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Unsafe Environmental Contaminants and Breast Cancer: Website Advisories, Media News Coverage, and Women’s Risk Perceptio

Unsafe Environmental Contaminants and Breast Cancer: Website Advisories, Media News Coverage, and Women’s Risk Perceptions Charles Atkin, Sandi Smith, Pam Whitten, Kami Silk & Lauren Hamel Michigan State University. BC Content Emphasis: Similar for Web & Traditional Media

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Unsafe Environmental Contaminants and Breast Cancer: Website Advisories, Media News Coverage, and Women’s Risk Perceptio

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  1. Unsafe Environmental Contaminants and Breast Cancer: Website Advisories, Media News Coverage, and Women’s Risk Perceptions Charles Atkin, Sandi Smith, Pam Whitten, Kami Silk & Lauren Hamel Michigan State University

  2. BC Content Emphasis: Similar for Web & Traditional Media Treatment >Detection> Prevention Within prevention: Collective > Individual Within individual: Genetics > Environment

  3. Environmental Safety Info on 157 BC Websites

  4. Coders* evaluated sites based on key healthcom prevention theories • Theory of Planned Behavior (Azjen) Attitudes, norms, & perceived behavior control • Extended Parallel Processing Model (Witte) Perceived threat, self efficacy, response efficacy • Transtheoretical Model(Prochaska) Stages of change

  5. There’s some contamination content… • Does the website have a section to inform users about anything in the environment that increases a person's chances of getting breast cancer? 31% of all BC websites

  6. # Exposures to BC Messages (past year) • 9 TV public service spots • 8 Magazine stories • 8 TV newscast stories • 7 Newspaper news/feature items • 4 TV talk shows/dramas 90% saw stories in traditional media 20% searched internet Statewide survey N=250 females (2004)

  7. Channels for learning useful BC info 68% TV newscasts 68% Women’s magazines 67% Newspaper articles 65% Pamphlets 63% TV PSAs 60% TV talk shows National survey N=250 females (2007)

  8. Secondary channels… • 43% Newsmagazines • 30% Internet websites • 29% TV dramas

  9. Credibility of BC Info Channels (0-10 scale) • 7 Newspapers • 6 Newsmagazines • 6 TV newscasts • 5 Health websites Statewide survey N=250 females (2004)

  10. Who seeks BC info? TRADITIONAL MEDIA: Broad cross section INTERNET: Concerned women, Activists -- Web traffic primarily driven by diagnosis -- Activists focus on organized action

  11. Most-visited BC websites • breastcancer.org • komen.org • cancer.gov (webmd & acs) Lower rank for contaminant-oriented sites: • silentspring.org • envirocancer.cornell.edu

  12. Breastcancer.org Antiperspirants Do Not Increase BC Risk • Background and study design: The rumor that using underarm deodorant or antiperspirant can cause breast cancer has circulated for years on the Internet…. • Take-home message: Hopefully, this study will help to calm women's fears about antiperspirant and deodorant use and breast cancer….

  13. toxicbust.com

  14. Credibility of BC Sources(0-10 scale) • 10 American Cancer Society • 9 Federal agencies • 9 Medical centers • 9 Komen Foundation • 8 Universities

  15. Women’s Perceptions of BC Risk Factors (0-10 scale) 9 Smoking cigarettes 9 Genetics / Family history 7 Hormone Replacement Therapy 7 Secondhand smoke 6 High-fat foods in childhood 6 Obesity in childhood 4 Chemicals / Pesticides 

  16. Weak relationships between BC website visits and… …level of concern about contaminants …encouraging daughter to avoid pesticides …encouraging daughter to avoid household chemicals National survey N=250 females (2007)

  17. Implications… • Need “better” BC websites: esp. Enhance in line with healthcom theory • Need to organize content according to distinct motivations of audience segments • Need to use traditional media to drive the majority to websites (esp. enhanced sites)

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