconduct at U.S. universities. Journalism Practice. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2022.2077807

Akhther, N., Sopory, P. (2022). Seeking and sharing mental health information on social media during COVID-19: Role of depression and anxiety, peer support, and health benefits. Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science, 7 (2), 211–226. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41347-021-00239-x

Tetteh, D., & Akhther, N.(2021). Openness and topic avoidance in ovarian cancer communication: An uncertainty management perspective. Qualitative Research in Medicine and Healthcare, 5 (3), 9376. https://doi.org/10.4081/qrmh.2021.9376

Akhther, N., Tetteh, D. (2021). Global Mediatized Death and Emotion: Parasocial grieving—Mourning #stephenhawking on Twitter. OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying. https://doi.org/10.1177/00302228211014775

Metzger-Riftkin, J., Albrehi, F., Akhther, N., Harb, F., Steiner, L., Eckert, S. (2020). Academic sexual misconduct on U.S. campuses – Arising questions and concerns about the practice of mandatory reporting. Media Report to Women, 48 (3).

Chowdhury, S. A., & Akhther, N. (2018). Photo sharing tendency of Bangladeshi Facebook prosumers. Social Science Review, 35 (1), 119-133.

Roy, S. S., & Akhther, N. (2018). Struggle of community newspapers of Bangladesh for freedom: Historical perspective. Social Science Review (Bengali Version), 12(12), 1-18.

Chowdhury, S. S., & Akhther, N. (2017). Gender framing on Bangladeshi mass media advertisement: A quantitative and qualitative study. Social Science Review (Bengali Version),11(11), 33-48.

Chowdhury, S. A., & Akhther, N. (2017). Corporate culture in journalism: Bangladesh perspective. Global Journal of Human-Social Science, 4(1), 1-10.

Shaonti, H., & Akhther, N. (2016). The role of corporate culture in business journalism: Bangladesh perspective. Social Science Review (Bengali Version), 10 (10), 50-68.

Links

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=QnA4RosAAAAJ&hl=en

Courses taught by Najma Akhther

Spring-Summer Term 2024 (future)

Fall Term 2023

Spring-Summer Term 2023

Spring-Summer Term 2022

Winter Term 2022

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