ABSTRACTS

Volume 14, Number 5
July 2009

Vol. 14, Number 5: Contents| Editorial | Abstracts

Obama's Wired Campaign: Lessons for Public Health Communication
     Lorien C. Abroms a; R. Craig Lefebvre a

a Department of Prevention and Community Health, George Washington University, School of Public Health and Health Services, Washington, DC, USA

This Article does not have an abstract.

Mass Media and HIV/AIDS in China
    Li Li ab; Mary Jane Rotheram-Borus ab; Yao Lu ab; Zunyou Wu c; Chunqing Lin a; Jihui Guan bd

a Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Center for Community Health, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
b NIMH Collaborative HIV/STD Prevention Trial Group,
c National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention, Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
d Fujian Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Fuzhou, China

Exposure to mass media related to HIV/AIDS has been linked to attitudinal and behavioral changes. This study aims to identify the source(s) of HIV information for the general Chinese population and examine their association with HIV transmission knowledge and stigmatizing attitude toward people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).

A total of 3,716 market workers in Fuzhou, China, participated in a face-to-face survey. Multiple regression models were used to describe correlations among respondents' HIV/STD information sources, HIV transmission knowledge, and stigmatizing attitude toward PLWHA.

Mass media sources, such as television programs, newspapers, and magazines, were more frequently identified as the channels for HIV information than interpersonal sources, such as friends and service providers. Exposure to multiple sources of HIV information (where at least one source is mass media) was significantly related to HIV knowledge and less stigmatizing attitude toward PLWHA.

Mass media in China has been a major source of HIV information to the public. Enhancing the content and penetration of HIV/AIDS campaigns within various channels of the media can be an important strategy in disseminating HIV knowledge and reducing HIV-related discrimination.

Presentation Format Affects Comprehension and Risk Assessment: The Case of Prenatal Screening
    Talya Miron-Shatz a; Yaniv Hanoch b; Dana Graef c; Michal Sagi d

a Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
b University of Plymouth, Plymouth, United Kingdom
c Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
d Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

We studied the effects of presentation formats (frequency, 1-in-N, and visual) and numeracy level on students' understanding of prenatal screening results, as well as their risk assessment for having a fetus with Down syndrome. Frequency format (vs. 1-in-N and visual formats) improved participants' ability to accurately assess the chances of having a fetus with Down syndrome, and was associated with lower risk estimates. High numeracy levels were associated with a better ability to judge risk likelihood. For individuals of low numeracy levels, however, the frequency format significantly facilitated accurate understanding of probability information. This suggests that presenting information in frequency format is particularly beneficial for certain populations.

Influence on Consumer Behavior: The Impact of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising on Medication Requests for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease and Social Anxiety Disorder
     Nile M. Khanfar a; Hyla H. Polen b; Kevin A. Clauson c

a Nova Southeastern University, College of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical and Administrative Pharmacy, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA
b Nova Southeastern University, College of Pharmacy, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA
c Nova Southeastern University, College of Pharmacy, Pharmacy Practice Department, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

A 68-question Internet survey was used to determine the impact of televised direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) on consumer-initiated medication changes for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and social anxiety disorder (SAD). Of the 427 respondents, 10% that viewed DTCA for GERD and 6% that viewed DTCA for SAD reported that they subsequently initiated a conversation with their physician. Nearly half of respondents, 47.4% for GERD and 40% for SAD, reported that a change in therapy occurred as a direct result of these discussions. Televised DTCA for these two drug classes can have a significant impact on patient-initiated prescription requests.

