Information Campaign (information + campaign)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Mediated communication of ,sustainable consumption' in the alternative media: a case study exploring a message framing strategy

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 2 2009
Komathi Kolandai-Matchett
Abstract In view of previous effects of mediated communication on public knowledge, perceptions and concern about sustainability problems, this case study explores a message framing strategy for improving the effectiveness of mediated communication of the somewhat neglected topic of sustainable consumption. It describes how an information campaign on sustainable consumption was strategically framed, employing theories on effective and persuasive communication, and implemented through a community news medium in Christchurch, New Zealand. The resultant impacts of the campaign (significant increases in understanding of sustainable consumption and in the number of parents expressing concern over advertising effects on their children's material desires) were indicative of the potentials of employing strategic message framing for improving mediated communication about sustainability. The study also illustrates the potentials for engaging alternative media in such communication. This paper argues that further steps to develop message framing strategies for mediated communication of sustainable consumption is necessary, as this appears to be a largely neglected area in communication and consumer studies, and concludes with an overview of aspects that may be considered in future communication and other initiatives promoting sustainable consumption as a means for achieving sustainability. [source]


Driving less for better air: Impacts of a public information campaign

JOURNAL OF POLICY ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2003
Gary T. Henry
In the wake of the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act, localities across the United States initiated public information campaigns both to raise awareness of threats to air quality and to change behavior related to air pollution by recommending specific behavioral changes in the campaign messages. These campaigns are designed to reduce the health hazards associated with poor air quality and to avoid federal sanctions resulting from the failure to meet air quality standards. As in many other communities across the country, a coalition of government agencies and businesses initiated a public information campaign in the Atlanta metropolitan region to reduce certain targeted behaviors, mainly driving. A two-stage model used to analyze data from a rolling sample survey shows that the centerpiece of the information campaign,air quality alerts,was effective in raising awareness and reducing driving in a segment of the population. When the overall information campaign was moderated by employers' participation in programs to improve air quality, drivers significantly reduced the number of miles they drove and the number of trips they took by car on days when air quality alerts were sounded. Public information campaigns can be successful in increasing awareness, but changing well-established behaviors, such as driving, is likely to require institutional mediation to provide social contexts that support the behavioral change, as well. © 2003 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. [source]


Effects of Written Information Material on Help-Seeking Behavior in Patients with Erectile Dysfunction: A Longitudinal Study

THE JOURNAL OF SEXUAL MEDICINE, Issue 2 2008
Michael M. Berner MD
ABSTRACT Introduction., Neither men with erectile dysfunction (ED) nor their physicians are willing to discuss sexual problem sufficiently. Written information material could facilitate a dialogue and encourage men to seek treatment. Aim., The central task of this article was to determine the effectiveness and acceptance of patient information material for sexual dysfunction. Methods., Through an information campaign, men received informational material. Eight thousand men also received a first survey, which asked about the intention to seek treatment and to discuss the sexual problem with a physician or partner. A second follow-up questionnaire, 3,6 months after the first one, asked for the implementation of these intentions. Descriptive and regression-based analyses were applied. Main Outcome Measures., Help-seeking behavior, subjective assessment of change in disease severity and partnership quality, satisfaction. Results., Four hundred forty-three men participated in both surveys. Nearly 90% of them became active after reading the information material. More than half talked with their partner (57.8%) and a physician (65%), and one-third sought treatment (31.8%). Especially discussing the problem with the partner and receiving treatment improved erectile functioning and led to an increase in the quality of partnership (P , 0.05). The initial intention to become active was a good predictor for completing an action. The main reasons for not becoming active were inhibitions to talk about ED (46.8%) and fear of a medical examination (27.7%). Conclusions., Overall, the results demonstrate that written information material is a useful resource for men with ED, because it evokes a high help-seeking behavior. It was perceived both to improve the sexual problem as well as to increase the quality of partnership. Providing such material in the medical practice may be an appropriate way to overcome inhibitions and to initiate dialogue with affected men. However, the results must be interpreted with caution because of possible motivationally driven self-selection bias. Berner MM, Leiber C, Kriston L, Stodden V, and Günzler C. Effects of written information material on help-seeking behavior in patients with erectile dysfunction: A longitudinal study. J Sex Med 2008;5:436,447. [source]


Folate concentrations and folic acid supplementation among women in their first trimester of pregnancy in a rural area with a high prevalence of neural tube defects in Shanxi, China

