ABSTRACTS

Volume 4, Number 4
October-December 1999

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

Impact of the Integrated Radio Communication Project in Nepal, 1994-1997
    Storey, D., Karki, Y., Heckert, K., Karmacharya, D.M., & Boulay, M.

The Radio Communication Project (RCP) in Nepal is an ongoing, theory-based, multimedia reproductive health campaign which began in 1995. It consists of two entertainment-education radio serials (a soap opera for the general public and a dramatized distance education serial for health workers), additional radio spot advertisements and promotions, and complementary print materials. This paper examines impact data from a variety of sources, including a pre-post panel survey of currently married women (N = 1905), three waves of clinic-based observations of client-provider interactions (N = 240 per wave) and client exit interviews (N = 240 per wave), and two years of clinic service statistics, in order to draw inferences about the separate and combined effects of the RCP components. The study found increased health worker interpersonal interaction skills, improved quality of client-provider interactions, increased client self-efficacy in dealing with health workers, improved client attitudes toward health services and toward the practice of family planning, increased adoption of family planning, and increased family planning service utilization, all attributable to the RCP. The panel data allowed statistical control of the influence of predisposing factors before the campaign on post-campaign ideation and behavior. The effect of the RCP on contraceptive behavior was largely indirect through its influence on ideation. Implications for the design of integrated, multimedia, entertainment-education campaigns and integrated evaluation designs are discussed.

Power Distance and Collectivist/Individualist Strategies in Alcohol Warnings: Effects by Gender and Ethnicity
     Perea, A. & Slater, M.

This research examined the responses of 73 Mexican-American and Anglo young adults to four televised drinking and driving warnings.  Warnings were manipulated into collectivist and individualist appeals, and to high and low power distance appeals through the use of a Surgeon General attribution.   Females rated the collectivist warnings, and males the individualist warnings, more believable.  Respondents on average responded to the collectivist warnings most positively, regardless of gender or ethnicity. Anglos rated warnings without the Surgeon General as the source more believable than warnings with the Surgeon General as the source; the opposite was true for Latinos.  Other interactions were also found.

Testing Different Formats for Communicating Colorectal Cancer Risk
     Lipkus, I.M., Crawford, Y., Fenn, K., Biradavolu, M., Binder, R.A., Marcus, A., & Mason, M..

This study assessed the extent to which different formats of informing men and women aged 50 and over of the risks of colorectal cancer affected their: perceptions of their absolute and comparative (self vs. other) 10-year and lifetime risks; emotional reactions about getting colorectal cancer; and screening intentions. Forty-four men and seventy-eight women received information about the absolute lifetime risk of getting colorectal cancer. In addition, participants either did or did not receive information about the: 1) lifetime risk of getting colorectal cancer compared to other cancers, and 2) risk factors for colorectal cancer (age and polyps). Participants who received risk factors information were more likely to increase their perceived absolute 10-year and lifetime risks of getting colorectal cancer compared to participants who did not receive risk factors information. In addition, participants who received risk factors information were more likely to believe age was related to getting colorectal cancer, and felt at greater risk for having polyps compared to participants who did not receive this information. None of the experimental conditions affected how worried, anxious and fearful participants felt about getting colorectal cancer, nor did they affect screening intentions. Independent of experimental condition, participants tended to increase their intentions to get screened for colorectal cancer in the next year or two. Intention to be screened was more pronounced among participants who had been screened via a fecal occult blood test or sigmoidoscopy. Implications for the design of interventions involving the communication of colorectal cancer risks are discussed.

EDUCATION AND EVALUATION
An Assessment of the Health Communication Job Market across Multiple Types of Organizations
     Fowler, K., Celebuski, C., Edgar, T., Kroger, F., & Ratzan, S.

This study seeks to answer three questions: 1) What is the employment outlook for health communication practitioners?  2) What specialized knowledge and skills should a competent health communication practitioner possess? and 3) How much academic training or professional experience is necessary to become a competent health communication practitioner?  To this end, 104 employers of health communication practitioners, representing different types of large, medium, and small companies and organizations from various regions of the United States, were interviewed by telephone.  The interview protocol was based on nine core health communication responsibilities identified by a working group of health communication academicians and practitioners.  The study suggests a positive employment outlook, where those seeking jobs in health communication before the year 2000 could enjoy varied job opportunities in the wake of an anticipated moderate expansion in the field.  Those with 1 to 10 years of experience are most in demand.  While an undergraduate degree provides an academic background to perform most responsibilities, for six of the nine core responsibilities an advanced degree was preferred by at least one third of respondents.

FORUM
Health Communication and Consumer Behavior on Meat in Belgium: From BSE until Dioxin
     Verbeke, W., Viaene, J., & Guiot, O.

This article focuses on the impact of mass media meat-health information on consumer perception, attitude and behavior toward fresh meat in Belgium. Similar to the situation in most European countries, fresh meat consumption fell considerably during 1995-1999. A multitude of messages linking meat consumption to human health risks were reported by mass media. BSE since 1996 and dioxin in 1999 constituted the major issues. Empirical research, conducted in April 1998, revealed the tremendous negative impact of mass media coverage of meat-health issues on consumer risk perception, health concern, attitude and behavior toward fresh meat. Oppositely, personal communication through butchers had only a small effect on consumer decision-making in this era dominated by alarming meat-health press. Implications are threefold. First, mass media should be aware of their social responsibilities, which include spreading reliable and correct information to the society. This is especially the case as human health risks are involved. Second, the meat industry urgently needs to re-orient itself toward product quality, safety and transparency. Finally, future communication dealing with similar crises situations requires cooperation across the meat chain, government, and those who are responsible for public health promotion and communication.

BOOK REVIEW
   Preventing AIDS: A Sourcebook for Behavioral Interventions
     by S. C. Kalichman
     Reviewed by: G. Yep