Dr. Mia Liza A. Lustria is a Professor at the School of Information and chairs the Sub-Committee for the Ph.D. in Information Program. She also has courtesy appointments with the School of Communication (College of Communication and Information), the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine (College of Medicine), and the Public Health Program (College of Social Sciences and Public Policy). Lastly, she serves as an affiliate faculty for the Center for Translational Behavior Science, and the Institute for Successful Longevity. She earned a Ph.D. in Communication from the College of Communication and Information at the University of Kentucky. Prior to pursuing her doctorate and joining FSU, she was an assistant professor at the College of Development Communication at the University of the Philippines Los Banos where she also earned her M.S. and B.S. degrees in Development Communication.

Dr. Lustria has 20+ years of research experience in eHealth and mHealth intervention approaches. She has a successful record of peer-reviewed publications and funded interdisciplinary research focused on the design and evaluation of technology-based behavior change interventions. She has ongoing research collaborations with faculty at the College of Medicine, the College of Social Work, and the Institute for Successful Longevity on various eHealth research projects targeting at-risk and vulnerable populations.

Research Interests The overall goal of my research is to explore innovative approaches that can improve individual and population health outcomes. Advances in eHealth and mHealth technologies have led to the creation of increasingly innovative and interactive platforms to support the delivery of persuasive communications and behavior change interventions. Despite these exciting developments, there is still limited evidence about the efficacy of these approaches and whether the benefits of these applications can trickle down to those who need the most assistance: individuals with chronic conditions, vulnerable populations, underserved and disadvantaged populations (e.g., with low socio-economic status, poor health literacy, limited technological skills, limited access to healthcare services, etc.). Unfortunately, there is a prevailing tendency to design interventions around the technology and to focus on the bells and whistles that make these outwardly appealing to users. Rather than focusing on the "hi-tech", we need to encourage the use of "appropriate technology"—to design systems that can support core clinical or self-management outcomes and address individual health information needs and barriers to behavior change. The corpus of my research focuses on exploring these issues and how information and communication technologies can be optimized to improve: equitable access to healthcare; health literacy; self-efficacy; engagement; and shared decision-making.

Areas of Expertise

health informatics; eHealth/mHealth; technology-based health interventions; just-in-time adaptive interventions; persuasive technology; engagement strategies (e.g., tailoring, gamification); health communication; health information seeking; health literacy; participatory approaches; user-centered design; and health information technology adoption.