News & Research Press
New publication in the Journal of Genetic Counseling
January, 2024 | Liesl and co-authors published a new article titled "Measuring the therapeutic bond in genetic counseling: Testing measurement error in the bond subscale of the Working Alliance Inventory" in the flagship Journal of Genetic Counseling. The study offers the first insight into how the therapeutic relationship is measured in genetic counseling and ways to improve the validity and reliability of a commonly used instrument.
"Reliable measurement of the therapeutic relationship is important for developing evidence-based guidelines to improve client care. This study evaluated one measure of the therapeutic relationship that has been widely used in psychotherapy and, more recently, adapted for use in the genetic counseling context: the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI)."
Click here to read the peer-reviewed open-access manuscript.
Interview with Healio News: "Physician empathy improves psychological well-being among patients with breast cancer"
Highlighting findings of first-authored publication
December 29, 2023 | Healio News and HemeOnc Today reporter Jennifer Byrne interviewed Liesl about her first-authored manuscript published in Patient Education and Counseling. Read about the motivation for the study, Liesl's personal connection to the research as a clinician herself, and key takeaways for practicing clinicians."As providers, we all strive to relate to our patients and have empathic communication where we can. Having this evidence is a useful way to think about an issue that providers are maybe already working on, but it’s a way to target our thinking toward that illness uncertainty."
Click here to read.
Click here to read the peer-reviewed manuscript.
Elected position: Broadbridge nominated and elected to the National Communication Association's Health Communication Executive Committee
November 07, 2023 | Liesl was nominated for the position of "Graduate Student Representative" on the executive committee of the National Communication Association's (NCA) Health Communication Division. She was elected by colleagues to serve in this position for a two-year term (2023-2025).
News coverage: U.S. News and World Report, Rutgers Today, and others cover Broadbridge's interview and co-authored publication
Highlighting findings of first-authored publication
October 20, 2023 | Several news outlets have provided press releases and news coverage based on the findings of a recent paper that Liesl (first author) and co-authors published in Patient Education and Counseling.
Click here to read U.S. News and World Report
Click here to read Rutgers Today
Click here to read Science Daily
Click here to read News Medical
Click here to read Health Care in Europe
Interview with Rutgers: "Empathy from Cancer Care Clinicians Promotes Psychological Well-Being in Breast Cancer Patients, Rutgers Study Finds"
Highlighting findings of co-authored publication
September 25, 2023 | Rutgers University School of Communication and Information provides an overview of a recent paper that Liesl and co-authors published in Patient Education and Counseling.Click here to read.
Click here to read the peer-reviewed manuscript.
Rutgers University selects Broadbridge to apply for NIH Fellowship (NCI Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Transition Award F99/K00)
September 15, 2023 | Liesl was selected by Rutgers University to apply for the National Cancer Institute's Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Transition Award (F99/K00). The NCI allows a single applicant per University for the F99/K00, across all schools/doctoral programs. This highly competitive NIH Fellowship would provide 2 years of dissertation funding and up to 4 years for Broadbridge to complete a postdoctoral fellowship at an NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Click here to learn more about the F99/K00.
New publication in Health Communication
August 01, 2023 | Liesl and co-authors published a new article titled "The Influence of Perceived Provider Empathic Communication on Disclosure Decision-Making."
Results revealed that efficacy for disclosing to oncologists was bolstered by more empathic communication from the health care provider for both current and former breast cancer patients. Higher disclosure efficacy was associated with more sharing of health information with oncologists and less self-reported withholding of information. Additionally, patients' psychological well-being was found to mediate the relationship between provider communication and disclosure efficacy, reinforcing the importance of providers’ empathic communication for cancer patients’ psychological adjustment.
Click here to read the peer-reviewed manuscript.
New publication in Patient Education and Counseling
May 29, 2023 | Liesl and co-authors published a new article titled "Facilitating psychological adjustment for breast cancer patients through empathic communication and uncertainty reduction."
Results showed that more empathy from oncologists was associated with patients having less uncertainty about their illness. When patients with breast cancer had less uncertainty, they had better psychological well-being. These findings support the use of more empathy by cancer care clinicians, particularly with attention to any uncertainty the patient may be experiencing.
Click here to read the peer-reviewed manuscript.
Click here to read the press release from Rutgers University.
Rutgers Honors Day 2023: Broadbridge awarded outstanding student in communication
Broadbridge (2nd year PhD student) recognized by faculty for outstanding research and service
May 05, 2023 | Rutgers University's Communication Ph.D. program awards Liesl "Outstanding Student" during the 2023 Honors Day, as voted on by program faculty.
Click here to read.
Platform presentation: Broadbridge presented on research findings at the National Communication Association's annual conference
November 17, 2022 | Liesl presents an oral conference presentation titled "The influence of perceived provider empathy on disclosure decision making."
Click here to read the peer-reviewed manuscript from this project.
Grant proposal awarded: For project titled, "Companion influence on communication during prostate cancer care"
May 10, 2022 | A pilot grant that Liesl and her advisor Dr. Kathryn Greene drafted was awarded from the Cancer Institute of New Jersey's Cancer Prevention and Control (CPC) Research Stimulus Small Awards Program.
The project aims to understand how components of the health care interaction, such as the presence of a companion at the visit, affect patient-provider communication and subsequent psychological well-being. Trilingual data collection for the project began in Q2 of 2023. Liesl is the project manager of the grant.
Click here to read the press release.
Grant proposal awarded: For project titled, "Psychological adjustment across the breast cancer illness trajectory"
May 10, 2022 | Liesl and her advisor Dr. Kathryn Greene (co-PIs) awarded a pilot grant from the Cancer Institute of New Jersey's Cancer Survivorship & Outcomes Center.
The project, titled "Psychological adjustment across the breast cancer illness trajectory: Perceptions of provider empathic communication and facilitating holistic cancer care" aims to characterize the experience of both current and former breast cancer patients in their psychological well-being following the breast cancer diagnosis and how cancer clinicians communicate in ways to promote well-being.
Two manuscripts were planned and completed as part of the grant funding. Read them here:
Rutgers Honors Day 2022: Broadbridge awarded for distinguished achievement as a teaching assistant
Broadbridge (1st year PhD student) recognized by faculty for outstanding work as a TA
May 06, 2022 | Rutgers University's Communication Ph.D. program awards Liesl "Distinguished Achievement as a Teaching Assistant" during the 2022 Honors Day. Liesl was also nominated for the PhD program's "Outstanding Student" for her contributions to research, service, and the doctoral program in her first year.
Opinion Editorial: "What genetic counselors can teach the CDC about communicating uncertainty"
Highlighting how genetic counseling can inform public health and risk communication
January 21, 2022 | Liesl and her genetic counseling colleagues published an op-ed on the STAT News website discussing how communication lessons from genetic counseling could be applied to improve governmental communication during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The article was the "most read" First Opinion article from Jan 27-Feb 5, 2022 and was the single most popular STAT article on Jan 29, 2022.
Click here to read.
Interview: "Covid-19 Pandemic Highlights the Need for Further Resourcing of U.S. Newborn Screening Programs"
Highlighting findings of co-authored publication
February 11, 2022 | Rutgers University School of Communication and Information provides and overview of a recent paper that Liesl co-authored and discusses the impact of the of the findings for policymakers.
Click here to read.
Federal testimony: The Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children
September 05, 2021 | As a culmination to her policy fellowship with the EveryLife Foundation for Rare Diseases, Liesl delivered oral testimony to the federal Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children about the importance of newborn screening in the rare disease community.
Click here to read.