BIRTH DEFECTS RESEARCH, Issue 6 2006
Le Zhang
Abstract BACKGROUND: Although an information campaign concerning periconceptional folic acid supplementation was launched in 1998 in Shanxi Province, China, the prevalence of neural tube defects in rural areas was reported as high as 140 per 10,000 births in 2002. The blood folate concentrations and the practice of folic acid supplementation among pregnant women in rural areas of the province are described. METHODS: A total of 483 pregnant women (mean gestation, 8.1 weeks) in a rural area of Shanxi were interviewed. Nonfasting blood samples and information on folic acid supplementation were collected. Folate concentrations in plasma and erythrocytes were determined by a microbiological assay. RESULTS: The mean concentrations of plasma and erythrocyte folate for pregnant women was 10.4 nmol/liter and 375.8 nmol/liter, respectively. Deficiencies of plasma and erythrocyte folate were observed in 20.9% and 47.6% of women, respectively. Seasonal variations were noted in the prevalence of folate deficiency, with significantly lower plasma folate concentrations in spring and summer and lower erythrocyte folate concentrations in seasons other than summer. Among pregnant women, <10% reported having taken or currently taking folic acid, and virtually no women (0.6%) took folic acid as recommended. CONCLUSIONS: Women in rural areas had low plasma and erythrocyte folate levels, and folate deficiency was highly prevalent in the area. Few women followed the recommendations regarding folic acid supplementation, and the information campaign in Shanxi was unsuccessful. These findings suggest the urgent need for combined strategies in rural areas to fortify grain with folic acid and promote folic acid supplements for childbearing-age women. Birth Defects Research (Part A) 76:461,466, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Changes in parental risk behaviour after an information campaign against sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in Norway

ACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 2 2004
SAR Hill
Aim: To assess parental risk behaviour before and after a sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) information campaign with special emphasis on associations with maternal age, education, marital status and birth order. Methods: Data from questionnaires sent to all mothers who gave birth in Norway during a period before the campaign were compared with corresponding data obtained after the campaign. Results: Prevalence of non-supine sleeping position decreased from 33.7% to 13.6% while changes in smoking, non-breastfeeding and co-sleeping were disappointing. Risk factors were particularly prevalent in young mothers, but also in mothers with a minimum period of education, non-cohabitation and at birth order 2+. Conclusions: Non-supine sleeping decreased to a level that has never been reported before. In future campaigns, subgroup-specific measures may be needed. [source]


Effects of a community intervention to reduce the serving of alcohol to intoxicated patrons

ADDICTION, Issue 6 2010
Katariina Warpenius
ABSTRACT Aims To assess the effects of an alcohol prevention programme to reduce the serving of alcoholic beverages to intoxicated clients on licensed premises. Research design A controlled pre- (2004) and post-intervention study (2006) design. Intervention A community-based programme combining law enforcement, responsible beverage service training, information campaigns and policy initiatives in one Finnish town (Jyväskylä). Participants and measurements A male actor pretended to be clearly under the influence of alcohol and tried to buy a pint of beer at licensed premises. For the baseline measurement, every bar and nightclub was visited in the intervention and the control areas (94 licensed premises in total). Post-intervention data were gathered with the same principles (100 licensed premises in total). A researcher observed every visit and documented the results. Results In the post-intervention study there was a statistically significant increase in refusals to serve denials alcohol to the actor in the intervention area (from 23% to 42% of the licensed premises) compared to refusals in the control area (from 36% to 27% of the licensed premises). Conclusion Previous research has documented that multi-component community-based interventions can have a significant impact on over-serving of alcohol when training and house policies are combined with effective law enforcement. The present findings also demonstrate that comprehensive Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) interventions applied at a local community level can be effective in decreasing service to intoxicated clients in a Nordic context. [source]


The Reproductive Health of Young people in Côte d'Ivoire: Issues and Prospects

INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 164 2000
Aminata Touré
In Côte d'Ivoire, young people aged between 14 and 24 represent 25% of the population, and this is the age group that is particularly vulnerable to reproductive health problems. Sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS in the main affect 15 to 18-year-olds; the early pregnancy rate is high; and the widespread recourse to illegal abortion by women at an increasingly young age reflects the emergence of an unfilled need for family planning services among the young. To cope with this situation, the Côte d'Ivoire authorities have adopted several strategies, which include launching wide-ranging information campaigns and making condoms generally available. However, over and beyond such actions, which are beginning to bear fruit, it seems that particular attention needs to be focused on young people not at school and on girls, whose social status is low. The promotion of equality between the sexes and the legalisation of abortion could give added force to strategies to promote the reproductive health of young people. [source]


Anthropogenic impacts on lake and stream ecosystems, and approaches to restoration

JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 6 2007
MARTIN SØNDERGAARD
Summary 1Freshwater ecosystems have long been affected by numerous types of human interventions that have a negative impact on their water quality and ecological state. Fortunately, in most western countries the input of sewage to freshwater systems has been reduced, but hydromorphological alterations, eutrophication-related turbidity and loss of biodiversity remain major problems in many parts of the world. Such impacts prevent the achievement of a high or good ecological state, as defined by the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) or other standards. 2This paper synthesizes and links the findings presented in the seven papers of this special profile, focusing on the effects of anthropogenic stressors on freshwater ecosystems and on how to maintain and restore ecological quality. The papers cover a broad range of research areas and methods, but are all centred on the relationship between dispersal barriers, the connectivity of waterways and the restoration of rivers and lakes. 3The construction of dams and reservoirs disturbs the natural functioning of many streams and rivers and shore-line development around lakes may reduce habitat complexity. New methods demonstrate how reservoirs may have a severe impact on the distribution and connectivity of fish populations, and new techniques illustrate the potential of using graph theory and connectivity models to illustrate the ecological implications. Hydromorphologically degraded rivers and streams can be restored by addition of wood debris, but ,passive' restoration via natural wood recruitment may be preferable. The most cost-effective way to restore streams may also include information campaigns to farmers on best management practices. Removal of zooplanktivorous fish often has marked positive effects on trophic structure in lakes, but there is a tendency to return to turbid conditions after 8,10 years or less unless fish removal is repeated. 4Synthesis and applications. Development of new methods, as well as derivation of more general conclusions from reviewing the effects of previous restoration efforts, are crucial to achieve progress in applied freshwater research. The papers contained in this Special Profile contribute on both counts, as well as illustrating the importance of well-designed research projects and monitoring programmes to record the effects of the interventions. Such efforts are vital if we are to improve our knowledge of freshwater systems and to elaborate the best and most cost-effective recommendations. They may also help in achieving a good ecological state or potential in water bodies by 2015, as demanded by the European WFD. [source]


Driving less for better air: Impacts of a public information campaign

JOURNAL OF POLICY ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2003
Gary T. Henry
In the wake of the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act, localities across the United States initiated public information campaigns both to raise awareness of threats to air quality and to change behavior related to air pollution by recommending specific behavioral changes in the campaign messages. These campaigns are designed to reduce the health hazards associated with poor air quality and to avoid federal sanctions resulting from the failure to meet air quality standards. As in many other communities across the country, a coalition of government agencies and businesses initiated a public information campaign in the Atlanta metropolitan region to reduce certain targeted behaviors, mainly driving. A two-stage model used to analyze data from a rolling sample survey shows that the centerpiece of the information campaign,air quality alerts,was effective in raising awareness and reducing driving in a segment of the population. When the overall information campaign was moderated by employers' participation in programs to improve air quality, drivers significantly reduced the number of miles they drove and the number of trips they took by car on days when air quality alerts were sounded. Public information campaigns can be successful in increasing awareness, but changing well-established behaviors, such as driving, is likely to require institutional mediation to provide social contexts that support the behavioral change, as well. © 2003 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. [source]


Solar UVR exposures of indoor workers in a Working and a Holiday Period assessed by personal dosimeters and sun exposure diaries

PHOTODERMATOLOGY, PHOTOIMMUNOLOGY & PHOTOMEDICINE, Issue 6 2001
E. Thieden
Background/Aim: The aim of this study was to quantify ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure of fully employed indoor workers during a Working Period and a Holiday Period in the summer months. A further aim was to investigate the correlation between individual personal UVR dosimeter reading and self-reported data in a diary about sun exposure habits and to investigate whether skin type, age and gender influence sun exposure. Methods: The solar UVR, in standard erythema doses (SED) measured by UV sensitive spore-film filter type personal dosimeters (VioSpor®), and sun exposure diaries were compared. The study included 44 healthy Danish adult indoor workers during a Working Period of a mean of 13 days and a Holiday Period of a mean of 17 days from June to September. Results: The individual total UVR exposure correlated significantly (P<0.001) in both the Holiday and Working Periods with individual total hours spent outdoors from 07:00 to 19:00 and with skin area exposure hours. There was no significant correlation between sun exposure dose and gender, age or skin type I-IV, or between the individual solar exposure dose in the Working and the Holiday Period. However, subjects with UVR exposures in the upper quartile spent their Holiday Period in Southern Europe, and/or had been more than the mean time outdoors at the beach/sea and/or between 12:00 and 15:00. Subjects with UVR exposure in the lower quartiles spent their holidays in Denmark or Northern Europe and did not stay at the beach at all. They received an average solar UVR dose which was 22% of ambient in Denmark in the same period while subjects having their holidays in Southern Europe received as much as 90% of the ambient dose in Denmark. Conclusions: Despite information campaigns to avoid the midday sun, on average 35% of the recorded hours outdoors were spent between 12:00 and 15:00 in the Holiday Period. Total hours outdoors give the best estimate of the total sun exposure dose. Registration in a diary of total hours outdoors and whether the Holiday Period was in Northern or Southern Europe can be used to predict the solar exposure dose in a Holiday Period of a few weeks. [source]


