ABSTRACTS

Volume 10, Number 6
September 2005

Vol. 10, Number 6: Contents | Editorial | Abstracts

Formative Development of an Intervention to Stop Family Tobacco Use: The Parents and Children Talking (PACT) Intervention
    Elizabeth C. Tilson A1, Colleen M. McBride A1, Rebecca N. Brouwer A1

A1 Duke University Medical Center, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

Intervening with families is a promising strategy for addressing the continuing problem of adult and youth tobacco use. A four-step formative process was used to develop an innovative self-directed family-based intervention: (1) planning and strategy development through structured telephone interviews, a focus group, and a literature review; (2) development and pretesting of concepts, messages, and materials by using feedback from children and adults on prototypic materials; (3) implementing the program by mailing 6 modules to 50 families (composed of at least one adult smoker and a 9–12-year-old) with overall high levels of engagement; and (4) assessing effectiveness and making refinements by measuring the intervention effect on smoking-related communication, skills, and attitudes. Inconsistent intervention effects related to the difficulty of cessation and the influence of parental smoking suggested needed refinements. Engaging smokers willing to make a quit attempt during the intervention time frame may augment children's appreciation for the difficulty of cessation. Content related to stress management may need greater emphasis. Enhancing the personal context in which the influence of parental behavior is conveyed may be needed. Although the family context offers the opportunity to address the parent–child reciprocal nature of tobacco use, it requires sensitivity to the challenges of addressing this topic.

A Qualitative Study of Literacy and Patient Response to HIV Medication Adherence Questionnaires
   Michael S. Wolf A1, A2, Charles L. Bennett A1, A2, Terry C. Davis A3, Estela Marin A3, Connie Arnold A3

A1 Institute for Healthcare Studies, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA
A2 V.A. Chicago Healthcare System—Lakeside Division, Chicago, Illinois, USA
A3 Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, Louisiana, USA

The purpose of this study was to elicit patient feedback regarding the perceived clarity and level of difficulty associated with self-report human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) medication adherence measurement tools. HIV-infected patients from clinics in Shreveport, Louisiana, and Chicago, Illinois, were recruited to participate in four focus group discussions. Three groups consisted of patients with limited literacy skills

The Selection of Family Planning Discussion Partners in Nepal
     Marc Boulay A1 and Thomas W. Valente A2

A1 Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Center for Communication Programs, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
A2 University of Southern California, School of Medicine, Department of Preventive Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA

There is growing evidence that the information women receive about family planning from their social network is influential in their decisions to use a contraceptive method. Less is known, however, regarding the role individuals play in constructing their social network and, thereby, determining the nature of its influence. This study examined the criteria women use to select their family planning discussion partners and the individual-level factors that promote the addition of a contraceptive user to one's discussion network. Sociometric data were collected in November 1997 and February 1999 from all currently married women aged 15 to 49 years in three villages of Dang District in the Mid-Western Region of Nepal (panel N = 281). Preference for women from one's ethnic group and the strategic selection of contraceptive users was observed. Contraceptive use and attitudes toward family planning were both positively associated with the addition of a contraceptive user to one's discussion network, suggesting that women seek contraceptive users to confirm their existing beliefs and behaviors. Understanding the dynamics of social network formation can assist programs to better utilize the behavior change potential of peer networks.

Vaccination or Immunization? The Impact of Search Terms on the Internet
    Robert M. Wolfe A1 and Lisa K. Sharp A2

A1 Department of Family Medicine, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
A2 Evanston-Northwestern Healthcare, Evanston, Illinois, USA

With steadily rising use of the Internet as a source of health information, public health authorities have expressed concern about the increasing visibility of unscientific information promulgated on the Internet by opponents of childhood vaccination. Searches were made on the four most popular Internet search engines using different combinations of the terms, “vaccination,” “immunization,” “immunisation,” “immunize,” “immunise,” “vaccine,” and “shots.” Thirty results were tabulated for each search engine. Searching with the keyword “vaccination” resulted in a significantly higher percentage of antivaccination websites as compared with searches with all other keywords. Of all child-related websites retrieved, the single keyword “vaccination” yielded 40% provaccination sites and 60% antivaccination sites. By contrast, the single keyword “immunization” yielded 98% provaccination sites and 2% antivaccination sites. Using a combination of the words “vaccination” and “immunization” produced results between these two extremes. Thus, any use of the term “vaccination” during an Internet search is likely to expose a parent to a significant amount of antivaccination information. Recommendations are discussed for future research and methods to reduce the impact of misinformation on health consumers using the Internet.

Alcohol Advertising: What Makes It Attractive to Youth?
     Meng-Jinn Chen A1, Joel W. Grube A1, Melina Bersamin A1, Elizabeth Waiters A1, Deborah B. Keefe A1

A1 Prevention Research Center, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Berkeley, California, USA

This paper investigates the affective responses of youth toward specific elements featured in television alcohol advertisements (i.e., people character, animal character, music, story, and humor). It also examines the associations between advertising likeability and its potential influence. Respondents were 253 children and adolescents in California (47% male; aged 10–17). Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires in group settings. Respondents were shown a stimulus tape containing television advertisements for beer and soft drinks. The tape was stopped at the end of each advertisement to allow respondents to answer questions about that advertisement before viewing the next. Perceived likeability of beer advertisements is a function of the positive affective responses evoked by the specific elements featured in the advertisements. Liking of specific elements featured in beer advertisements significantly contributed to the overall likeability of these advertisements and subsequently to advertising effectiveness indicated by purchase intent of product and brand promoted by these advertisements. Advertisements that focus primarily on product qualities or send a message of legal drinking age were rated less favorably and evoked less desire to purchase the product. Implications for countering the effects of alcohol advertising on young people are discussed.

Where One Size Does Not Fit All: Understanding the Needs of Potential Users of a Portal to Breast Cancer Knowledge Online
     Kirsty Williamson A1, A2

A1 School of Information Management and Systems, Monash University, Caulfield East, Victoria, Australia
A2 School of Information Studies, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia

The article argues that, although the Internet has great potential for assisting people to find information on breast cancer, at present that potential is not being realised. The literature shows considerable dissatisfaction with information provision for breast cancer, including on the Internet where appropriate information suited to particular needs often cannot be found. An Australian project (Breast Cancer Knowledge Online [BCKOnline]), in its first stage, set out to explore the needs for breast cancer information using an ethnographic method and a purposive sample of 77 participants, most of them women with breast cancer. A portal, which will enable users to tailor information to their particular needs, is at present being developed based on the results of the needs analysis. The process includes user-selected profiles, enabled through “user-centric” resource descriptions, and a metadata repository that links the profiles with specific information resources. The article presents limited results from the needs analysis—those highlighting the differences between younger and older women and the problems with present Internet information provision as seen by the sample. The final section discusses how the portal will both tailor information to needs and assist with the problems with the Internet revealed in the literature.

Book Review

A Review of: “A. Singhal, M. Cody, E. Rogers, & M. Sabido (2003). Entertainment-Education and Social Change”: A review of Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Elaine M. Murphy