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Editor’s Note:
Welcome to the inaugural issue of the JHC Link, a
quarterly e-mail newsletter meant to bring the latest
research to practitioners. While delivering practical
information this newsletter will also keep you abreast
of useful websites and information in health
communication. Future issues will include news you can
use, including capsule book reviews. Pass this e-mail on
to others in the field and let us know what you’d like
to see in the future.
Scott C. Ratzan, MD,
MPA
Editor, Journal of
Health Communication
Vice President,
Government Affairs, Europe
Johnson & Johnson
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Table of
Contents
In Recent
Issues
Volume 9, Issue 6
Direct-to-Consumer
(DTC) marketing took center stage in a recent issue of the Journal
of Health Communication. Five articles highlighted developments in
DTC advertising and health communication. Commentaries by Ken Rabin
and Robert Baukus discussed the DTC trend.
Findings to
consider:
- Americans who watch an
average amount of television may be exposed to more than 30
hours of DTC ads each year, making this their greatest exposure
to health communication.
(Click here to read the entire article.)
- Results from a national
survey suggest that consumers have a positive opinion of the
utility of DTC advertising as an informational tool for
decision-making. Fewer than half of the survey respondents used
DTC ad information in their health care decision-making.
(Click here to read the entire article.)
- Comprehension of
information in three DTC television ads was examined among a
sample of participants with limited literacy; results indicated
that the advertisements were less successful in communicating
risk information than other information. (Click here to read the entire article.)
- Quantity and quality of
risk information in the content of prescription drug websites
was examined; results showed that risk and benefit information
was presented differently. (Click here to read the entire article.)
-
DTC advertising for race-based
genomic treatments
(medications as they interact with genetically linked
phenotypes) could become common. Public reactions to ads
for applied genomic medications was examined using a focus group
methodology.
(Click here to read the entire article.)
Prescriptions
Communication is
intended not just to enlighten and educate but
also to lead to action. These recommendations
and “next steps” are extracted from the articles
in the Journal of Health Communication
-
Additional studies are needed to
systematically examine comprehension of risk
information compared to benefits
information, with a focus on the specific
features of risk presentations that affect
learning.
-
Further research is needed to address how
best to present information across audience
subgroups (e.g., adults with high literacy
compared to adults with low literacy).
-
The nature of the relationship between the
patient and physician assumes greater
importance when a patient wishes to discuss
information from external sources (e.g.,
information from DTC ads). The effect of
DTCA on long-term interaction between
patients and physicians is certainly a
promising direction for future research.
The nature and quality of the
relationship and its determinants warrant
further examination.
-
Consumers are likely to receive an
increasing portion of their information
about conditions and treatment from TV ads
with an uncertain impact on the demand for
advertised medications, health care
spending, and health outcomes. Further
research is needed to define the true scope
and impact of direct-to-consumer
advertising.
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Related
Articles
Riskier Than We Think? The Relationship Between Risk
Statement Completeness and Perceptions of Direct to Consumer
Advertised Prescription
(Davis, J. Volume 5,
Number 4/October 2000)
(Click here to read the entire article.)
Dietary Supplement Safety Information in Magazines
Popular among Older Readers (Kava, R., et.al. Volume 7, Number 1/January 2002)
(Click here to read the entire article.)
Volume 10, Issue 1
Highlights from
this issue include results of a survey on careers, salaries,
competencies and emerging trends after graduate training in health
communication, a feasibility study of smoking cessation research via
the internet, and the presentation of a crisis and emergency risk
communication model.
Findings to
consider:
- Emerson
College and the Tufts University School of Medicine collaborated
on the development of an on-line survey for their graduate
alumni. The survey yielded information on: (1) career options
for individuals with master's degrees in health communication;
(2) value of graduate coursework for developing competencies in
health communication; (3) salary expectations for individuals
with graduate degrees in health communication; and (4) emerging
trends in the field.
(Click here to read the entire article.)
- Internet-enabled self-help interventions for smoking cessation
are able to reach large numbers of smokers interested in
quitting smoking, but additional procedures are needed to retain
these users for treatment and follow-up assessments.
(Click here to read the entire article.)
- A model of
communication known as crisis and emergency risk communication (CERC)
is outlined as a merger of many traditional notions of health
and risk communication with work in crisis and disaster
communication. The CERC model is presented as a tool health
communicators can use to help manage these complex events.
(Click here to read the entire article.)
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Prescriptions
Communication is intended not
just to enlighten and educate but also to lead to action.
These recommendations and “next steps” are extracted from
the articles in the Journal of Health Communication
-
Students benefit greatly
from a graduate curriculum in health communication that
includes coursework in both communication processes and
the science and language of medicine and public health.
Health communication practitioners highly value training
in message development, theory application, presentation
skills, research methods, and the ability to read the
medical literature.
-
A master’s degree in health
communication provides both flexibility and mobility in
careers.
-
Pursuing
health communication as a career might not be a path
to wealth, but respectable salaries exist, as does the
potential for significant compensation increases,
especially in the private sector.
-
Internet-based interventions
have the ability to reach large numbers of smokers who
fit the profile of individuals in need of smoking
cessation services.
-
Preliminary data indicate
that consumers perceive Internet-based interventions as
helpful and potentially effective. Initial participation
in web-based intervention is high, but retention rates
were low. Additional procedures need to be developed to
keep individuals engaged in the interventions in order
to increase the effectiveness of programs delivered via
the Internet.
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Related Articles
An
Assessment of the Health Communication Job Market across Multiple
Types of Organizations
(Fowler, et.al., Volume 4, Number 4/December 1999)
(Click here to read the entire article.)
Health
Communication on the Internet: An Effective Channel for Health
Behavior Change?
(Cassell, et.al. Volume 3, Number 1/January 1998 )
(Click here to read the entire article.)
Surviving
a Public Health
Crisis:
Tips for Communicators
(Golan, K., Volume
8, Supplement 1/June 2003)
(Click here to read the entire article.)
Coming Soon to JHC
- A Tribute to
Everett Rogers (June 2005)
- Embedding
Health Messages Into Entertainment Television: Effect On Gay
Men's Response To A Syphilis Outbreak (May 2005)
- A
Communication Strategy for Implementing Community IMCI (August
2005)
News and Notes From
Other Sources
Upcoming Conferences
July 06 to July
10, 2005 Monte Verita – Switzerland
Tailoring Health
Messages: Bridging the Gap between Social and Humanistic
Perspectives on Health Communication Description
With the
epidemic of chronic diseases caused by habitual unhealthy behaviors,
tailoring health messages - individualizing health information on
the large scale - has demonstrated great potential to meet each
persons unique needs. The conference will assess theoretical and
practical concerns when examining the content, structure, delivery
and evaluation of tailored health messages from an interdisciplinary
perspective. Traditional perspectives on the subject from the
behavioral sciences will be contrasted with approaches from the
humanities and professional experience, including those of
physicians, health care providers and media-experts. The goal is to
develop a set of strategic maneuvers for guiding the efficient
production of effective tailored health messages. More information
at:
http://www.theme.usilu.net/
Feedback and
ideas for content for this newsletter should be sent to Wendy
Meltzer (iphwxm@gwumc.edu)
Visit
the brand new Routledge Communication Arena at
http://www.communicationarena.com/,
an
online resource for Communication academics, students and
practitioners. |
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