Prof. Dr. Raffael Heiss, MA

Health Policy & Communication +43 512 2070 - 7432 raffael.heiss@mci.edu
Prof. Dr. Raffael Heiss, MA

Raffael Heiss is a professor at MCI's Center for Social & Health Innovation and the Department of Nonprofit-, Social & Health Management. He teaches courses on research designs and methods, statistics, health communication, and health policy. He was a Fulbright visiting professor at Georgetown University in fall 2022. Before joining MCI, he was a PhD candidate and uni:docs fellow at the Department of Communication, University of Vienna. His research interests include political and health communication, health policy, digital media, and civic engagement. Find more information on my website: www.raffaelheiss.com


Professional work experience
  • 01/2024 - present
    Professor - MCI | The Entrepreneurial School, Center for Social & Health Innovation
  • 01/2022 - 12/2022
    Fulbright Visiting Scholar - Georgetown University
  • 01/2018 - 12/2024
    Assistant Professor - MCI | The Entrepreneurial School, Center for Social & Health Innovation
  • 01/2014 - 12/2018
    PhD candidate & uni:docs fellow - University of Vienna, Department of Communications

  • 01/2013 - 12/2014
    PR & public affairs consultant - Grayling Austria
  • 01/2011 - 12/2011
    Tutor - University of Vienna, Department of Communication
  • 01/2009 - 12/2013
    Intern - Communications & Network Consulting (London, UK); Tirol Werbung (Innsbruck, AT); Tiroler Tageszeitung (Vienna, AT)
Education
  • 07/2016 - 07/2016
    Certificate - University of Milan
    International Summer School in Political Communication and Electoral Behaviour: Changing Media Environments, Changing Democracies
  • 02/2014 - 10/2018
    PhD - University of Vienna
    Communication
  • 02/2010 - 07/2010
    Certificate - Fudan University
    Communication Management
  • 01/2008 - 12/2012
    MA - University of Vienna
    Communication
  • 01/2008 - 12/2012
    MA - University of Vienna
    Political Science
  • 01/2005 - 12/2008
    BA - University of Innsbruck
    Political Science
Teaching (faculty internships etc.)
  • 11/2018 - present
    MCI Management Center Innsbruck
    I currently teach courses in Health Policy, Methodology, Basic and Advanced Statistics, Communication Research, Project Management
Competitive Research Award
  • 10/2024 - 10/2024
    Austrian Science Fund (FWF)
    Research grant (~90,000 EUR) for the project "Influencer Communication for Youth Health: A Citizen Science Approach" (lead author and PI)
  • 04/2024 - 04/2024
    Gesellschaft für Forschungsförderung Niederösterreich (research promotion agency of Lower Austria)
    Research Grant (360,000 EUR) for the project "‘Gesund im Netz': Gemeinsame Entwicklung eines Instruments zum Erkennen von vertrauenswürdigen Gesundheitsinfos auf Social Media" [‘Healthy on the web': Co-creating a tool to identify reliable health information on social media]. (co-author and project lead at MCI, lead beneficiary: University for Continuing Education Krems with Ursula Griebler as PI)
  • 11/2023 - 11/2023
    European Parliament (EP)
    Senior Expert in the EP tendered project (In-Depth Analysis): "How to reduce the impact of disinformation on Europeans' health?" Contracted organization: Milieu Law & Policy Consulting.
  • 07/2023 - 07/2023
    Austrian Health Literacy Alliance
    Austrian Health Literacy Award 2023 (Category: Research) for the project "Health Literacy of Children & Adolescents in Tyrol." In this project, we have developed a new tool to measure health literacy in children and adolescents.
  • 09/2022 - 09/2022
    Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research
    Ars Docendi - State Prize for Excellent Teaching at Universities: Shortlist Nominee and Recognition Award" in the category of "Learning Outcome-Oriented Teaching and Examination Culture" (Lernergebnisorientierte Lehr- und Prüfungskultur).
  • 05/2022 - 05/2022
    International Communication Association (ICA)
    Top Faculty Paper Award for the paper "The distraction effect. Political and entertainment-oriented content on social media, political participation, interest, and knowledge", Mass Communication Division, ICA annual convention, Paris, France (co-authors: Jörg Matthes, Hendrik van Scharrel)
  • 04/2022 - 04/2022
    Fulbright
    Fulbright Grant for Teaching, Research, Career Development, or Institutional Collaboration award at Georgetown University in the 2022-23 Fulbright Visiting Scholars Program.
  • 11/2021 - 11/2021
    Austrian Science Fund (FWF)
    Research grant (~350,000 EUR) for the project "Health Influencers on Social Media: Who They Are, What They Post, and How They Affect Adolescents' Health" (lead author and PI)
  • 02/2020 - 02/2020
    Land Tirol (State of Tirol)
    Research grant (13,000 EUR) awarded by the Tirol science fund (TWF) for the project "FoodExplorer - A Citizen Science Project to Improve School Food Environments" (lead author and PI).
  • 10/2019 - 10/2019
    University of Vienna
    Dissertation Award "Sowi-Doc.Award 2019" (1,500 EUR). Each year, the Faculty of Social Sciences awards the Sowi-Doc.Awards to three doctoral graduates, who receive EUR 1,500 each for their outstanding research contributions in the framework of their doctoral thesis. The award aims at motivating doctoral graduates to pursue a career in academia.
