Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Balancing The Presentation Of Information And Options In Patient Decision Aids: An Updated Review, Purva Abhyankar, Robert J. Volk, Jennifer Blumenthal-Barby, Paulina Bravo, Angela Buchholz, Elissa Ozanne, Dale C. Vidal, Nananda Col, Peep Stalmeier

Dartmouth Scholarship

Standards for patient decision aids require that information and options be presented in a balanced manner; this requirement is based on the argument that balanced presentation is essential to foster informed decision making. If information is presented in an incomplete/non-neutral manner, it can stimulate cognitive biases that can unduly affect individuals’ knowledge, perceptions of risks and benefits, and, ultimately, preferences. However, there is little clarity about what constitutes balance, and how it can be determined and enhanced. We conducted a literature review to examine the theoretical and empirical evidence related to balancing the presentation of information and options.

From Kids, Through Kids, To Kids: Examining The Social Influence Strategies Used By Adolescents To Promote Prevention Among Peers, Janice L. Krieger, Samantha Coveleski, Michael L. Hecht, Michelle Miller-Day, John W. Graham, Jonathan Pettigrew, Allison Kootsikas

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Recent technological advances have increased the interest and ability of lay audiences to create messages; however, the feasibility of incorporating lay multimedia messages into health campaigns has seldom been examined. Drawing on the principle of cultural grounding and narrative engagement theory, this article seeks to examine what types of messages adolescents believe are most effective in persuading their peers to resist substance use and to provide empirical data on the extent to which audience-generated intervention messages are consistent with the associated campaign philosophy and branding. Data for the current study are prevention messages created by students as part of a …

Narrative Means To Preventative Ends: A Narrative Engagement Framework For Designing Prevention Interventions, Michelle Miller-Day, Michael L. Hecht

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

This article describes a Narrative Engagement Framework (NEF) for guiding communication-based prevention efforts. This framework suggests that personal narratives have distinctive capabilities in prevention. The article discusses the concept of narrative, links narrative to prevention, and discusses the central role of youth in developing narrative interventions. As illustration, the authors describe how the NEF is applied in the keepin' it REAL adolescent drug prevention curriculum, pose theoretical directions, and offer suggestions for future work in prevention communication.

The Drug Facts Box: Improving The Communication Of Prescription Drug Information, Lisa M. Schwartz, Steven Woloshin

Dartmouth Scholarship

Communication about prescription drugs ought to be a paragon of public science communication. Unfortunately, it is not. Consumers see $4 billion of direct-to-consumer advertising annually, which typically fails to present data about how well drugs work. The professional label—the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) mechanism to get physicians information needed for appropriate prescribing—may also fail to present benefit data. FDA labeling guidance, in fact, suggests that industry omit bene

Illegal Yet Developmentally Normative: A Descriptive Analysis Of Young, Urban Adolescents' Dating And Sexual Behaviour In Cape Town, South Africa, Aník Gevers, Cathy Mathews, Pam Cupp, Marcia Russell, Rachel Jewkes

Communication Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: In South Africa, it is illegal for adolescents under age 16 years to engage in any sexual behaviour whether kissing, petting, or penetrative sex, regardless of consent. This cross-sectional study investigated the extent to which young adolescents engage in various sexual behaviours and the associations between dating status and sexual behaviours.

METHOD: Grade 8 adolescents (N = 474, ages 12--15 years, mean = 14.14 years) recruited from Cape Town schools completed surveys providing information about their sociodemographic backgrounds, dating experience, sexual behaviour, and substance use.

RESULTS: Lower hierarchy sexual behaviours, such as kissing (71.4% of girls; 88.4% of boys), …

Online Health Information: Shortcomings And Challenges, Trevor A. Cullen

Research outputs 2013

Health is a topic that affects everyone either through their own personal experiences or those of a family member, friend or work colleague, so it is not surprising to hear that there is increasing interest in online health information. For example, a national survey in 2013 into internet use in the United States showed that 59 per cent of people had searched for health information on the internet, and that six out of 10 respondents said the information they found online affected their decision about how to treat an illness or a medical condition. The downside is that there is …

Factors Influencing Medical Adherence Of Clients In Aids Project Worcester, Marianne M. Sarkis, Abby Dnahue, Jacqueline Osei-Owusu, Shan Yi Koay, Maya Baum, Anna Shayo, Amanda Major

Local Knowledge: Worcester Area Community-Based Research

What are the factors and barriers that lead to levels of adherence for those receiving treatment for those in the HIV/AIDS community through AIDS Project Worcester?

Over the last few decades, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has undergone a visible shift. In particular, the demographics of HIV/AIDS infected persons have transitioned from mostly gay affluent, white males to women and men of various minority populations with lower resources and socioeconomic statuses. This trend has also been true for the Worcester community. Based in Worcester, Massachusetts, this research project seeks to identify patterns between the recent change in client demographics and the relation …

Community-Centered Design: Using Applied Research To Develop A New Identity For The Windham Harm Reduction Coalition, Celia E. Poirier

Honors Scholar Theses

This project combines design and communication in the development of a visual identity for a local syringe exchange program. Background research revealed the legal, political, and social controversy that these programs face in the United States. Despite resounding evidence of their effectiveness at preventing HIV, many exchange programs are highly stigmatized in their communities. A new visual identity aims to overcome residents' past misconceptions about Willimantic's syringe exchange, and promotes the program as a valuable resource in town.

