ABSTRACTS

Volume 3, Number 4
October-December 1998

Vol. 3, Num. 4: Contents | Editorial | Up Front | Abstracts

The Power of a Frame: An Analysis of Newspaper Coverage of Tobacco Issues -- United States, 1985-1996
     Menashe, C.L. & Siegel, M.

For more than three decades, public policy makers and public health officials have had conclusive evidence of the hazards of tobacco use, yet tobacco products remain legal, accessible, and acceptable in out society.  Public health advocates have been unable to develop a consistent, coordinated message powerful enough to combat the influence of the tobacco industry.  Studying the way in which the tobacco issue has been framed in the mass media over the past decade may provide important clues as to why public health efforts to overcome the tobacco industry's influence on public policy and on tobacco use have not been entirely successful.  This paper describes and analyzes the predominant framing tactics used by the tobacco industry and by tobacco control advocates for the last 11 years by reviewing 179 front-page articles from the new York Times and the Washington Post during this period.  We conclude that while the tobacco industry has created a central message and theme which has been used constructively and consistently over time, the tobacco control movement has not developed a consistent, powerful, and compelling message.  Developing such as message may be important if the nation is to restore progress in reducing tobacco use.

Public Communication Campaigns in the Destigmatization of Leprosy: A Comparative Analysis of Diffusion and Participatory Approaches
     Krishnatray, P.K. & Melkote, S.R.

This was an experimental study designed to determine the relative effectiveness of diffusion and participatory strategies (in health campaigns) and the effect of caste on the dependent variable of knowledge, perception of risk, and behavioral involvement that were conceptualized as contributing to leprosy destigmatization in Madhya Pradesh state, India.  Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) procedure found significant difference between the communication treatment on the dependent variables.  The discriminant analysis procedure was used to locate the source of difference.  This procedure identified two significant discriminant functions: cognitive-affective and behavior-affective dimensions.  The participatory treatment showed higher knowledge and lower perception of risk on the cognitive-affective dimension, and higher behavioral involvement on the behavior-affective dimension, but the diffusion treatment showed only lower self-perception of risk on the bahavior-affective dimension.  The study concluded that participatory strategies promoting dialogue, interaction and incorporating people's knowledge and action component result in increased knowledge, lower perception of risk, higher behavioral involvement, and hence destigmatization.

A Theoretically-Based Evaluation of HIV/AIDS Prevention Campaigns Along the Trans-Africa Highway in Kenya
     Witte, K., Cameron, A., Lapinski, M.K., & Nzyuko, S.

Print HIV/AIDS prevention campaigns materials (e.g., posters, pamphlets, stickers, etc.) from 10 public health organizations in Kenya were evaluated according to the Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM), a health behavior change theory based on the fear appeal literature, at various sites along the Trans-Africa Highway in Kenya.  Three groups each of commercial sex workers, truck drivers and their assistants, and young men who live and work at the truck stops participated in focus group discussions where reactions to the campaign material were gathered according to this theoretical base.  Reactions to campaign materials varied substantially, according to the poster or pamphlet viewed.  Overall, most participants wanted more detailed information about a) the proper way to use condoms, b) ideas for how to negotiate condom use with reluctant partners, and c) accurate information on symptoms of AIDS and what to do once one contracted HIV.  Both quantitative and qualitative analyses of the campaign materials are reported.

FORUM
IEC Interventions for Health: A 20 Year Retrospective on Dichotomies and Directions
     Clift, E.

In January 1997, the World Health Organization's Family Planning and Population Unit (WHO/FPP) commissioned a retrospective qualitative study of twenty years experience in Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) as it had been applied to public health initiative globally.  The purpose of the study, which relied on a literature search, a field survey, and in-depth interviews, was to examine lessons learned from two decades of experience in applying IEC interventions in support of public health in order to improve the integration of reproductive health services through IEC initiatives.  While the focus of the study was on way in which IEC can support reproductive health strategies, the discourse surrounding this effort pointed to a number of generic issues of interest or concern to all health education, communication, and promotion practitioners.  An analysis and synthesis of "best practices" as perceived by IEC program managers, field implementers, donors, and evaluators revealed significant dichotomies and differences of opinion that have emerged in the field of IEC in recent years, and helped to identify several areas for further research, and highlights a strategic approach to partnerships aimed at improving the delivery of health and communication programs.