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Capitão C, Martins R, Feteira-Santos R, Virgolino A, Graça P, Gregório MJ, Santos O. Developing healthy eating promotion mass media campaigns: A qualitative study. Front Public Health 2022; 10:931116. [PMID: 35968460 PMCID: PMC9372615 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.931116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Involving consumers in the development and assessment of mass media campaigns has been advocated, though research is still lacking. This study aimed to explore opinions and attitudes of citizens, health professionals, communication professionals, and digital influencers regarding the development and implementation of healthy eating promotion mass media campaigns. Methods We conducted five semi-structured focus groups, where participants were exposed to the first nationwide mass media campaign promoting healthy eating in Portugal. Through criteria-based purposive sampling, 19 citizens, five health professionals, two communication professionals, and four digital influencers were included. Transcripts were analyzed using Charmaz's line-to-line open coding process. Results Main identified themes were: considerations about informative-centered campaigns, health/nutritional issues to address, campaign formulation, target audiences, dissemination channels, and influencers' involvement. Participants favored campaigns focused on practical, transformative, and useful information with simple, innovative, activating, and exciting messages instead of strictly informative campaigns. Health and communication professionals mentioned the importance of adapting the message and dissemination channels to the target audience, addressing the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach individuals, and highlighted the importance of short video format. Conclusions Active involvement of the health promotion target audience is crucial for the development and effectiveness of health campaigns. Campaigns need to convey health messages on simple though exciting communication materials, targeted to the most vulnerable subgroups, including deprived, less educated, younger, and older generations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Capitão
- Environmental Health Behaviour Lab, Instituto de Saúde Ambiental, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
- Laboratório Associado TERRA, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
- *Correspondence: Carolina Capitão
| | - Raquel Martins
- Environmental Health Behaviour Lab, Instituto de Saúde Ambiental, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
- Laboratório Associado TERRA, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Rodrigo Feteira-Santos
- Environmental Health Behaviour Lab, Instituto de Saúde Ambiental, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
- Laboratório Associado TERRA, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
- Área Disciplinar Autónoma de Bioestatística, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Ana Virgolino
- Environmental Health Behaviour Lab, Instituto de Saúde Ambiental, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
- Laboratório Associado TERRA, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Pedro Graça
- Faculdade de Ciências da Nutrição e Alimentação, Universidade do Porto, Oporto, Portugal
- Programa Nacional para a Promoção da Alimentação Saudável, Direção-Geral da Saúde, Lisbon, Portugal
- Unidade de Investigação em Epidemiologia (EPIUnit), Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Oporto, Portugal
- Laboratório para a Investigação Integrativa e Translacional em Saúde Populacional (ITR), Universidade do Porto, Oporto, Portugal
| | - Maria João Gregório
- Faculdade de Ciências da Nutrição e Alimentação, Universidade do Porto, Oporto, Portugal
- Programa Nacional para a Promoção da Alimentação Saudável, Direção-Geral da Saúde, Lisbon, Portugal
- Unidade de Investigação em Epidemiologia (EPIUnit), Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Oporto, Portugal
- Laboratório para a Investigação Integrativa e Translacional em Saúde Populacional (ITR), Universidade do Porto, Oporto, Portugal
| | - Osvaldo Santos
- Environmental Health Behaviour Lab, Instituto de Saúde Ambiental, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
- Laboratório Associado TERRA, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
- Unbreakable Idea Research, Cadaval, Portugal
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Elliott C, Truman E, Nelson MR, Scheibe C, Hudders L, De Jans S, Brisson-Boivin K, McAleese S, Johnson M, Walker L, Ellison K. Food Promotion and Children's Health: Considering Best Practices for Teaching and Evaluating Media Literacy on Food Marketing. Front Public Health 2022; 10:929473. [PMID: 35899161 PMCID: PMC9309718 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.929473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Food marketing to children is ubiquitous and persuasive. It primarily promotes foods of poor nutritional quality, influences children's food preferences and habits, and is a factor in childhood obesity. Given that food marketing relentlessly targets children in traditional/digital media and the built environment, children need critical media literacy skills that build their understanding of food marketing's persuasive effects. However, little research connects media literacy with food marketing and health, including effective strategies for teaching and evaluating such programming for children. This perspective presents the outcomes of a stakeholder meeting on best practices in teaching and evaluation on media literacy and food marketing to children. Strategies for promoting critical thinking (teaching content, teaching practices, teaching supports, and parent/caregiver involvement), and strategies for measuring critical thinking (program effectiveness and broader long-term impacts) were identified. These include, among other things, the need to capture the range of marketing formats and current food promotion trends, to include inquiry-based and co-creation activities, and to support ongoing media literacy development. Overall, these strategies suggest useful criteria for media literacy programming related to food marketing, and highlight the importance of media literacy for giving children the skills to navigate a complex food environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlene Elliott
