Marifran Mattson

Breast self-examination pamphlets: a content analysis grounded in fear appeal research.

In this study, we used the topic of breast self-examination (BSE) to illustrate how content analysis of promotional texts (already in existence, in the process of being created, or both) can provide supplementary data to that derived from audience analysis. Specifically, we used content analysis to isolate messages in BSE pamphlets that are consistent with the variables of severity, susceptibility, response efficacy, and self-efficacy, identified by existing fear appeal research and supported by other persuasion research as critical to the construction of effective health promotion messages. We then used statistical analyses to describe the relation among these 4 message variables. Our findings suggested that BSE pamphlets contain an unbalanced proportion of threat to efficacy arguments. Additionally, the efficacy messages were substantively weak. We contrasted these messages against the relatively strong mammography arguments contained in these pamphlets. We then provided recommendations for formulating stronger persuasive arguments in BSE promotional materials.

Toward a Typology of Confidentiality Breaches in Health Care Communication: An Ethic of Care Analysis of Provider Practices and Patient Perceptions

Confidentiality should be a fundamental right of patients in a health care setting. However, health care providers who take an oath to uphold confidentiality often neglect this basic patient right. Breaching confidential health information is a serious ethical problem and a communication issue that, historically, has received limited empirical, theoretical, or practical attention. The goals of this project were to frame this issue from an ethic of care perspective, define the concept of a confidentiality breach, identify the types of confidentiality breaches being communicated in health care organizations, and understand how patients perceive these breaches. Based on interviews with 51 patients and observations of health care providers, a definition and typology of confidentiality breaches emerged. Theoretical and practical implications also became evident.

The message development tool: a case for effective operationalization of messaging in social marketing practice.

That messages are essential, if not the most critical component of any communicative process, seems like an obvious claim. More so when the communication is about health—one of the most vital and elemental of human experiences (Babrow & Mattson, 2003). Any communication campaign that aims to change a target audiences health behaviors needs to centralize messages. Even though messaging strategies are an essential component of social marketing and are a widely used campaign model, health campaigns based on this framework have not always been able to effectively operationalize this key component, leading to cases where initiating and sustaining prescribed health behavior has been difficult (MacStravic, 2000). Based on an examination of the VERB campaign and an Australian breastfeeding promotion campaign, we propose a message development tool within the ambit of the social marketing framework that aims to extend the framework and ensure that the messaging component of the model is contextualized at the core of planning, implementation, and evaluation efforts.

Online Physical Activity Information: Will Typical Users Find Quality Information?

This study evaluated physical activity Web sites to determine quality, accuracy, and consistency with principles of the extended parallel process model (EPPM). Three keyword searches were conducted using 4 search engines to find a sample of N = 41 Web sites. Three raters evaluated the Web sites using the JAMA benchmarks to assess quality and American College of Sports Medicine and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for physical activity to determine accuracy, as well as checking for inclusion of EPPM variables. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and analysis of variance with least squares means. Only 22% of the sites were high quality, none were highly accurate, and most were consistent with the EPPM. Quality ratings were weakly associated with accuracy. Educational and .net sites were rated significantly higher in quality and accuracy, and government sites were most consistent with the EPPM. Quality Web sites were more often found by using Yahoo and Google. “Exercise” yielded more accurate results, whereas “physical activity” and “fitness” produced more Web sites consistent with the EPPM. It is encouraging that most sites incorporated EPPM concepts; however, quality and accuracy were poor, leaving physical activity information seekers at risk for disease and injury.

Traditional and feminist organizational communication ethical analyses of messages and issues surrounding an actual job loss case

Abstract The difficulties of studying organizational communication ethics often deter researchers and practitioners from addressing ethics in the workplace. In this article, we present an actual job loss case then analyze it from both traditional and feminist organizational communication ethics approaches. Although Reddings (1996) classification of unethical messages offers a useful starting point for ethical analyses, our discussion displays the ways in which his system is incomplete and aligned with managerial biases. We develop a feminist organizational communication ethical approach by adapting Steiners (1997) broad outline of feminist ethical concerns to messages and message‐related practices. By contrasting these two ethical systems, we offer a more coherent and illuminating framework for problematic issues and future courses of action.