  • 08/2019 - 08/2019
    Euregio
    Winner of the 2nd prize (1,000 EUR) in the Euregio Young Researchers' Award competition. The Award competition is part the the annual conference Forum Alpbach. Research Project : "Political Actors on Social Media: Content, Selection and Effects" (Dissertation)
  • 06/2019 - 06/2019
    Program Healthy School Tirol
    Research grant (~80,000 EUR) for a youth survey and impact evaluation by the Healthy School Program Tirol, a collaborative initiative by the State of Tirol and public health insurance institutions. (lead author and PI)
  • 08/2018 - 08/2018
    Austrian Science Fund (FWF)
    Research grant (~330,000 EUR) for the project "Social Media and Political Engagement: Mechanisms and Contingencies" (co-author, with J. Matthes as PI)
  • 08/2017 - 08/2017
    Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)
    Top Student Paper Award for the paper "How to respond to right-wing populism? Investigating the effects of three government response strategies on anti-immigrant and anti-government attitudes", Political Communication Interest Group, AEJMC annual convention, San Francisco, CA.
  • 07/2016 - 07/2016
    Austrian Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy
    Research grant (~50,000EUR) for the project "The Political Participation Observer. A Citizen Science Tool for Tracking Political Participation" (Top Citizen Science Initiative). (Lead author, with J. Matthes as PI)
  • 10/2015 - 10/2015
    University of Vienna
    uni:docs fellowship for the project: "Political Actors on Social Media: Outreach, Message Content and Effects on Young Citizens". The uni:docs fellowship programme offered individual scholarships which aim at financing excellent doctoral candidates. Successful fellows were employed at the University of Vienna for a period of three years. The fellowship provided outstanding early stage researchers with conditions that allowed them to focus exclusively on their research and thus make substantial contributions to science.
Peer reviewed journal article
  • Binder, A., Matthes, J., Heiss, R., Spielvogel, I., Forrai, M., Knupfer, H., Saumer, M., & Naderer, B. (2025). How healthy and unhealthy food and beverages appear in movies and series for children: A comprehensive content analysis. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2025.01.012
  • Heiss, R., Leuprecht, E., Zoller, C., Schütze, D., Sahling, F., Schamberger, L., Überall, M., Gell, S., & Griebler, R. (2025). Does school education enhance children's health literacy? Zeitschrift für Bildungsforschung. https://doi.org/10.1007/s35834-025-00477-6
  • Nickel, B., Moynihan, R., Gram, E. G., Copp, T., Taba, M., Shih, P., Heiss, R., Gao, M., & Zadro, J. R. (2025). Social media posts on Instagram and TikTok about medical tests with potential for overdiagnosis. JAMA Network Open, 8(2), e2461940. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.61940
  • Binder, A., Naderer, B., Matthes, J., Heiss, R., Spielvogel, I., Forrai, M., Knupfer, H., & Saumer, M. (forthcoming). How healthy and unhealthy food appears in children's movies and series: A comprehensive content analysis. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.
  • Engel, E., Gell, S., Heiss, R., Karsay, K., & Schmidhofer, J. (2024). "Influencer-Monitor" - Eine Citizen Science Studie mit Jugendlichen zu Gesundheitsinhalten in sozialen Medien ["Influencer-Monitor" - A Citizen Science Study with Adolescents on Health Content in Social Media]. transfer, 10, 212-216. https://doi.org/10.35468/
  • Nickel, B., Heiss, R., Shih, P., Gram, E. G., Copp, T., Taba, M., Moynihan, R., & Zadro, J. (2024). Social media promotion of health tests with potential for overdiagnosis or overuse: Protocol for a content analysis. JMIR Research Protocols, 13, e56899. https://doi.org/10.2196/56899
  • Heiss, R., Bode, L., Adisuryo, Z. M., Brito, L., Cuadra, A., Gao, P., Han, Y., Hearst, M., Huang, K., Kinyua, A., Lin, T., Ma, Y., Manion, T. O., Roh, Y., Salazar, A., Yue, S., & Zhang, P. (2024). Debunking Mental Health Misperceptions in Short-Form Social Media Videos: An Experimental Test of Scientific Credibility Cues. Health Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2023.2301201
  • Engel, E., Gell, S., Heiss, R., & Karsay, K. (2023). Social media influencers and adolescents' health: A scoping review of the research field. Social Science & Medicine. 116387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116387
  • Heiss, R., Nanz, A., Knupfer, H., Engel, E., & Matthes, J. (2023). Peer Correction of Misinformation on Social Media: (In)civility, Success Experience and Relationship Consequences. New Media & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448231209946
  • Heiss, R., Nanz, A., Matthes, J. (2023). Social Media Information Literacy: Conceptualization and Associations with Information Overload, News Avoidance and Conspiracy Mentality. Computers in Human Behavior, 148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2023.107908
  • Gell, S., Pejkovic, E., Heiss, R. (2023). How (Un-)Healthy are Austrian School Food Environments? Evidence from Focus Groups and Citizen Science. Appetite, 188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2023.106636
  • Matthes, J., Heiss, R., van Scharrel, H. (2023). The distraction effect. Political and entertainment-oriented content on social media, political participation, interest, and knowledge. Computers in Human Behavior, 142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107644
  • Waser, M., Heiss, R., Borena, W. (2022). Factors affecting Children's HPV Vaccination in Austria: Evidence from a Parent Survey. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 18(7). https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2022.2126251
  • Heiss, R., & Rudolph, L. (2022). Patients as Health Influencers: Motivations and Consequences of Following Cancer Patients on Instagram. Behaviour & Information Technology. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2022.2045358
  • Reiter, F., Heiss, R., Matthes, J. (2022). Explaining Attitude-Consistent Exposure on Social Network Sites: The Role of Ideology, Political Involvement, and Network Characteristics. Social Science Computer Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/08944393211056224
  • Rothe, D,. & Heiss, R. (2022). Link Workers, Activities and Target Groups in Social Prescribing: A Literature Review. Journal of Integrated Care, (30)5, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1108/JICA-09-2021-0047
  • Heiss, R., Schmuck, D., Matthes, J., Eicher C. (2021). Citizen Science in Schools: Predictors and Outcomes of Participating in Voluntary Political Research. Sage Open. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211016428
  • Lee, S., Nanz, A., & Heiss, R. (2021). Platform-dependent Effects of Incidental Exposure to Political News on Political Knowledge and Political Participation. Computers in Human Behavior, 127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.107048
  • Heiss, R., Naderer, B., & Matthes, J. (2021). Healthwashing in High-Sugar Food Advertising: The Effect of Prior Information on Healthwashing Perceptions in Austria. Health Promotion International, 36(4), 1029-1038. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daaa086
  • Heiss, R., Gell, S., Röthlingshöfer, E., Zoller, C. (2021). How Threat Perceptions Relate to Learning and Conspiracy Beliefs About COVID-19: Evidence From a Panel Study. Personality and Individual Differences, 175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.110672
  • Stubenvoll, M., Heiss, R., & Matthes, J. (2021). Media Trust under Threat: Antecedents and Consequences of Misinformation Perceptions on Social Media. International Journal of Communication. 15(2021), 2765-2786. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/15410
  • Heiss, R. (2021). How Humorous Posts Influence Engagement With Political Posts on Social Media: The Role of Political Involvement. Journal of Media Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000297
  • Heiss, R. (2020). Fighting Health Infodemics: The Role of Citizen Empowerment. Eurohealth 26(3).
