ABSTRACTS
Volume 10, Number 3
April-May 2005
Vol. 10, Number 3: Contents
| Editorial | Abstracts
Cancer Information Needs in Rural
Areas
Kimberly K. Engelman A1, Denise L. Perpich A1,
Shelly L. Peterson A1, Matthew A. Hall A1, Edward F. Ellerbeck A1, Annette
L. Stanton A2
A1 University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas
A2 Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences,
University of California, Los Angeles, California
Although cancer presents obstacles for all who experience it, persons
in rural communities must negotiate additional challenges. This study
determined the cancer information (CI) needs and the CI-seeking behavior
and preferences among rural-dwelling persons. Patients (N = 801) = 50
years of age seen in 36 rural Kansas primary care practices completed
a Cancer Care Information Needs Survey (CCINS); physicians completed
a cancer resource knowledge and preference survey. Of the 801 patients,
184 (23%) reported a CI need. Of these 184 patients, 45% reported either
not discussing cancer or having insufficient discussion time with their
physicians; 44% needed more information after consulting their physician.
Patients more likely to report a CI need were young, female, Internet
users, persons with a prior cancer diagnosis, and persons seeing male
physicians or physicians in group/multispecialty practices. Patients
and physicians were unfamiliar with services provided by national cancer
organizations. Physicians are a primary CI source; however, patients
who need CI report insufficient cancer discussion time with their physician
and need more CI after consulting their physician. Promoting access
to national CI sources could bridge the CI needs gap that exists in
rural areas currently.
Health-Related Message Boards/Chat
Rooms on the Web: Discussion Content and Implications for Pharmaceutical
Sponsorships
Wendy Macias A1, Liza Stavchansky Lewis A2, Tenikka
L. Smith A3
A1 University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
A2 The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
A3 Benedict College, Columbia, South Carolina, USA
This content analysis study examined health-related message boards
to better understand who is using this on-line health information and
support device and what topics they are discussing. Besides needing
to understand this support and coping mechanism for individuals, this
has become an increasingly important topic for health communicators
to understand because the Health and Human Services' (HHS) Inspector
General recently gave permission to a pharmaceutical manufacturer for
sponsorship of a disease management chat room. Very little research
has been done on the content of these message boards/chat rooms. Key
findings include that the most commonly discussed medical topics were
medical treatments and drugs (often specific brands) and that these
boards are clearly important sources of information and emotional support.
Implication and future research are discussed.
The Effectiveness of Media Use
in Health Education: Evaluation of an HIV/AIDS Television Campaign in
Ethiopia
A. Celeste Farr A1, Kim Witte A2, Kassa Jarato
A3, Tiffany Menard A4
A1 Department of Communication, North Carolina State University, Raleigh,
North Carolina
A2 Center for Communication Programs, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore,
Maryland
A3 Development Studies Associates, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
A4 Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
An effective vehicle to change behaviors is entertainment education.
To demonstrate entertainment education effects, researchers must first
indicate that participants have been exposed to their program. Exposure
to effective programs has been associated with increases in knowledge
about program topics, attitude change, and self-efficacious perceptions.
The purpose of this study was to develop and test a new exposure technique
that accurately and precisely determines direct exposure levels to Ethiopia's
Journey of Life. Overall, the study found very high listenership, storyline
recall, liking of the program, and strong desire to change behavior
while maintaining low error rates in terms of verbatim recall of storylines
and reported listenership to a fictitious program.
Examining College Students' Intentions
to Become Organ Donors
Thomas Hugh Feeley A1 and Timothy J. Servoss A1
A1 University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, New
York, USA
502 university students completed survey items on attitudes, experiences,
knowledge, and behaviors related to organ and tissue donation (OTD).
Despite positive attitudes toward organ donation, only 11% of students
formally have declared their intentions to donate through the state
registry or by signing an organ card. When asked to report why they
have not signed an organ donor card/registry, students reported, “not
considering the topic,” “intentions to donate in the future,”
and “general negative attitudes” among other reasons. Students
also reported a generally positive attitude toward the topic of OTD
and moderate to strong intentions to become organ donors in the future
despite feeling somewhat uninformed on the topic. The results are discussed
in relation to future campaign message strategies to promote OTD to
university students.
Embedding Health Messages into Entertainment
Television: Effect on Gay Men's Response to a Syphilis Outbreak
David Knapp Whittier A1, May G. Kennedy A1, Janet
S. St. Lawrence A1, Salvatore Seeley A2, Vicki Beck A3
A1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
A2 CAMP Rehoboth, Rehoboth, Maryland, USA
A3 University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
The entertainment education (EE) approach seeks to impact audiences'
health behavior by embedding messages in mass media productions, storylines,
and characters that appeal strongly to them. Effect on behavioral intentions
was examined following a storyline about syphilis in men who have sex
with men (MSM) presented in a popular dramatic series.
Five hundred and one MSM drawn from gay Internet chat rooms completed
the questionnaire. Differences in item responses between those who did
and did not view the syphilis storyline were calculated, and linear
regression was used to examine predictors of intentions to take action.
Those who viewed the syphilis storyline were more likely to report
intention to get screened and to tell others to get screened for syphilis.
Seeing the episode was a predictor of these intentions. Education was
also a predictor of intention to tell others to get screened.
Results suggest that exposure to a storyline about syphilis in gay
men had a positive public health outcome on users of Internet chat rooms
for MSM. Further studies are warranted to examine the extent to which
and how the EE approach can produce health-relevant outcomes for U.S.
populations, just as the approach has done in the developing world.
Understanding the Role of Cigarette Promotion
and Youth Smoking in a Changing Marketing Environment
Dean M. Krugman A1, William H. Quinn A1, Yongjun
Sung A1, Margaret Morrison A2
A1 University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
A2 School of Advertising and Public Relations, University of Tennessee,
Knoxville, Tennessee
In 2001, $11.21 billion was spent on domestic cigarette advertising
and promotion, an increase of 16.9% over 2000. This article explains
how cigarette industry efforts stimulate demand and encourage smoking
within the context of recent changes, including the 1998 Master Settlement
Agreement (MSA) and resulting litigation, and variations in tobacco
marketing policies. Communication concepts are combined with adolescent
development concepts to explain how youth are impacted. Industry documents
and current syndicated research data are used to reveal and explain
key concepts.
Book Review
The Children of Africa Confront AIDS”: Athens, OH: Ohio University
Press
Arvind Singhal W., & Stephen Howard (Eds.). (2003)
Reviewed by Thomas Tufte
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