Managed care and the paradox of patient confidentiality: A case study analysis from a communication boundary management perspective

Managed care organizations have become one of the dominant forms of health care delivery in the United States. Paradoxically, this system, designed to provide better, less expensive care for patients and increased efficiency for health care providers may be compromising patients’ privacy by making patients’ records available to a wider range of internal and external parties. By allowing many individuals access to patients’ health records, the confidentiality of patients’ private information in the managed care environment is at risk. Using an extension of the communication boundary management perspective (Petronio, 1991, 2000) within a case study approach, a breach of patient confidentiality in a managed care environment is examined. From this analysis, practical recommendations are offered to patients, health care providers, and managed care organizations for managing the paradox of patient confidentiality.

Health Communication Instruction: Toward Identifying Common Learning Goals, Course Content, and Pedagogical Strategies to Guide Curricular Development

Health communication is a vibrant and growing area of the communication discipline, with an abundance of theoretically grounded scholarship and practical application at many levels. Despite this growth, there has yet to be a published description of health communication pedagogy that could identify common conceptual approaches and teaching practices. To help address this gap, an online survey of health communication instructors at 77 colleges and universities throughout the United States was conducted. The questionnaire elicited information about the general characteristics of the institutions and the courses, learning goals, content areas, teaching strategies, and pedagogical practices. Key limitations are highlighted and some recent systematic curricular programs are then presented.

Empowerment through agency-promoting dialogue: an explicit application of harm reduction theory to reframe HIV test counseling.

The counseling that accompanies HIV testing can be an important prevention tool for encouraging people to practice safer sex to avoid AIDS, but there is scant research about how HIV test counseling operates in practice. This article critiques the current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) protocol for HIV test counseling for not being genuinely client centered and ignoring the unique needs of clients and offers an alternative approach that adapts and explicitly applies the tenets of harm reduction theory (HRT). Excerpts from actual HIV test counseling sessions illustrate both the weaknesses in the current approach to HIV test counseling and project how the alternative theoretical perspective offered could provide counseling that encourages agency-promoting and empowering dialogue. The implications for the development of HRT as a health communication heuristic and a practical training and evaluation strategy are discussed along with limitations and future research directions.

Considering organizations as a unique interpersonal context for deception detection: A meta‐analytic review

This article challenges current interpersonal deception literature by summarizing seven studies that examined the ability of members to detect deception in the context of organizational processes. The combined effect (r = .472) indicated that organizational members are able to differentiate honest from dishonest communicators. According to the Binomial Effect Size Display, observers correctly classified honest or dishonest communication in approximately three of four circumstances (73.6%). This finding is important for situations such as employment interviews or other circumstances when organizational members or constituents need to assess the accuracy of information provided by current or potential members. The theoretical implications for interpersonal and organizational deception research are discussed along with the practical ramifications of this study for employment interviewing, manager/employee communication, and retail sales.

A Qualitative Comparison of Susceptibility and Behavior in Recreational and Occupational Risk Environments: Implications for Promoting Health and Safety

Although internal factors that influence risk are frequently studied to understand human behavior, external factors, including social, cultural, and institutional factors, should be better utilized to inform ways to efficiently target, tailor, and promote safety messaging to at-risk populations. Semi-structured interviews obtained data from 37 motorcyclists and 18 mineworkers about their risk perceptions and behaviors within their respective dynamic environments. A comparative thematic analysis revealed information about external factors that influence risk perceptions and behaviors. Results support the importance of qualitative approaches for assessing and targeting individuals’ risk perceptions and behaviors. In addition, segmenting at-risk subgroups within target populations and tailoring messages for these at-risk groups is critical for safety behavior modification. Practitioners should utilize strategic, culture-centric risk communication that takes into account external factors when determining when, who, and what to communicate via health promotion activities to more accurately disseminate valid, empathetic, and engaging communication with a higher level of fidelity.