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Melissa E. Paulen, BMA¹, Charlene A. Caburnay, MPH², Douglas A. Luke, PhD², and Aisha T. Langford³. (1) Health Communication Research Laboratory, Saint Louis University School of Public Health, 3545 Lafayette Ave, Saint Louis, MO 63104, 314/977/8047, paulenme@slu.edu, (2) Health Communication Research Laboratory, Saint Louis University, 3545 Lafayette Ave, St. Louis, MO 63104, (3) School of Public Health, Saint Louis University, 3545 Lafayette Ave., Saint Louis, MO 63104

Diet has been established as a risk factor for and protective factor against several types of cancer. Newspapers serve as a source of important health information such as diet and nutrition, creating a dependence on obtaining health knowledge through media sources. We identified articles addressing diet and/or nutrition as the primary risk factor for cancer (n=66) from 18 months of 24 Black and 12 mainstream newspapers. We compared the findings by primary story focus, level of prevention, tone of headline and story, and personal behavior mobilization in Black versus mainstream papers. Mainstream newspapers were more likely than Black papers to focus on prevention, while Black newspapers concentrated on other stages of the cancer continuum (p<.01). Furthermore, mainstream newspapers identified primary prevention strategies more frequently than Black newspapers (p=.061). However, Black newspapers were more likely to report these stories in a positive manner compared to mainstream newspapers (p=.059). Personal behavior mobilization was also mentioned more often in Black compared to mainstream newspapers (73.8% vs. 29.2%, p<.001). The findings suggest that Black newspapers are discussing the necessary tools for changing behavior, but that they have potential for greater impact by providing details on how these tools could be applied earlier in the cancer continuum. The findings also suggest that the African-American population, which is at a higher risk of developing and dying from certain cancers, could benefit from a shift in media reporting regarding cancer stories involving diet/nutrition as the primary risk factor.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify inclusion criteria for classifying diet/nutrition as a risk factor for cancer.
• Identify differences in coverage of diet/nutrition involving preventative strategies and calls to action in Black and mainstream newspapers.
• Provide possible reasons for the lack of adequate coverage of useful diet/nutrition information in the primary prevention of cancer.

Keywords: Nutrition, Media Message

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered