Lindsay J. Della

Making work safer: testing a model of social exchange and safety management

INTRODUCTION This study tests a conceptual model that focuses on social exchange in the context of safety management. The model hypothesizes that supportive safety policies and programs should impact both safety climate and organizational commitment. Further, perceived organizational support is predicted to partially mediate both of these relationships. METHODS Study outcomes included traditional outcomes for both organizational commitment (e.g., withdrawal behaviors) as well as safety climate (e.g., self-reported work accidents). Questionnaire responses were obtained from 1,723 employees of a large national retailer. RESULTS Using structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques, all of the models hypothesized relationships were statistically significant and in the expected directions. The results are discussed in terms of social exchange in organizations and research on safety climate. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY Maximizing safety is a social-technical enterprise. Expectations related to social exchange and reciprocity figure prominently in creating a positive climate for safety within the organization.

Looking to the Future of New Media in Health Marketing: Deriving Propositions Based on Traditional Theories

ABSTRACT Market trend data show that the media marketplace continues to rapidly evolve. Recent research shows that substantial portions of the U.S. media population are “new media” users. Today, more than ever before, media consumers are exposed to multiple media at the same point in time, encouraged to participate in media content generation, and challenged to learn, access, and use the new media that are continually entering the market. These media trends have strong implications for how consumers of health information access, process, and retain health-related knowledge. In this article we review traditional information processing models and theories of interpersonal and mass media access and consumption. We make several theory-based propositions for how traditional information processing and media consumption concepts will function as new media usage continues to increase. These propositions are supported by new media usage data from the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions entry into the new media market (e.g., podcasting, virtual events, blogging, and webinars). Based on these propositions, we conclude by presenting both opportunities and challenges that public health communicators and marketers will face in the future.

Process Evaluation Results From an Environmentally Focused Worksite Weight Management Study

There is currently much interest in exploring environmental approaches to combat weight gain and obesity. This study presents process evaluation results from a workplace-based study that tested two levels of environmentally focused weight management interventions in a manufacturing setting. The moderate treatment featured a set of relatively simple, low-cost environmental modifications designed to facilitate healthy eating and physical activity; the intense treatment added elements intended to actively involve and engage management in program efforts. Fidelity varied across the 11 interventions comprising the two treatment conditions but did not vary systematically by treatment condition (moderate vs. intense). Environmental assessments showed improvements in workplace supports for weight management and significant differences by treatment level. Positive shifts in health climate perceptions also occurred, but sites receiving the intense treatment were not perceived as more supportive by employees. Challenges and limitations associated with environmental interventions are discussed with specific reference to activating management support.

Explaining Fruit and Vegetable Intake Using a Consumer Marketing Tool

In response to calls to reinvent the 5 A Day fruit and vegetable campaign, this study assesses the utility of VALS™, a consumer-based audience segmentation tool that divides the U.S. population into groups leading similar lifestyles. The study examines whether the impact of theory of planned behavior (TPB) constructs varies across VALS groups in a cross-sectional sample of 1,588 U.S. adults. In a multigroup structural equation model, the VALS audience group variable moderated latent TPB relationships. Attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control explained 57% to 70% of the variation in intention to eat fruit and vegetables across 5 different VALS groups. Perceived behavioral control and intention also predicted self-reported consumption behavior (R 2 = 20% to 71% across VALS groups). Bivariate z tests were calculated to determine statistical differences in parameter estimates across groups. Nine of the bivariate z tests were statistically significant (p ≤ .04), with standardized coefficients ranging from .05 to .70. These findings confirm the efficacy of using the TPB to explain variation in fruit and vegetable consumption as well as the validity of using a consumer-based algorithm to segment audiences for fruit and vegetable consumption messaging.

