The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #55815

Amanda D. Overgaard, MPH¹, Terrell W. Zollinger, DrPH², and Robert M. Saywell, PhD, MPH². (1) School of Medicine, Department of Public Health, Indiana University, 1001 W. 10th Street, 4th Floor, Indianapolis, IN 46202, (317) 278-0337, aovergaa@iupui.edu, (2) School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, Indiana University, 1110 West Michigan Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202

The media has been frequently utilized to deliver anti-smoking and other anti-tobacco messages to youth. This study examined the impact of radio and television anti-tobacco advertisements on adolescents in the Indianapolis, Indiana, media market. Self-administered surveys of middle school students were received from 1622, 1059, and 1177 students in the rural, suburban and urban areas, respectively. Rural children were significantly less likely to be reached by the television advertisements (85.1%) compared to 93.4% of suburban and 90.2% of urban children. This pattern also occurred with awareness of the radio commercial, where 58.9% of rural children reported they heard the radio commercial, compared with 63.5% and 68.2% of suburban and urban children, respectively. The rural children were also significantly less likely to report that the commercials made them think about refusing tobacco at the next opportunity (63.8%) compared to 76.8% of suburban and 71.5% of urban children. Similarly, 49.2% of rural children reported the radio commercial made them think about refusing tobacco in the future, compared to 59.9% of suburban and 61.3% of urban children. The results of this study provide insights into the need for special considerations when targeting anti-tobacco or other public health media announcements to a rural youth population in contrast to urban or suburban adolescent populations. Additionally, anti-tobacco messages may be made more effective by tailoring the approach and media type to the geographic location and other characteristics of the specific target audience.

Learning Objectives:

• 3. The learners will recognize differences in receptivity to media messages among urban, suburban and rural youth.
  6. The learners will be able to construct media messages to more effectively reach targeted adolescents.

Keywords: Media Message, Youth

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.