  • Kerschbaumer, L., Gell, S., Nesimovic, A., Röthlingshofer, E., Heiss, R. and Zoller, C. (2020) Integrating child's health promotion in schools - local mechanisms and strategies, European Journal of Public Health, 30(Supplement_5). https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckaa165.1135
  • Nanz, A., Heiss, R., & Matthes, J. (2020). Antecedents of intentional and incidental exposure modes on social media and consequences for political participation: A panel study. Acta Politica. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41269-020-00182-4
  • Heiss, R. (2020). The Affective Foundation of Political Opinion Expression on Social Media: A Panel Analysis. International Journal of Public Opinion Research. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edaa009
  • Matthes, J., Nanz, A., Stubenvoll, M., Heiss R. (2020). Processing News on Social Media. The Political Incidental News Exposure Model (PINE). Journalism, 21(8), 1031-1048. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884920915371
  • Schmuck, D., Heiss, R., Matthes, J. (2020). Drifting Further Apart? How Exposure to Media Portrayals of Muslims Affects Attitude Polarization. Political Psychology. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pops.12664
  • Naderer, B., Heiss, R., & Matthes, J. (2020). The Skilled and the Interested: How Personal Curation Skills Increase or Decrease Exposure to Political Information on Social Media. Journal of Information Technology & Politics. https://doi.org/10.1080/19331681.2020.1742843
  • Binder, A., Heiss, R., Matthes, J. (2020). Dealigned but Mobilized? Insights from a Citizen Science Study on Youth Political Engagement. Journal of Youth Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2020.1714567
  • Sikorski, Ch., Heiss, R., & Matthes, J. (2019). How Political Scandals Affect the Electorate. Tracing the Eroding and Spillover Effects of Scandals with a Panel Study. Political Psychology. https://10.1111/pops.12638
  • Heiss, R., & Matthes, J. (2019). Stuck in a Nativist Spiral: Content, Selection, and Effects of Right-Wing Populists' Communication on Facebook. Political Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2019.1661890
  • Heiss, R, & Matthes, J. (2019). Does Incidental Exposure on Social Media Equalize or Reinforce Participatory Gaps? Evidence from a Panel Study. New Media & Society, 21(11-12), 2463-2482. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444819850755
  • Heiss, R., Knoll, J., & Matthes, J. (2019). Pathways to political (dis-)engagement: Social media use motivations and the role of incidental and intentional exposure modes in adolescents' political engagement. Communications - The European Journal of Communication Research. https://doi.org/10.1515/commun-2019-2054
  • Heiss, R., & Matthes, J. (2019). Funny cats and politics. Do humorous context posts impede or foster the elaboration of news posts on social media? Communication Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650219826006
  • Heiss, R., von Sikorski, Ch., Matthes, J. (2019). Populist Twitter posts in news stories: Statement recognition and the polarizing effects on candidate evaluation and anti-immigrant attitudes. Journalism Practice, 13(6), 742-758. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2018.1564883
  • Heiss, R., Schmuck, D., & Matthes, J. (2018). What drives interaction in political actors' Facebook posts? Profile and content predictors of user engagement and political actors' reactions. Information, Communication & Society, 22(10), 1497-1513. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2018.1445273
  • Heiss, R., & Matthes, J. (2017). Citizen science in the social sciences: a call for more evidence. GAIA-Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society, 26(1), 22-26. https://doi.org/10.14512/gaia.26.1.7
  • Schmuck, D., Heiss, R., Matthes, J., Engesser, S., & Esser, F. (2017). Antecedents of strategic game framing in political news coverage. Journalism, 18(8), 937-955. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884916648098
  • Heiss, R., & Matthes, J. (2017). Who ‘likes' populists? Characteristics of adolescents following right-wing populist actors on Facebook. Information, Communication & Society, 20(9), 1408-1424. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2017.1328524
  • Knoll, J., Matthes, J., & Heiss, R. (2018). The social media political participation model: A goal systems theory perspective. Convergence. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354856517750366
  • Heiss, R., & Matthes, J. (2016). Mobilizing for some: The effects of politicians' participatory Facebook posts on young people's political efficacy. Journal of Media Psychology, 28(3), 123. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000199
Chapters in books
  • Falkenback, M., & Heiss, R. (2021). The Austrian Freedom Party in Government: A Threat to Public Health? In: M. Falkenbach & S. Geer (Eds.), Populist Radical Right and Health: National Policies and Global Trends. Wiesbaden: Springer.
