Vol. 3, Num. 2: Contents | Editorial | Up Front | Abstracts

Impact of Mass-Media and Interpersonal Health Communication on Smoking Cessation Attempts: A Study in North Karelia 1989-1996
    Korhonen, T., Uutela, A., Korhonen, H.J., & Puska, P.

This article evaluates the impact of the North Karelia (Finland) project on smoking  cessation attempts.  The study used data from annual surveys to evaluate the project's effectiveness.  The smoking cessation attempts of 1,694 adult current and former smokers were studied.  Reported exposures to mass-media and interpersonal health communication were examined as possible determinants of smoking cessation.  Weekly exposure to a mass-media health message was significantly associated with cessation attempts among men only.  Interpersonal health communication was a  significant determinant of cessation attempts among both sexes.  Exposure to both mass-media and interpersonal health communication had an even stronger impact on cessation attempts. Thus, interpersonal communication appears to be an important catalyst in community smoking cessation programs, and its inclusion should be emphasized to achieve a greater impact.

Peripheral Cues and Involvement Level: Influences on Acceptance of a Mammography Message
     Kirby, S.D., Ureda, J.R., Rose, R.L. & Hussey, J

This study explores effective aspects of health communication campaigns. The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), which suggests that some communication elements are processed differently depending on the receiver's involvement with the
message topic, served as a basis for the study.  It was hypothesized that women with high levels of breast cancer involvement would be more influenced by a mammography message's arguments than by the message's peripheral cues.   Conversely, it was hypothesized that women with low levels of involvement would be more influenced by a
mammography message's peripheral cues than by its arguments.  Eighty-nine  low-income African-American women aged forty to sixty-five were exposed to two repetitions of a public service announcement (PSA) promoting mammograms. High involvement women reported stronger intentions to seek additional mammography information than did low involvement women, regardless of argument strength or cue favorability.  Low involvement women reported stronger intentions to seek more mammography information only when exposed to the favorable cue condition.  The analysis showed that argument strength had no effect in either high or low involvement women. Since many women have low breast cancer involvement, health communicators should use mammography promotion messages with favorable peripheral cues to stimulate mammography information.

Tailoring Outdoor Tobacco Advertising to Minorities
     Stoddard, J.L., Johnson, C.A., Sussman, S., Dent, C., & Boley-Cruz, T.

This article examines how tobacco billboards target minorities. This study was a longitudinal comparison of the frequency and content of tobacco ads along  thoroughfares in four types of Los Angeles ethnic neighborhoods.  Tobacco ad density, concentration, and content in the four neighborhood types were compared at multiple time points from 1990 to 1994. African-American and Hispanic neighborhoods contained greater tobacco ad concentration than did White neighborhoods.  Initial differences in tobacco ad frequency decreased significantly over time.  However, the age, race, and gender of billboard characters remained different among the different ethnic neighborhoods, with greater ethnic specific content in African-American neighborhoods than in other neighborhoods. These data are consistent with the assertion that tobacco companies target ethnic minorities with higher rates of advertising and ethnically tailored campaigns.

FORUM

Portraying Stigmatized Conditions: Disabling Images in Public Health
     Wang, C.

This article looks at stigmatized conditions in public health. The article considers the paradox that health communication approaches to prevent injury may portray people with disabilities in a stigmatizing way.  The psychosocial consequences of  stigma  heighten the stakes for people with disabilities who strive for fair treatment in employment, social interaction, and policy outcomes.  In an era in which health communication is hailed as a remedy for an unprecedented array of health conditions, this articles poses a starting point for critically examining how health communication may better prevent the many ailments of humankind.