Representative marketing-oriented study on implants in the Austrian population.

CLINICAL ORAL IMPLANTS RESEARCH, Issue 5 2003

Abstract: The number of dental implants inserted annually worldwide has been estimated to come close to a million. But the level of information available to patients about realistic, evidence-based treatment options by implants is often enough more than fragmentary, and what is disseminated by the media and the industry does not always reflect evidence-based empirical data. This survey of 1000 adults presented with 18 questions was designed to shed light on several points. These were (1) level of subjective patient information, (2) sources of information and prejudices, (3) future demand for implant treatment and target groups for patient information campaigns, and (4) potential misinformation, information deficits, discrepancies of information and how these come about. Of those questioned, 20% said unprompted that implants were a possibility to replace missing teeth. When prompted, 72% said that they knew about dental implants. Most of those questioned felt poorly informed about the options for replacing missing teeth and many knew less about implants than about other alternatives. The dentist was said to be the desired source of information, but 77% of those questioned reported that their dentists did not practice implant dentistry. More than 79% of those questioned did not know whether their dentist worked with implants. Forty-four percent thought that implants should only be placed by specially trained doctors. Sixty-one percent were of the opinion that dentists who provide implant dentistry were better qualified than their nonimplanting colleagues. Half of those questioned attributed implant failures to allergies and incompatibilities, the other half to poor medical care. Only 29% incriminated poor oral hygiene as a cause of implant failure. Future strategies should be geared to more professional public relations and patient information. Internationally operating qualified implant institutions could contribute much to balance discrepant information. Résumé Le nombre d'implants dentaires insérés annuellement dans le monde se chiffrerait à environ un million. Mais le niveau d'information disponible du patient en ce qui concerne les options de traitement basées sur l'évidence est souvent fragmentaire, et l'information dispensée par les média et l'industrie ne reflète pas toujours ces options. Cette enquête réalisée sur mille adultes ayant reçu un questionnaire de 18 questions a été effectuée afin de mettre en évidence certains points. Ces derniers étaient 1) le niveau de l'information subjective du patient, 2) les sources d'information et préjudices, 3) la demande future pour le traitement implantaire et les groupes cibles pour les campagnes d'information des patients, 4) les mauvaises informations potentielles, les déficits d'information, les désaccords de l'information et les causes de ces derniers. De ces personnes questionnées, 20% ont répondu spontanément que les implants étaient un moyen de remplacer les dents manquantes. Lorsqu'ils étaient interrogés, 72% ont répondu connaître les implants dentaires. La plupart de ces personnes se sentaient cependant peu informées sur les options de remplacement des dents manquantes et beaucoup d'entre-elles possédaient très peu d'information sur les implants par rapport aux autres possibilités existantes. Le dentiste semblait être la source préférentielle d'information mais 77 % des personnes questionnées ont rapporté que leur dentiste ne plaçait pas d'implant. Plus de 79% ne savaient pas si leur dentiste pratiquait l'implantologie. Quarante-quatre pour cent étaient persuadés que les implants ne pouvaient être placés que par des spécialistes. Soixante et un pour cent pensaient que les dentistes pratiquant de la dentisterie implantaire étaient plus qualifiés que les autres collègues. La moitié attribuait les échecs implantaires aux allergies et aux incompatiblités, l'autre moitié aux mauvais soins médicaux. Seul 29% incriminaient la mauvaise hygiène buccale comme une cause d'échec implantaire. Des stratégies futures devraient être orientées vers davantage de relations publiques professionnelles et d'informations du patient. Des institutions d'implants internationales pourraient grandement contribuer à changer cette mauvaise information. Zusammenfassung Eine repräsentative marketing-orientierte Studie über Implantate in der Bevölkerung von Oesterreich. Teil I: Stand der Information, Informationsquellen