  • Heiss R., & Matthes, J. (2017). Operationalisierung und Messung. In C. Wagemann, A. Goerres, & M. Siewert, Handbuch Methoden Politikwissenschaft. Wiesbaden: Springer. https://bit.ly/2K106HT
  • Heiss R. (2017). Types of Data. In J. Matthes, R. Potter & C. S. Davis (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Communication Research Methods. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.
Presentation of a paper at a conference, workshop or seminar
  • Gell, S., Engel, E., Heiss, R., & Karsay, K. (2024, November). Uncovering Social Media Influencers' Health Content: A Citizen Youth Science Study. Presentation at the DGPuK Health Communication Conference - Translating Health Communication Research into Policy and Action. Lucerne, Switzerland.
  • Gell, S., Heiss, R., & Karsay, K., (2024, November). Do Social Media Influencers' Messages about Mental Issues Affect Young People's Self-Labeling? An Experimental Study. Presentation at the DGPuK Health Communication Conference - Translating Health Communication Research into Policy and Action. Lucerne, Switzerland.
  • Engel, E., Gell, S., Heiss, R., & Karsay, K. (2024, November). Engaging with Social Media Influencers' Health Content: Insights from a Cross-Sectional Study with Austrian Youth. Presentation at the DGPuK Health Communication Conference - Insight to Impact: Translating Health Communication Research into Policy and Action. Lucerne, Switzerland.
  • Gell, S., Engel, E., Heiss, R., Karsay, K., & Schmidhofer, J. (2024, November). Marketing or health promotion? A citizen science study of social media influencers' health content. Presentation at the 17th European Public Health Conference, November 13-15, Lisbon, Portugal.
  • Engel, E., Gell, S., Heiss, R., Karsay, K., & Schmidhofer, J. (2024, November). Influencers as a new source of health information: Insights from an Austrian youth survey . Presentation at the 17th European Public Health Conference, November 13-15, Lisbon, Portugal.
  • Voit, S., Heiss, R., & Fouda, A. (2024). Physicians' perceptions and knowledge of overprescription: Findings from a survey in Austria. Accepted presentation at the Annual Conference of the Austrian Public Health Association, October 17-18, Innsbruck, Austria
  • Melber, L., Engel, E., & Heiss, R. (2024, October). Social media interventions to address nicotine use among adolescents: A scoping review. Presentation at the 27th ÖGPH Annual Conference, October 17-18, Innsbruck, Austria.
  • Engel, E., Gell, S., Karsay, K., & Heiss, R. (2024, October). Social Media Influencers as a New Source of Health Information: Insights from an Austrian Youth Survey. Presentation at the 27th ÖGPH Annual Conference, October 17-18, Innsbruck, Austria.
  • Gell, S., Engel, E., Heiss, R., & Karsay, K. (2024, October). Werbung oder Gesundheitsaufklärung? Eine Citizen Science Studie zu den Gesundheitsinhalten von Social Media Influencern. Presentation at the 27th ÖGPH Annual Conference, October 17-18, Innsbruck, Austria.
  • Engel, E., Karsay, K., & Heiss, R. (2023). Dietary Supplement Presentation on Social Media: A Content Analysis of Influencer Posts Targeted at Austrian Adolescents. Presentation to the European Conference om Health Communication (ECHC), Nov 15-17, Klagenfurt, Austria
  • Gell, S., Pejcovic, E., Heiss, R. (2023, November). How School Food Environments Influence Food Choices: Evidence from Citizen Science and Focus Groups. Presentation at the 16th European Public Health Conference, November 9-11, Dublin.
  • Gell, S., Engel, E., Heiss, R., Karsay, K. (2023, November). Challenges and Benefits of Social Media Influencers for Adolescent Health - A Scoping Review. Presentation at the 16th European Public Health Conference, November 9-11, Dublin.
  • Heiss, R., Bode, L., Bradshaw, S. R., MacCarthy, M., Porter, E., Engel E., & Gell, S. (2023). Countering Misinformation on Social Media: A Socio-Ecological Response Model. Presentation to the Information Technology, & Politics Division at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association (APSA), August 31 - September 3, Los Angeles, USA.
  • Heiss, R. (2023) Health Influencers on Social Media: A Challenge for Overdiagnosis? Invited Keynote Talk. Preventing Overdiagnosis 2023, Aug 14-16, Copenhagen, Denmark.
  • Binder, A., Naderer, B., Matthes, J., Heiss, R., Spielvogel, I., Forrai, M., Knupfer, H., & Saumer, M. (2023, August). How healthy and unhealthy food appears in children's movies and series: A comprehensive content analysis. Presentation to the Communicating Science, Health, Environment and Risk Division at the AEJMC Annual Convention, August 7-10, Washington, D.C., USA.
  • Binder, A., Naderer, B., Matthes, J., Heiss, R., Spielvogel, I., Forrai, M., Knupfer, H., & Saumer M. (2023, Juli). Wie gesunde und ungesunde Lebensmittel in Filmen und Serien für Kinder vorkommen: eine Inhaltsanalyse. Präsentation auf der Konferenz "Kommunikationswissenschaftliche Tage (KWT)", 4.-6. Juli, 2023, Klagenfurt, Österreich.
  • Griebler, R., Zoller, C., Leuprecht, E., Sahling, F., Schütze, D., Heiss, R., & Ecker, S. (2023). Gesundheitskompetenz 9- bis 13-Jähriger in Tirol: Ergebnisse der GeKo-T Studie. Präsentation auf der Konferenz Österreichische Jugendforschungstagung, 22.-24. Juni 2023, Innsbruck.
  • Engel, E., Gell, S., Heiss, R., & Karsay, K. (2023). Social Media Influencers and Adolescents' Health: A Scoping Review. Presentation to the Health Communication Division at the 73rd annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), May 25-29, Toronto, Canada.
  • Heiss, R., Nanz, A., Knupfer, H., Engel, E., & Matthes, J. (2023, May). Civil vs. uncivil correction of misinformation, success experience, and relationship consequences: A three-wave panel study. Presentation to the Communication and Technology Division at the 73rd annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), May 25-29, Toronto, Canada.
  • Matthes, J., Binder, A., Vranken, S., Heiss, R., & Kankova, J. (2023, May). Should they really see this? The depiction of alcohol in movies and series targeted at children. Presentation to the Health Communication Division at the 73rd annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), May 25-29, Toronto, Canada.
  • Ecker, Sandra; Leuprecht, Eva; Plasch, Denise; Zoller, Claudia; Heiss, Raffael; Sahling, Friederike; Griebler, Robert (2022): Die Gesundheitskompetenz von Kindern messen - ein neues Instrument. Vorläufige Ergebnisse. 7. Konferenz der Österreichischen Plattform Gesundheitskompetenz, 6. Oktober 2022, Online.
  • Leuprecht, Eva; Ecker, Sandra; Plasch, Denise; Zoller, Claudia; Heiss, Raffael; Sahling, Friederike; Griebler, Robert (2022): Wie gesundheitskompetent sind 9- bis 13-jährige Kinder in Tirol? Vorläufige Ergebnisse. 7. Konferenz der Österreichischen Plattform Gesundheitskompetenz, 6. Oktober 2022, Online.
  • Heiss, R., Matthes, J., & van Scharrel, H. (2022, May). The distraction effect. Political and entertainment-oriented content on social media, political participation, interest, and knowledge. Presentation at the 72nd annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), May 26-30, Paris, France.
  • Heiss, R., Nanz, A., & Matthes, J. (2022, May). Social media literacy: Measurement and associations with information overload, news avoidance and conspiracy mentality. Presentation at the 72nd annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), May 26-30, Paris, France.
  • Heiss, R., Nanz, A., & Matthes, J. (2022, May). Social media literacy: Measurement and associations with information overload, news avoidance and conspiracy mentality. Presentation to the Communication & Technology Division at the 72nd annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), May 26-30, Paris, France.
  • Heiss, R., Matthes, J., & van Scharrel, H. (2022, May). The distraction effect. Political and entertainment-oriented content on social media, political participation, interest, and knowledge. Presentation to the Mass Communication Division at the 72nd annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), May 26-30, Paris, France.
  • Heiss, R., Karsay, K., Nanz, A. (November, 2021). Who is Experiencing Correction Online? Social Media Use, Knowledge, and Information Overload During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Presentation at the (virtual) European Conference on Health Communication (ECHC), November 4-5.
  • Sahling, F., Ecker, S., Griebler, R., Zoller C., Gaiswinkler, S., Gell, S., Heiss, R. Röhrling, I., Schmutterer, I., Stern, L. (Oktober, 2021). Erhebungsinstrumente zur Messung von Gesundheitskompetenz bei Kindern & Jugendlichen [Tools for measuring health literacy in children and adolescents]. Vortrag auf der jährlichen Konferenz der Österreichischen Plattform für Gesundheitskompetenz (ÖPGK), 12. Oktober.
  • Griebler, R., Zoller C., Ecker, S., Gell, S., Heiss, R., Kerschbaumer, L., Leuprecht, E., Lill-Rastern, B., Röhrling, I., Sahling, F., Schmutterer, I., Stern, L., Fiala-Baumann, B., Bruckmüller, M., Ring-Dimitriou, S., (Oktober, 2021). Ein neuer Fragebogen zur Messung von Gesundheitskompetenz bei Kindern im Alter von 9 bis 13 Jahren: Erfahrungsbericht [A new questionnaire to measure health literacy in children: Lessons learned]. Vortrag auf der jährlichen Konferenz der Österreichischen Plattform für Gesundheitskompetenz (ÖPGK), 12. Oktober.
  • Heiss, R. (2021, August). Diet change or climate change? Modelling healthy and sustainable food systems for the future. Guest Lecture at the seminar week of the "European Forum Alpbach", Aug 18 - Sept 3, Alpbach, Austria.
  • Lee, S., Nanz, A., & Heiss, R. (2021, August). Platform-dependent effects of incidental exposure to political news on political knowledge and political participation. Presentation to the Political Communication Division at the (virtual) AEJMC Annual Convention, August 4-7.
  • Heiss, R., Gell, S., Röthlingshöfer, E., Zoller, C. (2021, July). How Threat Perceptions Relate to Learning and Conspiracy Beliefs About COVID-19: Evidence From a Panel Study. Personality and Individual Differences. Presentation at the (virtual) annual meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology (ISPP), July 11-13.
  • Kerschbaumer, L., Gell, S., Nesimovic, A., Röthlingshofer, E., Heiss, R., Zoller, C. (2020, October). Integrating health promotion in schools - local mechanisms and strategies. Presentation at the (virtual) 16th World Congress on Public Health, October 12-16, Rome, Italy.
