Sydney O'Shay

Communication & Media

Assistant Professor, REACH Lab Primary Investigator

Contact Information

Office Hours: Thursdays 12 pm - 1 pm
Office Location: Logan (MAIN 202H)
Email: sydney.oshay@usu.edu
Additional Information:

Curriculum Vitae

Educational Background

PhD - Wayne State University
Graduate Certificate in Public Health - Wayne State University School of Medicine
MA - Eastern Michigan University
BA - University of Michigan-Flint

Biography

Sydney O’Shay is an assistant professor of communication studies (PhD, Wayne State University, 2021) and the Primary Investigator of the REACH Lab. Her research broadly focuses on the construction of stigma communication in healthcare and family contexts. More specifically, Sydney is interested in understanding and mitigating the impact of substance use on families. Her research team is currently collecting pilot data that aims to identify resource and support gaps experienced by families that are impacted by substance use. This pilot data will inform the development of an mhealth intervention that seeks to fill these gaps. Sydney is also currently investigating the stigma management and support experiences of family members who have a loved one with an opioid use disorder. Her work has been recognized with the Inclusive Scholarship Award (2022) from the Health Communication Interest Group of the Central States Communication Association (CSCA). She was also recently awarded the 2025 Pearson Nelson Outstanding New Teacher Award by CSCA. Her work has been published in journals such as Health Communication, Scientific Reports – Nature, the Journal of Family Communication, Substance Use & Misuse, the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Communication Studies, among others.

REACH Lab

Qualitative Research in Communication Studies
Organizational Communication
Strategic Health Messaging
Health Communication
Social Science Research Methods in Communication (Graduate Level)
Communication Theory (Graduate Level)

The construction and implications of stigma communication in healthcare and family contexts, primarily pertaining to substance abuse.

O’Shay, S., Phillips, K. E., & **Sáez, M. J. (2024). The burden mothers bear: Using the health belief model to understand how mothers’ intersectional identities shape health decision-making during COVID-19. Communication Studies. [ONLINE FIRST]. https://doi.org/10.1080/10510974.2024.2439612

Pasman, E., Broman, M., O'Shay, S., Solberg, M., Agius, E., Lee, G., & Resko, S. M. (2024). Stigma and public support for treatment and harm reduction policy in response to the US overdose crisis. Journal for the Society for Social Work and Research. [ONLINE FIRST]. https://doi.org/10.1086/733639

Solberg, M. A., Pasman, E., O’Shay, S., **Friedrich, F., Agius, E. & Resko, S. M. (2024). Public perceptions of opioid use for chronic non-cancer pain. Substance Use & Misuse, 59(9), 1416-1423. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2024.2352619

Hicks, D. L., Pasman, E., O'Shay, S., Kcomt, L., & Resko, S. M. (2024). Experiences of families bereaved by opioid-related death. Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions, 24(3), 241-255. https://doi.org/10.1080/1533256X.2024.2351369

**Pasman, E., O’Shay, S., **Hicks, D. L., Resko, S. M., Agius, E., Brown, S. (2024). Stigma communication surrounding nonmedical opioid use among affected family members. Health Communication, 39(3), 429-438. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2023.2167588

Day, A. M., O’Shay, S., Islam, K., Seeger, M. W., Sperone, G., & McElmurry, S. P. (2024). Boil water notices as health-risk communication: Risk perceptions, efficacy, and compliance during winter storm Uri. Scientific Reports – Nature, 14, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-50286-y

Resko, S. M., **Pasman, E., **Hicks, D. L., Lee, G., Ellis, J. D., O’Shay, S., Brown, S., & Agius, E. (2023). Naloxone knowledge and attitudes towards overdose response among family members of people who misuse opioids. Journal of Community Health, 49, 70-77. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-023-01257-x

**Pasman, E., Agius, E., O’Shay, S., **Broman, M., Lee, G., & Resko, S. M. (2023). Are campus services reaching those in need? Substance use correlates of awareness of university counseling services. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 38(3), 614-633. https://doi.org/10.1080/87568225.2023.2208761

Brown, S., O’Shay, S., **Pasman, E., **Hicks, D. L., Agius, E., & Resko, S. M. (2023). How affected family members communicate about their loved one’s non-medical opioid use. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 41(1), 180-199. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075231212938

**Pasman, E., O’Shay, S., Brown, S., Fanning Madden, E., Agius, E., & Resko, S. M. (2023). Ambivalence and contingencies: A qualitative examination of peer recovery coaches’ attitudes toward medications for opioid use disorder. Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment, 155, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.josat.2023.209121