Healthicization and Lay Knowledge About Eating Practices in Two African American Communities

In this manuscript, we expand upon sociological research in lay knowledge about health and healthicization by examining socially mediated ways in which 40 African American adults in two communities acquired information about eating practices. Participants employed a variety of socially informed information-seeking strategies. Many, but not all, used socially prescribed sources exhorting them to maximize their own health and reported an amalgam of experiences concerning their interpretation of healthist messages. Participants variously accepted messages about healthy eating or engaged in strategies of micro-resistance that decentered and/or reinterpreted health promotion discourse. Furthermore, participants used emic community-based resources including those that prioritized familial engagement over individual responsibility in eating practices or that drew upon alternative health practices. We discuss the implications our work has for further research on healthicization and lay knowledge about eating practices, in which community members are actively engaged in meaning-making within local socio-structural contexts.

Social Constructions of Stigmatizing Discourse Around Type 2 Diabetes Diagnoses in Appalachian Kentucky

ABSTRACT Type 2 diabetes is a growing problem among Appalachian Kentucky residents. Several issues contribute to diabetes disparities in the region, including lack of access to health care and geographic isolation. Previous studies also indicate that social stigma may be associated with type 2 diabetes. We used 28 semistructured interviews to explore how stigma is socially constructed across health status (diagnosed/undiagnosed). Perceived severity of the disease is high, yet the etiology of diabetes is not well understood. Thus, onset is perceived to occur “out of the blue,” and a positive diagnosis is perceived as having life-threatening consequences. Diagnosed participants, who had learned more about the disease’s etiology, prevention, and management, expressed intrapersonal stigma. In interpersonal situations, the visible indicators of a diabetes diagnosis (i.e., physical weight, insulin injection), rather than diagnosis status, tended to evoke stigmatizing interactions. These findings form the foundation for our recommendations for prevention messages in the region.

Exploring Media’s Impact on African American Women’s Healthy Food Habits in Kentucky

This qualitative study employs the uses and gratifications framework to explore the perspective of African American women in Kentucky, specifically urban Louisville and rural Hopkinsville, to understand their use of media as potential sources for gathering information about healthy food habits. Key findings include how the participants used media for instrumental purposes to educate themselves about healthy food habits, and that the specific media personalities were very important to the participants as they decided to make healthier food selections.

Epistemological inclusiveness in researching the African American community

Abstract African American communities have experienced negative effects from a history of medical abuse, lack of proper research procedures, and misinterpretations of study findings because of racism. These past injustices have led to a mistrust of research and researchers. This paper focuses on how some methodological challenges, in a study funded by a National Institutes of Health grant on two low-income African American communities in Kentucky, were mediated through the collaboration of a multi-racial/ethnic team of researchers engaged in cross-disciplinary research. The information for this paper is based on the reflections of key members of the research team. The reflections show that having researchers with different epistemologies resulted in a culturally aware and sensitive study in which emic and etic research approaches were adopted. The inclusion of race-based epistemologies and close community ties were found to be particularly useful in building trust and getting the support of the two communities. However, these outcomes were only possible because research team members provided each other latitude for intellectual freedom and leadership.

Modeling message preferences: An adaptive conjoint analysis of persuasive messaging to increase fruit and vegetable consumption

Abstract Few past studies have used conjoint analysis to assess message design features and even fewer have looked at health issues. This research applies conjoint analysis to the quest to design motivational messages for African Americans at risk for diet-related adverse health outcomes (e.g., heart disease) in Kentucky. African American health in the state of Kentucky can benefit from a diet high in fruit and vegetable consumption, but little past research has been conducted with African American Kentuckians to explore the best message structure for communicating about increased fruit and vegetable consumption. This study reports on the outcome of the final phase of formative campaign research. We use an adaptive conjoint analysis to identify the most important elements of message design for this group of Kentucky residents. Results indicate that the messages source (i.e., the person delivering the message) is the most important design element for creating persuasive health messaging about fruit and vegetables for African Americans in Kentucky, followed by the stated benefit of eating more fruit and vegetables and the manner in which the behavior is described, respectively. To our knowledge, this study is the first to treat campaign message features as the subject of a conjoint analysis in order to identify which combination of features might be most motivating for a specific target audience. Recommendations for future health communication campaign application, as well as future research are discussed.