Vol. 5, Num 2: Contents | Editorial | Up Front | Abstracts

Use of Multiple Media and Breast Cancer Screening: An Introduction
     Rimer, B.

Abstract not available.

Effect of Media Coverage and Physician Advice on Utilization of Breast Cancer Screening by Women 40 Years and Older
     Yanovitzky, I. and Blitz, C.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relative importance of media coverage and physician advice on the decision of women 40 years and older to obtain a mammogram.  Five theoretical models, by which media coverage and physician advice may interact to affect individual health behavior, are presented.  These models are tested with time-series regression analysis based on national-level data on mammography utilization and physician advice from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and content analysis of mammography-related national news coverage.  Results suggest that although physician advice plays a key role in women’s decisions to have mammograms, media coverage of mammography screening also contributes to mammography utilization by women.  In particular, media coverage seems to be important for women who do not have regular contact with a physician or access to physicians.  A possible conclusion is that mass media and physician advice complement one another in persuading individuals to adopt preventive health behavior.

Experiences of Women with Breast Cancer: Exchanging Social Support over the CHESS Computer Network
     Shaw, B., McTavish, F., Hawkins, R., Gustafson, D. and Pingree, S.

Using an existential-phenomenological approach, this paper describes how women with breast cancer experience the giving and receiving of social support in a computer-mediated context.  Women viewed their experiences with the computer-mediated support group as an additional and unique source of support in facing their illness.  Anonymity within the support group fostered equalized participation and allowed women to communicate in ways that would have been more difficult in a face-to-face context.  The asynchronous communication was a frustration to some participants, but some indicated that the format allowed for more thoughtful interaction.  Motivations for seeking social support appeared to be a dynamic process, with a consistent progression from a position of receiving support to that of giving support.  The primary benefits women received from participation in the group were communicating with other people who shared similar problems and helping others, which allowed them to change their focus from a preoccupation with their own sickness to thinking of others.  Consistent with past research is the finding that women in this study expressed that social support is a multidimensional phenomenon and that their computer-mediated support group provided abundant emotional support, encouragement, and informational support.  Excerpts from the phenomenological interviews are used to review and highlight key theoretical concepts from the research literatures on computer-mediated communication, social support, and the psychological needs of women with breast cancer.

Cigarette Advertising to Counter New Year's Resolutions
     Basil, M., Basil, D. and Schooler, C.

One process through which tobacco advertising may work is by reducing rates of quitting.  Theories of addiction do support the notion that relapse can be prompted by environmental cues.  Further, because withdrawal symptoms occur over a predictable time frame, and because the most popular time  to quit smoking is the beginning of the year, as a New Year's resolution, tobacco companies can make use of advertising to remind quitters of their need to smoke.  Study 1 examined advertising in ten popular magazines.  It found a higher number of ads in January and February than the rest of the year after 1984.  Study 2 examined cigarette advertising on the back cover of ten other popular magazines.  This study also found a higher rate of cigarette advertisements in January and February than for the rest of the year.  The results suggest that cigarette marketers may be attempting to preempt quitting by cuing smoking behavior.

FORUM
Church-Based Telephone Mammography Counseling With Peer Counselors
Derose, K., Fox, A., Reigadas, E. and Hawes-Dawson, J.

Little is published about step-by-step implementation of telephone counseling interventions to promote community-based health activities.  This article describes our experience of implementing a church-based telephone mammography counseling intervention with peer counselors representing three principal racial or ethnic groups: African American, Latino and Anglo (white).  Twenty-six women from 12 churches in the Los Angeles area were recruited and trained to deliver the counseling annually over a two-year period to 570 women participants who were recruited from participating churches (n=15).  The counseling sessions were conducted from church-based telephone centers in key geographic locations in our program area. Training and supervision proved challenging: most of the Latino counselors had less than 7 years of education and spoke only Spanish, while most of the other counselors had at least some college and spoke only English.  Culturally-specific and small group interactions, role plays, and a more modular approach to training were the most effective ways to enhance counselors’ skills.  Latina participants’ mammography adherence rates were lowest and their barriers reflected their low socio-economic status; as Latina counselors shared basic information about mammograms and where to obtain them at little or no cost, the counseling exchanges tended to be non-conflictive and supportive.  Black and white participants were generally more knowledgeable and adherent with screening guidelines than Latinas. We found that it was possible to implement this intervention with diverse groups and conclude with lessons learned that may inform others considering such a strategy.

BOOK REVIEW

    Power in the Blood: A Handbook on AIDS, Politics, and Communication
     Elwood, W.
     Review by D. Brouwer