Yaugher, A., Judd, H., O’Shay, S., & Meier, C. L. (2023). Understanding stigma through the lived experiences of people with opioid use disorder. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 249(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2023.110873

O’Shay, S. (2023). “The chronicle of nightmares”: Emergency nurses’ frontstage and backstage communication in the emergency department. Health Communication, 38(1), 2259-2270. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2022.2062835

**Friedrich, F. S., **Pasman, E., **Boraginna-Ballard, L., O’Shay, S., **Szechy, K., Ellis, J. D., Resko, S. M., & Brown, S. (2023). “Do not carry the load by yourself”: Advice for families affected by opioid misuse. Families in Society, 103(3), 262-277. https://doi.org/10.1177/10443894221145759

O’Shay, S., **Pasman, E., Hicks, D. L., Brown, S., Agius, E., & Resko, S. M. (2023). Affected family members' communicative management of stigma related to their loved ones’ opioid misuse: Applying and rethinking the stigma management communication typology. Journal of Family Communication, 23(2), 89-106. https://doi.org/10.1080/15267431.2023.2186882

Day, A. M., **Islam, K., O’Shay, S., Seeger, M. W., McElmurry, S. P. (2022). Consumer response to boil water notifications during Winter Storm Uri. Journal AWWA, 114(5), 26-33. https://doi.org/10.1002/awwa.1919

O’Shay, S., Day, A. M., **Islam, K., McElmurry, S. P., & Seeger, M. W. (2022). Boil water advisories as risk communication: Consistency between CDC guidelines and local news media articles. Health Communication, 37(2), 152-162. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2020.1827540

Eckert, S., Metzger-Rifkin, J., Kolhoff, S., & O’Shay-Wallace, S. (2021). A hyper differential counterpublic: Muslim social media users and Islamophobia during the 2016 U.S. election. New Media & Society, 23(1), 78-98. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1461444819892283

Day, A. M., O’Shay-Wallace, S., Seeger, M. W., & McElmurry, S. P. (2020). Gender and presence of children: Examining media uses, informational needs, and source preferences during the Flint, Michigan water crisis. Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research, 3(2), 141-178. https://doi.org/10.30658/jicrcr.3.2.2

O’Shay-Wallace, S. (2020). “We weren’t raised that way”: Using stigma management communication theory to understand how families manage the stigma of substance abuse. Health Communication, 35(4), 465-474. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2019.1567443

Day, A. M., O’Shay-Wallace, S., Seeger, M. W., McElmurry, S. P. (2019). Informational sources, social media use, and race in Flint, Michigan’s water crisis. Communication Studies, 70(3), 352-376 doi: 10.1080/10510974.2019.1567566

Eckert, S., O’Shay-Wallace, S., Metzger-Rifkin, J., & Kolhoff, S. (2018). “The best damn representation of Islam:” Muslims, gender, social media, and Islamophobia in the United States. CyberOrient, 12(1). http://www.cyberorient.net/article.do?articleId=9907

EXCITE Adult Immunization Awareness Messaging Integration Project (USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture [NIFA] and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC])
Title: Cultivating COVID-19 Vaccine Awareness Among Farmers and Rural Adults in Utah: A Toolkit for Extension Professionals
Co-Investigator, Sept. 2024 – Aug. 2025
Amount Funded: $39,987.32

Research Catalyst Grant (Office of Research, Utah State University)
Title: Identifying Critical Turning Points and Support Needs of Family Caregivers of a Person Who Misuses Substances
Primary Investigator, Sept. 2024 – Aug. 2025
Amount Funded: $29,902.85

Small Faculty Grant (Mountain West Center for Regional Studies, Utah State University)
Title: Students on the Margins: Investigating Student Belonging, Academic Success, Resilience, and Enrollment Intentions Among Marginalized Utah College Students
Primary Investigator, Fall 2024
Amount Funded: $2,000

Intersections Seed Grant (Utah State University Center for Intersectional Gender Studies and Research)
Title: Students on the Margins: Investigating Student Belonging, Academic Success, Resilience, and Enrollment Intentions Among Marginalized Utah College Students
Primary Investigator, Fall 2024
Amount Funded: $5,000

Institute for Land, Water, and Air (ILWA) Impact Grant
Title: 2024 Utah People and the Environment Poll (UPEP)
Co-Investigator, Summer 2024
Amount Funded: $15,000

Central States Communication Association Federation Prize
Title: Stigma Management Communication Scale Development
Primary Investigator, Spring 2023
Amount Funded: $5,000