- Department of Communication, Media and Film, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
- *Correspondence: Charlene Elliott
| | - Emily Truman
- Department of Communication, Media and Film, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Michelle R. Nelson
- Department of Advertising, College of Media, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States
| | - Cyndy Scheibe
- Psychology, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Liselot Hudders
- Department of Communication Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Steffi De Jans
- Department of Communication Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | | | | | | | | | - Kirsten Ellison
- Department of Communication, Media and Film, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
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Gonzalez-Nahm S, Ames ML, Benjamin-Neelon SE. Formative evaluation of a portion control and calorie reduction campaign: Insights from focus groups with target audience. Prev Med Rep 2021; 24:101614. [PMID: 34976670 PMCID: PMC8684014 DOI: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2021.101614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2021] [Revised: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Healthy eating campaigns can increase awareness of healthful foods and eating patterns and prompt behavior change. Portion control can be a useful strategy in weight management efforts, and new, innovative campaigns can help invigorate messages related to portion control and weight management. This qualitative study presents results of formative testing of portion control and calorie reduction messages and infographics for a proposed campaign. We conducted 17 focus groups with 113 adults ages 18-65 years in 3 US cities. We conducted separate focus groups by weight status (overweight/healthy weight) and gender (male/female) and analyzed coded data and categorized emerging themes. Participants, especially those with healthy weights, gravitated toward specific, and achievable messages to encourage portion control and calorie reduction. Men with overweight and women with healthy weights preferred messages that had a positive, supportive tone. Participants favored messages that addressed overeating and allowed for autonomy. In particular, women and those with healthy weights preferred messages that encouraged calorie budgeting. Many participants, in particular men, provided positive feedback on messages encouraging a "fresh start" on Mondays. Additionally, participants preferred messages that were colorful, informative, realistic, attractive, and relatable. With regard to message dissemination, participants suggested that messages and infographics be positioned in high-traffic areas and men generally suggested places where food decisions are made. Moreover, participants suggested message dissemination through trusted health professionals and credible research organizations. Health organizations planning a portion control or calorie reduction campaign should consider these factors early in the development process to help ensure acceptance and success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Gonzalez-Nahm
- Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Meghan L Ames
- Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Sara E Benjamin-Neelon
- Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD, USA
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Patel J, Desai H, Okhowat A. The Role of the Canadian Media During the Initial Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Topic Modelling Approach Using Canadian Broadcasting Corporation News Articles. JMIR INFODEMIOLOGY 2021; 1:e25242. [PMID: 34447922 PMCID: PMC8330922 DOI: 10.2196/25242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2020] [Revised: 02/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Background Beginning as a local epidemic, COVID-19 has since rapidly evolved into a pandemic. As countries around the world battle this outbreak, mass media has played an active role in disseminating public health information. Objective The aim of this study was to get a better understanding of the role that the Canadian media played during the pandemic and to investigate the patterns of topics covered by media news reporting. Methods We used a data set consisting of news articles published on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) website between December 2019 and May 2020. We then used Python software to analyze the data using Latent Dirichlet Allocation topic modelling. Subsequently, we used the pyLDAvis tool to plot these topics on a 2D plane through multidimensional scaling and divided these topics into different themes. Results After removing articles that were published before the year 2019, we identified 6771 relevant news articles. According to the CV coherence value, we divided these articles into 15 topics, which were categorized into 6 themes. The three most popular themes were case reporting and testing (n=1738), Canadian response to the pandemic (n=1259), and changes to social life (n=1171), which accounted for 25.67%, 18.59%, and 17.29% of the total articles, respectively. Conclusions Understanding the Canadian media’s reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic shows that the Canadian pandemic response is a product of consistent government communication, as well as the public’s understanding of and adherence to protocols.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janhavi Patel
- Michael G DeGroote School of Medicine McMaster University Hamilton, ON Canada
| | - Harsheev Desai
- Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science Ryerson University Toronto, ON Canada
| | - Ali Okhowat
- UBC Global Health Faculty of Medicine University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC Canada
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