Women's perceptions of the relationship between recent life events, transitions, and diet in midlife: findings from a focus group study.

Research indicates that history and early life events and trajectories influence women's dietary behaviors. Yet the social context in which recent life changes occur requires greater understanding, particularly regarding changes that embody the interconnectedness of women and their families, and how those changes affect women's dietary decisions and behaviors. The data presented here were the product of eight focus groups conducted in one Maryland county in the fall of 2009. The participants were 43 women with limited financial resources aged 40-64 years. In this analysis, the researchers focus on women's perceptions of the relation of recent life transitions and events to the dietary decisions they made for themselves and their families. The findings suggested that transitions and events related to household structure, health status, phases of motherhood, and shifts in financial and employment status all had the potential to have profound and immediate effects on women's dietary decisions and resulting dietary behaviors. The focus group data was used to consider implications for developing intervention strategies designed to improve self-efficacy and negotiation skills around dietary issues as a means of promoting healthy decision making among women in midlife, particularly in times of familial upheaval and in circumstances where financial resources are limited.

"I come from a black-eyed pea background": the incorporation of history into women's discussions of diet and health.

To promote healthy eating, it is important to understand how people conceptualize diet and factors shaping notions of particular foods and dietary patterns as healthy. We present data from eight focus groups exploring dietary issues among women aged 40-64. We analyze how women referenced their history and background in accounting for current diet. We highlight three emergent themes: (1) how we ate growing up; (2) what we eat where I come from; and (3) what my people see as healthy. We conclude that in these groups, nostalgic presentations of life-course experiences and personal identity were meaningful anchors for explaining current behaviors.

Immunization safety in US print media, 1995-2005.

OBJECTIVE: To identify and describe vaccine safety in US newspaper articles. METHODS: Articles (1147) from 44 states and Washington, DC, between January 1, 1995, and July 15, 2005, were identified by using the search terms "immunize or vaccine" and "adverse events or safety or exemption or danger or risk or damage or injury or side effect" and were coded by using a standardized data-collection instrument. RESULTS: The mean number of vaccine-safety articles per state was 26. Six (not mutually exclusive) topics were identified: vaccine-safety concerns (46%); vaccine policy (44%); vaccines are safe (20%); immunizations are required (10%); immunizations are not required (8%); and state/school exemption (8%). Three spikes in the number of newspaper articles about vaccine-safety issues were observed: in 1999 regarding rotavirus vaccine and in 2002 and 2003 regarding smallpox vaccine. Excluding articles that referred to rotavirus and smallpox vaccines, 37% of the articles had a negative take-home message. CONCLUSION: Ongoing monitoring of news on vaccine safety may help the content and framing of vaccine-safety messages.

Print news coverage of cancer: what prevention messages are conveyed when screening is newsworthy?

BACKGROUND: Americans are generally favorable towards cancer screening, but fatalistic about cancer prevention. News coverage shapes perceptions of cancer control in meaningful ways, but there is little consensus as to the impact of news on our understanding of and engagement in cancer screening practices. Our analysis of cancer screening-related print news coverage during a four month period in 2005 suggests that the newsworthiness of new screening technologies may undermine public confidence in currently available and effective secondary prevention programs, while promoting tests whose effectiveness is debated or not yet established. METHODS AND RESULTS: We conducted a structured text analysis of 517 cancer-related news articles from 15 leading daily newspapers and a subsequent qualitative analysis of the 79 screening news articles. Screening articles were analyzed for content related to criteria for screening effectiveness. Content patterns for each type of screening and cancer were also noted. News coverage consistently conveyed screening as important and highlighted the need to protect and expand access to screening. At the same time, to the extent that story content was framed by the newsworthiness of new tests and technologies this often indirectly called into question effective and established protocols and programs without providing any actionable alternative. CONCLUSION: This analysis revealed unexpected messages about screening that are potentially problematic for cancer control. The cancer control community should continue efforts to understand and shape news coverage of screening in order to promote balanced and action-oriented content. Research has shown that Americans hold conflicting views regarding cancer-having a favorable opinion of screening while simultaneously feeling fatalistic about prevention. Our analysis of print news stories on cancer screening suggests that the determination of screening's "newsworthiness" is related to newly developed tests and protocols, which may create demand for new tests whose effectiveness is unknown and undermine confidence in established and effective screening programs.

Buying and selling "loosies" in Baltimore: the informal exchange of cigarettes in the community context.

Since the release of the first Surgeon General's report, the proportion of adult smokers in the U.S. has been reduced by half (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2004). This success has not, however, been equally felt across all social strata. Recent survey data from Baltimore show considerably elevated smoking rates within urban, African-American communities. Of particular concern was that in some communities, over half of the young adults (18-24 years old) smoke cigarettes. As yet, there has been little focus on understanding or preventing cigarette smoking among young adults, particularly for those seeking entry into the workforce rather than being engaged in higher education. In this paper, we explore community factors contributing to high young adult smoking prevalence. Our analysis is based on data from four focus groups conducted in 2004 as part of a community-based participatory research project with two urban education and job training organizations. The focus group data reflect the experiences and opinions of 28 young adult program participants (23 smokers and 5 nonsmokers). The data highlight a normalized practice of buying and selling single cigarettes ("loosies") within the community, with participants describing buying loose cigarettes as a preferred acquisition practice. We apply theories of informal economy and suggest that this alternative purchasing option may influence the smoking behavior of these young adults. We argue that public health efforts need to more closely consider the impact of community structures on program implementation. Overlooking key community characteristics such as the availability of single cigarettes may serve to intensify health disparities.

Survivors on Cancer: the portrayal of survivors in print news.

INTRODUCTION: This study examines the types of news stories that include comments by everyday cancer survivors and the messages or information these individuals provide. Even though these non-celebrity survivors increasingly serve on the front lines of cancer prevention and advocacy efforts and often engage with media, the role they play in the media discourse on cancer has not been a focus of research. METHODS: We conducted a thematic content analysis of print news articles of non-celebrity cancer survivors in 15 leading national daily newspapers for four consecutive months starting in June 2005 to identify the issues or events that included a survivor perspective and the messages or information conveyed by the everyday survivors. RESULTS: Journalists included survivor commentary primarily when covering cancer fundraising events and when focusing on individual survivorship stories. In overall news coverage involving survivors, breast and prostate cancers received the greatest attention, followed by blood and lung cancers. Survivors spoke mainly about the diagnosis experience and life post-cancer. Our analysis of survivors' comments revealed that discussions of the diagnosis experience often convey fear and a lack of confidence in cancer screening practices, while cancer is portrayed as a positive life event. DISCUSSIONS/CONCLUSIONS: While evidence of a positive and hopeful portrayal of survivorship is an encouraging finding for continued efforts to decrease stigma associated with a cancer diagnosis and for the public understanding of the disease, it is important to consider potential negative implications of an idealized and restricted media discourse on survivorship. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: The increasing size and capacity of the survivor community offers opportunities for the cancer advocacy community to consider how news media portrayal of cancer and survivorship may contribute in both positive and potentially detrimental ways to public understanding of this disease, its survivors and life after cancer.