244823 Building demand for smoke-free policies in rural communities through low-cost media campaigns

Wednesday, November 2, 2011: 9:00 AM

Ganna Kostygina, PhD , Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Mary Kay Rayens, PhD , College of Nursing and College of Public Health, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
Kristian Wagner , College of Nursing, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
Ellen J. Hahn, PhD, RN , Tobacco Research and Prevention Program, University of Kentucky College of Nursing and College of Public Health, Lexington, KY
The study evaluated reach and perceived effectiveness of low-cost tailored media campaigns promoting smoke-free policies in rural communities. A quasi-experimental study with three rural counties (2 treatment, 1 control) tested low-cost media interventions including direct-mail postcards, posters, newspaper ads, billboards, and branding materials using culturally appropriate message frames and appeal types based on findings from 11 formative focus groups. This study was part of a larger 5-year RCT to test the effects of a stage-based, tailored community intervention (n = 22 treatment counties; n = 8 control counties) on rural smoke-free policy. The two treatment counties in the highest and lowest tertiles of community readiness ran 6-month rural media campaigns with tailored technical assistance. The media control county (intermediate level of community readiness), received standard practice guidance in messaging and campaign design. Cross-sectional random-digit-dial telephone surveys with adult residents (n = 1500) in the three study counties assessed recall, recognition, frequency of exposure, level of understanding, and perceived message effectiveness (i.e., perceived seriousness of health risks associated with secondhand smoke exposure, opinion that the advertising affected support for smoke-free laws, and potential to prompt involvement in smoke-free campaigns). Knowledge of which demographic factors are related to these exposure and impact indicators will provide additional insight on how best to tailor media campaigns to reach the rural population and prompt them to action. Rural policy and health outcomes may be improved by using tested media interventions to build demand for policy change.

Learning Areas:
Communication and informatics
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related public policy
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Identify media channels that are effective in reaching rural populations with smoke-free messages. Explain how culturally appropriate messages can be identified and used in developing low-cost media interventions designed to motivate rural residents to support smoke-free policies.

Keywords: Tobacco Policy, Media Campaigns

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to present because I am a postdoctoral scholar with training and expertise in health communication and in designing and evaluating tobacco control policy promotion interventions.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

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.