  • Falkenbach, M. & Heiss, R. (2020, October). The Austrian Freedom Party - A Threat to Public Health? Presentation at the (virtual) 16th World Congress on Public Health, October 12-16, Rome, Italy.
  • Reiter, F., Heiss, R., & Matthes, J. (2020, August). What explains diverse opinion exposure on social network sites? Investigating the role of ideological extremity, political involvement, and network characteristics. Presentation to the Political Communication Section at the (virtual) ECPR General Conference, August 24-28.
  • Heiss, R. & Rudolph, L. (2020, May). Patients as Health Influencers on Social Media: Motivations and Consequences of Following Instagram Bloggers Suffering From Cancer. Presentation at the (virtual) 70th annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), May 20-26.
  • Heiss, R. (2020, May). Context Matters: The Political Effects of Humorous Social Media Posts in Low and High Involvement Situations. Presentation at the (virtual) 70th annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), May 20-26.
  • Heiss R. (2020). Politik(er) auf Social Media: Neue Räume für Emotion, Deliberation und Beteiligung? Invited talk at the ÖGB Tirol.
  • Gell, S., & Heiss, R. (2020, February). FoodExplorer - A Citizen Science Project to Improve School Food Environments. Invited presentation at the workshop "Health and Wellbeing: Addressing today's Global Paradox", Department of Sport Science, Leopold-Franzens University of Innsbruck, February 6, Innsbruck, Austria.
  • Heiss, R., & Rudolph, L. (2019, September). Health Influencer auf Social Media: Motivationen und Konsequenzen des 'Folgens' krebserkrankter Instagram Bloggerinnen. Angenommener Vortrag auf der 5. Konferenz der Österreichischen Plattform Gesundheitskompetenz (ÖPGK), 19. September, St. Pölten, Österreich.
  • Heiss, R. (2019, August). Political Actors on Social Media: Content, Selection and Effects. Presentation at the Forum Alpbach (Euregio Young Researchers' Award), August 17, Alpbach, Austria.
  • Matthes, J., Nanz, A., Heiss, R., & Stubenvoll, M. (2019, August). Processing news on social media: The political incidental news exposure model. Presentation to the Communication Theory and Methodology Division at the AEJMC Annual Convention, August 7-10, Toronto, Canada.
  • Schmuck, D., Heiss, R., & Matthes, J. (2019, August). Drifting Further Apart? How Exposure to Online and Offline News Portrayals of Muslims Affects Attitude Polarization. Presentation at the AEJMC Annual Convention, August 7-10, Toronto, Canada.
  • Von Sikorski, Ch., & Heiss, R. (2019, May). How Political Scandals Affect the Electorate. Tracing the Spillover and Eroding Effects of Scandals with a Panel Study. Full paper accepted for presentation at the 69th annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), May 24-28, Washington D.C., USA.
  • Stubenvoll, M., & Heiss, R. (2019, May). Media Trust under Threat: Antecedents and Consequences of "Fake News" Perceptions on Social Media. Full paper accepted for presentation at the 69th annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), May 24-28, Washington D.C., USA.
  • Heiss, R., & Matthes, J. (2019, May). Does Incidental Exposure on Social Media Equalize or Reinforce Participatory Gaps? Evidence from a Panel Study. Full paper accepted for presentation at the 69th annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), May 24-28, Washington D.C., USA.
  • Heiss, R. (2019, May). The Affective Foundation of Political Expression on Social Media: Evidence form a Panel Analysis. Full paper accepted for presentation at the 69th annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), May 24-28, Washington D.C., USA.
  • Heiss, R., & Naderer, B. (2019, May). "Healthwashing" Uncovered: Health Knowledge Enables the Detection of Inappropriate Health Claims in Food Advertising. Full paper accepted for presentation at the 69th annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), May 24-28, Washington D.C., USA.
  • Kerschbaumer, L, Heiss R., Zoller, C., Holzmann, L. (2019, January). Wie kann Tirol rauchfrei(er) werden? Die Gratwanderung zwischen Bevormundung und Anregung. Invited Talk at the "Sounding Board Tirol", organized by the Tiroler Gebietskrankenkasse (TGKK), 24. January, Innsbruck, Austria.
  • Heiss, R. (2019, January). Digital Media and Citizen Engagement: Challenges and Opportunities of a High Choice Media Environment. Invited talk at the "Social Media and Politics Forum" organized by the Center of Strategic Studies, University of Jordan, January 21, Amman, Jordan.
  • Heiss R., Naderer, B., & Matthes, J. (2018, December). "Healthwashing" Uncovered: Health Knowledge Enables the Detection of Inappropriate Health Claims in Food Advertising. Paper presented at the Kick-off Meeting Life & Health Science Cluster Tirol, December 3-4, Innsbruck, Austria.
  • Heiss R., von Sikorski, C., & Matthes, J. (2018, August). The Polarizing Effect of a Twitter Post: Investigating the Effects of Highlighted Right-Wing Populist Statements in Political News Coverage. Paper presented at the general conference of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR), August 22-25, Hamburg, Germany.
  • Heiss, R., Binder, A. Matthes, J., & Sander, D. (2018, June). Are Adolescents Really Disengaged? Investigating the Appeal of Old and New Spaces for Political Participation in a Citizen Science Project. Paper presented at the annual conference of the European Political Science Association (EPSA), June 21-23, Vienna, Austria.
  • Heiss, R. (2018, June). Political Actors on Social Media: Benefits and Challenges for Democracy. Invited Talk at the Department of Political Science of the University of Innsbruck, June 19, Innsbruck, Austria.
  • Heiss, R. (2018, May). Stuck in a Populist Spiral? Investigating the Relationship Between Citizens' Populist Predispositions and Their Connections to Right-Wing Populists on Facebook Using Panel Data. Full paper accepted for presentation at the 68th annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), May 24-29, Prague, Czech Republic.
  • Heiss, R. (2018, May). Funny Cats and Politics. Do Humorous Context Posts Impede or Foster the Elaboration of Embedded Political Messages on Social Media? Full paper accepted for presentation at the 68th annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), May 24-29, Prague, Czech Republic.
  • Naderer, B., Heiss R., Matthes, J. (2018, May). The Skilled and the Interested: Investigating the Interaction Effect of Social Media Literacy and Political Interest on Exposure to Political Content on Social Network Sites. Proposal accepted for presentation at the ICA-Preconference Media Literacy as an Intergenerational Project: Skills, Norms, and Mediation, May 23, Munich, Germany.
  • Heiss, R. (2017, October). Citizen Science in den Sozialwissenschaften: Perspektiven und Herausforderungen. Invited talk at the Workshop Citizen Science of the Leibniz-Netzwerk Citizen Science, October 12, Berlin, Germany.
  • Heiss R. (2017, August). How to respond to right-wing populism? Investigating the effects of three government response strategies on anti-immigrant and anti-government attitudes. Full paper presentation to the Political Communication Interest Group at the 100th annual conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), August 9-12, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
  • Heiss, R., & Knoll, J. (2017, May). Pathways to political (dis-)engagement: User motivations and the role of incidental and intentional exposure modes in adolescents' political engagement. Full paper presentation at the 67th annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), 25-29 May, San Diego, CA, USA.
  • Heiss, R., & Schmuck, D. (2017). What drives interaction in political actors' Facebook posts? Profile and content predictors of user engagement and political actors' reactions. Full paper presentation at the 67th annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), May 25-29, San Diego, CA, USA.
  • Heiss, R. (2016, September). Social media & political campaigning: What drives user engagement? Invited talk at the 4th social media conference "Babel Camp", September 10, Prague, Czech Republic.
  • Heiss R. (2016, June). Mobilizing for some. The effects of politicians' participatory Facebook posts on young people's political efficacy. Full paper presentation at the 66th annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), June 9-13, Fukuoka, Japan.
  • Knoll J., Matthes J., & Heiss R. (2016, June). The social media participation model: A goal systems theory perspective. Full paper presentation at the 66th annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), June 9-13, Fukuoka, Japan.
  • Heiss, R., Schmuck, D., Eicher, C., & Matthes, J. (2016, June). Citizen science as a method of data collection: Exploring the predictors of participation among school students. Full paper presentation at Communication Research Methods 2016: Practices & Challenges, pre-conference to the 66th annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), June 9-13, Fukuoka, Japan.
  • Heiss, R., Schmuck, D., Matthes, J. (2015, December). Introducing "Citizen Science" to communication research: Political experience sampling with high school students. Presentation at the Citizen Science Workshop 2015 of the Department of Communication, University of Vienna, December 11, Vienna, Austria.
  • Heiss, R., & Schmuck, D. (2015, November). Jugendmobilisierung auf Facebook? Eine inhaltsanalytische Untersuchung zu Jugendansprache und politischen Partizipationsangeboten in der Facebook-Kommunikation österreichischer Politiker/innen [Youth mobilization on Facebook? Youth appeals and calls to action in the Facebook communication of Austrian politicians]. Presentation at the under.docs conference, November 12-14, Vienna, Austria.
  • Schmuck, D., Heiss, R., & Matthes, J. (2015, August). Antecedents of strategic game framing in political news coverage. Full paper presentation at the Political Communication interest group at the 98th annual conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), August 6-9, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Other intellectual contributions
  • Aouati, O., Freguglia, P., Heiss, R., Patras, S., Pavlou, P., Pelsy, F., & Truc, M. (2024). How to reduce the impact of disinformation on Europeans' health (Study requested by the SANT Subcommittee). Policy Department for Economic, Scientific and Quality of Life Policies, Directorate-General for Internal Policies. European Parliament. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/IPOL_STU(2024)754205
  • Griebler, R, Zoller, C, Leuprecht, E., Schütze, D, Sahling, F, Ecker, S., Heiss, R. (2023): Geko‐T - Gesundheitskompetenz von 9‐ bis 13‐jährigen Kindern in Tirol. Ergebnisbericht. https://jasmin.goeg.at/2891/
  • Heiss, R., Waser, M., Falkenbach, M., Eberl., J. M. (2021). How have governments and public health agencies responded to misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe? Technical Report for "European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies". Online: https://eurohealthobservatory.who.int/monitors/hsrm/analyses/hsrm/how-have-governments-and-public-health-agencies-responded-to-misinformation-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-in-europe
  • Heiss, R., Kerschbaumer, L., Zoller, C., Gell, S., Walch, S., Röthlingshöfer, E., & Nesimovic, A. (2021). COVID-19 Social Indicator Survey (SUF edition, V1), AUSSDA Dataverse, https://doi.org/10.11587/F7CD4D
Supervised bachelor theses
  • Krammer Sabrina (2024): Sponsoring und Influencer-Marketing im Sport: Die Rolle von gesponserten Athlet:innen und Ambassadors in der modernen Markenkommunikation
  • Jung Lorenz (2024): Social Media Influencers und Nahrungsergänzungsmittel: Eine Inhaltsanalyse von Influencer-Posts über Proteinpulver.