und Bedürfnis bezüglich Patienteninformation Die Anzahl weltweit gesetzter Implantate pro Jahr wird auf fast eine Million geschätzt. Aber die den Patienten zur Verfügung stehende Information über realistische, auf Evidenz basierende Behandlungsmöglichkeiten mit Implantaten ist mehr als lückenhaft. Was durch die Medien und durch die Industrie verbreitet wird, wiederspiegelt nicht immer auf Evidenz basierende empirische Daten. Diese Untersuchung an 1000 Erwachsenen, welchen 18 Fragen gestellt wurden, wurde entwickelt, um Licht auf verschiedene Punkte zu werfen. Die Punkte betrafen (1) Stand der subjektiven Patienteninformation; (2) Informationsquellen und Vorurteile; (3) zukünftiger Bedarf an Implantatbehandlungen und Zielgruppen für Propaganda zur Patienteninformation; (4) potentielle Fehlinformation, Informationsdefizite, Diskrepanzen in der Information und wie diese zustande kommen. Von den gefragten Individuen sagten ohne Vorinformation 20%, dass Implantate eine Varainte für den Ersatz von fehlenden Zähnen darstellen. Mit Vorinformation sagten 72%, dass sie von dentalen Implantaten Kenntnis haben. Die meisten der Befragten fühlten sich über die Möglichkeiten bezüglich Ersatz fehlender Zähne schlecht informiert und viele wussten weniger über Implantate als über andere Behandlungsvarianten. Es wurde gesagt, der Zahnarzt sei die gewünschte Informationsquelle, aber 77% der Befragten berichteten, dass ihr Zahnarzt keine Behandlungen mit Implantaten anbietet. Mehr als 79% der Befragten wussten nicht, ob ihr Zahnarzt mit Implantaten arbeitet. Vierundvierzig Prozent dachten, dass Implantate nur durch speziell ausgebildete Aerzte gesetzt werden sollten. Einundsechzig Prozent waren der Meinung, dass Zahnärzte, welche Implantatbehandlungen anbieten, besser qualifiziert sind als ihre nicht-implantierenden Kollegen. Die Hälfte der Befragten führten Implantatmisserfolge auf Allergien und Unverträglichkeiten zurück, die andere Hälfte auf schlechte medizinische Nachsorge. Nur 29% bezeichneten eine schlechte Mundhygiene als Ursache für Implantatmisserfolge. Zukünftige Studien sollten Richtung professioneller Publikums- und Patienteninformation gesteuert werden. International tätige qualifizierte Implantatinstitutionen könnten beträchtlich zum Ausgleich von widersprüchlichen Informationen beitragen. Resumen El número de implantes dentales insertados anualmente en todo el mundo se ha estimado cercano al millón. Pero el nivel de información disponible para los pacientes acerca de opciones de tratamiento reales con implantes basados en la evidencia es frecuentemente mas bien fragmentaria y lo que se disemina por los medios y la industria no siempre refleja los datos empíricos basados en la evidencia. Esta encuesta de 1000 adultos que presentaba 18 preguntas fue diseñada para dar luz en determinados puntos. Estos fueron (1) nivel subjetivo de información de los pacientes; (2) fuentes de información y prejuicios; (3) demanda futura para tratamiento de implantes y grupos diana para campañas de información; (4) desinformación potencial, déficit de información, discrepancias de información y como se generan. De aquellos a los que se preguntó, 20% dijeron espontáneamente que los implantes eran una posibilidad para reemplazar dientes ausentes. Cuando se les preguntó, 72% dijeron que sabían acerca de los implantes dentales. La mayoría de los encuestados se sentían pobremente informados acerca de las opciones para reemplazar dientes ausentes y muchos sabían menos acerca de los implantes que sobre otras alternativas. Se dijo que el dentista era la fuente de información mas deseada, pero 77% de los encuestados manifestó que sus dentistas no practicaban implantología. Mas del 79% de los encuestados no sabían si su dentista trabajaba con implantes. El 44% pensaba que los implantes debían ponerse solamente por doctores especialmente entrenados. El 61% eran de la opinión de que los dentistas que realizaban odontología de implantes estaban mejor cualificados que sus colegas que no lo hacían. La mitad de los encuestados atribuían los fracasos de los implantes a alergias e incompatibilidades, la otra mitad a pobres cuidados médicos. Solo el 29% incriminó a la pobre higiene oral como causa de fracaso de los implantes. La futura estrategia debe ser encaminada a unas relaciones públicas más profesionales y a más información del paciente. Las instituciones de implantes cualificadas que operan internacionalmente podrían contribuir a equilibrar la información discrepante. [source]