Developing Standardized Language For Use In Lgbt Health Research, Vaibhav Jain, Marisa Workman, Sara Mostafa, Abigail Wolfe, Stefania Davia, Natalie Terens, Keith Li, Blaine Parrish

GW Research Days 2013

BACKGROUND: In the past two decades, the LGBT community in the United States has been more visible, active, and positively accepted by society. As acceptance progresses, research interests on the LGBT population have increased, driving the need for standard language for researchers to share for comparative and community-based participatory research. "What term is right?" is often the question researchers ask a very diverse LGBT community. In August 2012, the District of Columbia's Office of LGBT Affairs identified incongruent language in a number of published reports commissioned by the Mayor's Office. The Office realized the importance of standardized language for health …

Using Information To Manage Uncertainty During Organ Transplantation, Anne M. Stone, Allison M. Scott, Summer Carnett Martin, Dale E. Brashers

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Seeking Care: Mindfulness, Reflexive Struggle, And Puffy Selves In Bullying, Keith Berry

Communication Faculty Publications

What does it mean to become ourselves, to experience who we and others understand us to be? What might the process look like for younger selves who are immersed in the looming problem of bullying, and what is at stake regarding how we respond to its complex storyline? How can we engage ethnographic research that studies ourselves and others in ways that are also more caring than harmful for all persons involved? As senseless bullying continues, I seek meaningful answers to questions of becoming and identities within these intricate relational spaces. Yet as I perform this seeking, the search becomes …

The Impact Of The Internet On The Sexual Health Of Adolescents: A Brief Review, Julia Springate, Hatim A. Omar

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

The object of this review is to summarize the impact of the Internet on the sexual health of adolescents. This article examines the use of websites, blogs and chat rooms as sources for sexual health information for adolescents. The influence of Internet pornography on sexual behaviors and attitudes is addressed. The use of the Internet as a place to find sexual partners is also assessed. During a time of great physical, emotional and sexual change, the Internet is playing a huge role in the decisions adolescents are making, both positive and negative.

Social Media For The Promotion Of Holistic Self-Participatory Care: An Evidence Based Approach, T Miron-Shatz, Margaret M. Hansen Edd, Msn, Rn, Fj Grajales, F Martin-Sanchez, Pd Bamidis

Nursing and Health Professions Faculty Research and Publications

Objectives: As health information is becoming increasingly accessible, social media offers ample opportunities to track, be informed, share and promote health. These authors explore how social media and holistic care may work together; more specifically however, our objective is to document, from different perspectives, how social networks have impacted, supported and helped sustain holistic self-participatory care.

Methods: A literature review was performed to investigate the use of social media for promoting health in general and complementary alternative care in particular. We also explore a case study of an intervention for improving the health of Greek senior citizens through digital and …

Normative Beliefs And Social Support In Weight Loss Communication, Jennifer Anderson, Jennifer Cornacchlone, Erin K. Maloney

Communication Studies Publications

As obesity rates have increased in the past decade, interpersonal communication about weight has taken on greater importance. In this study, we investigate normative beliefs about weight loss communication and the social support provided through such communication. A sample of N = 196 college students reported that they considered weight loss communication to be non-normative in the United States, but that they had positive attitudes toward such communication. In addition, they felt that they would be likely to engage in such conversations themselves. When given the opportunity to respond to a hypothetical weight loss communication scenario, 93% of participants provided …

Omnibus Survivorship Narratives: Multiple Morbidities Among Female Cancer Survivors In South Central Appalachia, Kelly A. Dorgan, Kathryn L. Duvall, Sadie P. Hutson

ETSU Faculty Works

This study examines the illness narratives of female cancer survivors living in Southern Central Appalachia. Stories of 29 female Appalachian cancer survivors from northeastern Tennessee and southwcstmn Virginia were collected via a mixed methods approach in either a day-long story circle (n=26) or an in-depth interview (n=3), Qualitative content analysis was used to guide an inductive analysis of the tTanscript<;, What emerged was that as participants survived cancer, they also survived other health conditions, their intorsccting stories yielding an omnibus survivorship narrative.