Interactive Graphics for Expressing Health Risks: Development and Qualitative Evaluation
        Jessica S. Ancker a; Connie Chan a; Rita Kukafka b

a Department of Biomedical Informatics, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
b Department of Biomedical Informatics and Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA

Recent findings suggest that interactive game-like graphics might be useful in communicating probabilities. We developed a prototype for a risk communication module, focusing on eliciting users' preferences for different interactive graphics and assessing usability and user interpretations. Feedback from five focus groups was used to design the graphics. The final version displayed a matrix of square buttons; clicking on any button allowed the user to see whether the stick figure underneath was affected by the health outcome. When participants used this interaction to learn about a risk, they expressed more emotional responses, both positive and negative, than when viewing any static graphic or numerical description of a risk. Their responses included relief about small risks and concern about large risks. The groups also commented on static graphics: arranging the figures affected by disease randomly throughout a group of figures made it more difficult to judge the proportion affected but often was described as more realistic. Interactive graphics appear to have potential for expressing risk magnitude as well as the feeling of risk. This affective impact could be useful in increasing perceived threat of high risks, calming fears about low risks, or comparing risks. Quantitative studies are planned to assess the effect on perceived risks and estimated risk magnitudes.

Cancer Prevention Information-Seeking Among Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Users of the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Information Service: Trends in Telephone and LiveHelp Use
     Erika A. Waters a; Helen W. Sullivan ab; Lila J. Finney Rutten a

a Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch, Behavioral Research Program, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
b U.S. Food and Drug Administration,

Evidence-based strategies to enable, encourage, and support cancer prevention information seeking among Hispanic populations are needed. We examined cancer prevention information requests to the Cancer Information Service (CIS) via telephone (1-800-4-CANCER toll-free telephone information service) and LiveHelp (an instant messaging service provided in English only) from 2003 to 2006. We summarized differences in the communication channel utilized by ethnicity (Hispanic vs. non-Hispanic) and, among Hispanic information seekers, the language used during the contact (English vs. Spanish). Utilization of LiveHelp was higher among non-Hispanic than Hispanic seekers of cancer prevention information. LiveHelp use for seeking cancer prevention information increased between 2003 and 2006 for both groups, but the increase was greater among non-Hispanics than Hispanics. Nearly half of Hispanics who sought cancer prevention information did so in Spanish. Because LiveHelp is not available in Spanish, the number of Spanish-only speakers who preferred to contact CIS via LiveHelp instead of telephone is unknown. When communicating cancer prevention information via multiple channels, it is important to consider differences in access to communication technologies and preferred communication channels among ethnic minority groups.

Information-Seeking Styles Among Cancer Patients Before and After Treatment by Demographics and Use of Information Sources
     Christie R. Eheman a; Zahava Berkowitz a; Judith Lee a; Supriya Mohile b; Jason Purnell b; Elisa Marie Rodriguez c; Joseph Roscoe b; David Johnson d; Jeffrey Kirshner e; Gary Morrow b

a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
b University of Rochester Cancer Center, Rochester, New York, USA
c State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA
d Wichita Community Clinical Oncology Program, Wichita, Kansas, USA
e Hematology/Oncology Associates of Central New York, Syracuse, New York, USA

The type and quantity of information needed varies between patients who actively seek information and those who tend to avoid information.We analyzed data from a longitudinal study of adult cancer patients from outpatient clinics for whom information needs and behaviors were assessed by survey before and after treatment. We evaluated the relationships between information-seeking style (active, moderately active, and passive styles) and demographics, cancer type, and health status for the pretreatment and posttreatment periods and overall. The generalized estimating equations (GEE) approach was used to model the log odds of more active to more passive information-seeking preferences taking into consideration both the pretreatment and posttreatment periods.

Analyses included 731 case participants, including female breast cancer patients (51%), male genitourinary cancer patients (18%), and lung cancer patients of both sexes (10%). At pretreatment, 17% reported an active information-seeking style, 69% were moderately active, and 14% were passive. During this period, 19% of those with at least some college education reported being very active compared with 14% of those with less education. With adjustment for all other covariates, male genitourinary and lung cancer patients had a higher odds of having a more active information-seeking style in the pretreatment than in the posttreatment period, with an odds of 4.5 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.4-8.4) and 5.4 (95% CI: 2.7-10.6), respectively. Controlling for all covariates, breast cancer patients had 1.5 (95% CI: 1.0-2.1) times higher odds of being more active in seeking information than other patients.

Public health researchers and clinicians must work together to develop the most effective strategy for meeting the informational needs of these patients before and after treatment.