  • Hortner Jessica (2024): Der Einfluss von Aufklärung auf das Konsumentenverhalten im Influencer Marketing: eine Experimentalstudie
  • Huber Hannah (2024): Zwischen Gipfeln und Klimawandel: Nachhaltiger Bergtourismus im Nenzinger Himmel - Praktiken, Barrieren und Potenziale
  • Pellizzari Lili Anna (2023): "Powernapping" in der betrieblichen Gesundheitsförderung: Eine Analyse der Potentiale und Herausforderungen an ausgewählten Fallbeispielen.
  • Schmidhofer Julian (2023): Die Auswirkungen von Social-Media-Influencern auf das Gesungheitsverhalten und die Rezeption von Fehlinformationen junger Erwachsener: Eine experimentelle Untersuchung.
  • Klema Jonathan (2023): "Die Implementierung des One-Health-Ansatzes in Österreich Perspektiven aus der Praxis"
  • Trenkwalder Jeremias (2023): Erhöhung des zivilen Engagements in Non-Profit Organisationen durch Werbekampagnen mit Fokus auf digitalen Medien
  • Spöttl Valentina (2022): Social-Media Marketing. Beeinflussung des Kaufverhaltens durch Werbung auf Instagram.
  • Moser Timna Maria (2022): Die österreichische COVID-19-Impfkampagne auf Facebook: Eine qualitative Inhaltsanalyse
  • Neumann Raphaela (2022): Wege der Mitgliedergewinnung für kulturelle Vereine Zielgruppenanalyse und darauf abgestimmte Angebotsgestaltung am Beispiel des Tiroler Heimatpflegevereins
  • Häckl Marie Therese (2022): Symptomdiagnose durch Dr. Google - Erfahrungsberichte am Beispiel lumbaler Rückenschmerzen aus der Perspektive von Ärzten/innen und Patienten/innen
  • Hohenwarter Pia (2021): Food-Labeling als politische Maßnahme: Eine quantitative Erhebung zur Beurteilung von Nährwertangaben aus Sicht österreichischer Konsument/innen
  • Mair Mark (2021): Die Wirksamkeit von Greenwashing in der Outdoor-Bekleidungsindustrie
  • Gritsch Linda (2021): Aktive und passive Social-Media-Nutzung: Der Einfluss auf sozialen Aufwärtsvergleich, Einsamkeit und Lebenszufriedenheit
  • Fritz Hannah (2021): Littering im öffentlichen Raum: Eine Befragungsstudie zur Litteringsituation in Innsbruck
  • Rudolph Leonie (2019): Veränderung der individuellen Wahrnehmung von AbonnentInnen hinsichtlich gesundheitlichen Präventionsverhalten und Gesundheitsbewusstsein beeinflusst durch das Abonnement von krebskranken Bloggern via Istagram
  • Stadler Lara (2019): Der Onlineauftritt der Identitären Bewegung
Supervised master theses
  • Madrignani Miriam (2024): Corporate Political Activity (CPA) of the Food Industry in Italy: The NutriScore -NutrIn-form Battery Debate
  • de Laat Luna Johanna Helena (2024): Unravelling the Dynamics of Policy Implementation and the Industry's Influence in the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxation - A Comparative Analysis of the U.K. and the Netherlands
  • Melber Lisa (2024): Social Media-based Interventions to Address Nicotine Use Among Adolescents: A Scoping Review
  • Gode Julie (2024): Unveiling Gaps: An in-depth analysis of the current obesity policy in the Netherlands through Stakeholder Perspectives for informed Policy Enhancements
  • Thielen Sebastian (2023): A Brief Educational Intervention to Improve Accuracy and Reduce Effort Associated with Reading Nutrition Labels for Health Promotion: An Online Experiment
  • Gerstner Nina (2022): Restricting digital food marketing directed towards children and adolescents. A comparison of existing regulations in Europe.
  • Steffan Leonie (2022): The influence of Covid-19 pandemic related stressors and resistance resources on depressive symptoms in Austria
  • Duijser Kaj (2022): Health literacy and its impact across the European continent Analyzing the determinants and consequences of health literacy in elderly European citizens
  • Wouters Maartje (2021): Implementing Social Prescribing in the Netherlands: General Practitioners' Perspective
  • Hendriks Lotte Annemay (2021): Food Industry's Influence on Childhood Obesity Policymaking: Is it Science or Marketing? A qualitative content analysis on Nestlé and its impact of science funding on childhood obesity policymaking
  • Wilson Liny (2021): Regulatory Measures on Smokeless Tobacco Products and E-cigarettes: A Scoping Review
  • Kafkoula Anna (2021): Enabling and restricting factors for the implementation of social prescribing interventions: A qualitative study in the United Kingdom
  • Wu Pei-In (2020): Social Media Use, eHealth Literacy, Health Behavior Changes and Health Status: Evidence from a Patient Survey in Taiwan
  • Tarot Palma Mariajose (2020): Influence of Mental Health Literacy on Treatment- Seeking Behavior. A Systematic Review on Non- Western Countries
  • Ellmauer Gernold (2020): The Austrian Smoking Ban: Investigating Self-Reported Changes in Smoking Behavior and Attitudes towards the Ban in Active Smokers
  • Rothe Denis (2020): A conceptualization of social prescribing: Yielding recommendations based on the findings of a systematic review
We're happy to assist you!
Are you interested in studying at MCI? Our team will answer all your questions regarding studies, application, and career options.
We look forward to hearing from you
+43 512 2070-0 Contact directly Contact via WhatsApp
Chat with our students

Our students share their experiences and give insights into courses, projects, and student life in the vibrant Alpine city of Innsbruck.

Start chatting
Check out our Study Finder

Discover the program that suits you.