Tackling Overweight And Obesity: Does The Public Health Message Match The Science?, Katherine Hafekost, David Lawrence, Francis Mitrou, Therese O'Sullivan, Stephen R. Zubrick

Research outputs 2013

Background

Despite the increasing understanding of the mechanisms relating to weight loss and maintenance, there are currently no validated public health interventions that are able to achieve sustained long-term weight loss or to stem the increasing prevalence of obesity in the population. We aimed to examine the models of energy balance underpinning current research about weight-loss intervention from the field of public health, and to determine whether they are consistent with the model provided by basic science. EMBASE was searched for papers published in 2011 on weight-loss interventions. We extracted details of the population, nature of the intervention, and key …

Exploring Ways To Improve Online Health News Stories, Trevor A. Cullen

Research outputs 2013

For a long time, reporting health consisted largely of statistics on the number of deaths and cases of disease, or reporting on epidemiological data that affects people we do not know. While this is important for health officials, it is of little interest to audiences who are increasingly demanding information that is useful to their daily lives. And conserving one’s health is perhaps the most useful of all topics. Many have now added the internet to their personal health toolbox, helping them to gain a better understanding of an illness or medical condition. But how accurate and balanced is the …

Internet-Based Photoaging Within Australian Pharmacies To Promote Smoking Cessation: Randomized Controlled Trial, Oksana Burford, Moyez Jiwa, Owen B. Carter, Richard Parsons, Delia Hendrie

Research outputs 2013

Background: Tobacco smoking leads to death or disability and a drain on national resources. The literature suggests that cigarette smoking continues to be a major modifiable risk factor for a variety of diseases and that smokers aged 18-30 years are relatively resistant to antismoking messages due to their widely held belief that they will not be lifelong smokers. Objective: To conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a computer-generated photoaging intervention to promote smoking cessation among young adult smokers within a community pharmacy setting. Methods: A trial was designed with 80% power based on the effect size observed in a …

Nutritional Narratives: Cultural And Communications Perspectives On Plant-Based Diets, Julie S. Dare, Leesa N. Costello, Lelia R. Green

Research outputs 2013

This paper responds to a range of popular materials circulating in the public sphere asserting a plant-based (PB) diet is of benefit to humans and a protection against many chronic diseases. Although directed at a lay audience, books such as The China Study (Campbell & Campbell) are based upon extensive academic research, and highlight multiple health, environmental and social advantages of PB diets over traditional western diets. Arguments advocating PB nutrition, however, generally struggle to achieve traction in the public sphere. Narratives around PB food choices, and difficulties in shifting mainstream eating patterns, reflect the cultural symbolism attached to food, …

Social Cognitive Theory Vs. Social Comparison Theory: Examining The Relationship Between Social Influence And Weight Loss, Emily Grigg

Masters Theses

This qualitative study investigated the impact of social influence on weight loss, more specifically, the internal and external elements that effect response and success of those who are trying to lose weight. The research focused on three questions: (1) How great of an influence does self-efficacy have in weight loss success? (2) How great of an influence does social comparison have in weight loss success? (3) Which factor has the largest impact on weight loss: self-efficacy, peer efficacy, or positive social support, or negative social support? Data was collected by the researcher conducting semi-structured interviews. These interview were conducted with …

Health Literacy Promotion: Contemporary Conceptualizations And Current Implementations In Canadian Health Librarianship, Nicole K. Dalmer

FIMS Publications

Research questions: What are the current conceptualizations of health literacy, and what strategies are Canadian health librarians in public, academic, and hospital libraries enacting to put health literacy promotion into practice? Data sources: Serving as the basis of this scoping review, library and information science, health sciences, and interdisciplinary databases were searched using key terms relating to health literacy promotion as it relates to services, programming, or resources used in a variety of library settings. A web searched allowed for the inclusion of grey literature sources. Study selection: Data sources were searched using a combination of subject headings …

Health Communication Closely Tied To Culture, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Medical Tourism: The Role Of Communication Regarding Risks And Benefits Of Obtaining Medical Services Abroad., Kevin Wright, Alicia Mason

Faculty Submissions

The ever-increasing globalization of healthcare has led to a greater number of consumers using the World Wide Web for the purpose of accessing health information and medical services that transcends international borders (Kangas, 2010; Lunt, Mannion, & Exworthy, 2012; MacReady, 2007; Snyder, Crooks, Adams, Kingsbury, & Johnston, 2011). When faced with the high cost of health care or limited treatment options in the United States, more and more Americans are looking to developing countries to obtain a variety of health-related services, including cosmetic surgery, dentistry, diagnostic testing, fertility treatment, and major surgeries such as heart valve operations and organ transplants …

Directory Of Resources For Rural Families And Businesses Experiencing Difficulties, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

All other publications

No abstract provided.

Entertaining, Informing, Persuading: Figures Of Speech To Prepare For Health And Safety, David H. Lee, Frederick Steier, Wit Ostrenko

Publications and Research

The public mandates science center exhibits that are entertaining as well as informative. In addition, exhibits can also be performative, in that they act back upon the visitors with an injunction to change their ways. We give examples from two exhibits that not only inform, but also open up space for changes in behavior and perception, particularly in arenas of public health. We look at two recent and ongoing exhibits at MOSI – “Disasterville” and “The Amazing You” - and examine the affordances suggested by figures of speech such as eponymy, hyponymy, hypernymy and retronymy. Tropological research into museum exhibits …