ABSTRACT
We content analyzed 1,473 newspaper editorials for topic, tone, and slant, and connected the results to community characteristic data: clean indoor air ordinance status for cities, and official smoking rates for counties. The analysis occurred during a multi-year project aimed at prompting communities to adopt clean indoor air policies. The results showed that most editorials were about tobacco restrictions or ordinances, were neutral in tone, and provided factual information about tobacco control. More editorials were negatively slanted vs. positively slanted toward tobacco control. Most editorials with positive tones were published in newspapers in towns that already had clean indoor air policies. We concluded that editorials might hold increased weight in spurring change, as the percentage of smokers in a city is unrelated to the town enacting a clean indoor air ordinance.
Subject(s)
Attitude , Health Policy , Newspapers as Topic , Smoking Prevention/methods , Tobacco Smoking/legislation & jurisprudence , Air Pollution, Indoor/legislation & jurisprudence , Female , Humans , Public Health/legislation & jurisprudence , Smoking Prevention/trends , Tobacco Smoke Pollution/legislation & jurisprudence , Tobacco Smoke Pollution/prevention & control , Tobacco Smoking/trendsABSTRACT
PURPOSE: This exploratory qualitative study examines Chinese adolescents' health information sharing habits on social network sites. METHOD: Ten focus group meetings with 76 adolescents, ages 12 to 17 years, were conducted at community-based organizations in Chicago's Chinatown. The research team transcribed the recording and analyzed the transcripts using ATLAS.ti. RESULTS: Chinese adolescents are using different social network sites for various topics of health information including food, physical activity, and so on. Adolescents would share useful and/or interesting health information. Many adolescents raised credibility concerns regarding health information and suggested evaluating the information based on self-experience or intuition, word-of-mouth, or information online. CONCLUSION: The findings shed lights on future intervention using social network sites to promote health among Chinese adolescents in the United States. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Future interventions should provide adolescents with interesting and culturally sensitive health information and educate them to critically evaluate health information on social network sites.
