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Abstract #162051

Linda Ko, MS, MPH¹, Marci Campbell, PhD, MPH², and Carol Carr, MA². (1) Health Behavior Health Education/School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Campus Box 7440, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7440, 919-260-3252, lindako@email.unc.edu, (2) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Campus Box 7294, 1700 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Chapel Hill, NC 27599

This study investigated mediators of intervention effect in a population-based randomized trial, the North Carolina Strategies to Improve Diet, Exercise, and Screening project. We tested efficacy of two health communication strategies to promote fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption among colon cancer survivors and a comparison group. Participants were randomized into one of four groups--control, tailored print communication (TPC), telephone motivational interviewing (TMI), or combined (TPC+TMI). 825 participants completed the baseline survey and 735 the follow-up survey (response rate 90%). Based on theories of communication and persuasion, a path model was developed to observe the relationship between perception of message relevance, message recall, trust in the message, sharing message with others, and self-efficacy on F&V consumption. The TPC+TMI intervention was directly associated with F&V consumption (β=0.68, p=0.011) and indirectly associated through perception of message relevance and recall. The TPC+TMI influenced relevance (β=0.50, p=0.016), and relevance improved recall (β=0.49, p=0.005). Greater recalls improved F&V consumption (β=0.68, p=0.014) (χ²(43, N=70)=42.96, CFI=1.00, RMSEA<.001). Message relevance also improved self-efficacy through trust. Participants who perceived more relevance had more trust (β=0.48, p=0.001) and trust improved self-efficacy (β=0.553, p=0.020). Self-efficacy increased F&V consumption (β=0.273, p=0.16). Receiving TPC+TMI was directly related to more sharing of TMI messages with others (β=0.420, p=0.001), but mediated by relevance for TPC (β=0.210, p=0.019). The TPC and TMI alone were not directly associated with F&V consumption. Determining mediators of cancer communication is important for developing more effective interventions. Further research can investigate ways to enhance message relevance, recall, and trust in interventions.

Learning Objectives:

• 1.Articulate what mediation is
• 2.Identify communication process of cancer intervention
• 3.Create a schema to use mediation model of cancer communication on behavior modification

Keywords: Communication, Behavior Modification

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.