title: Female media use behavior and agreement with publicly promoted agenda-specific health messages.
abstract: This study set out to explore the relationship between female media use behavior and agreement with agenda-specific publicly promoted health messages. A random digit dial telephone cross-sectional survey was conducted using a nationally representative sample of female residents aged 25 and over. Respondents' agreement with health messages was measured by a six-item Health Information Scale (HIS). Data were analyzed using chi-square tests and multiple logistic regression. This survey achieved a response rate of 86% (n = 1074). In this study the longest duration of daily television news watching (OR = 2.32), high self-efficacy (OR = 1.56), and greater attention to medical and health news (OR = 5.41) were all correlates of greater agreement with the selected health messages. Surprisingly, Internet use was not significant in the final model. Many women that public health interventions need to be targeting are not receptive to health information that can be accessed through Internet searches. However, they may be more readily targeted by television campaigns. Agenda-specific public health campaigns aiming to empower women to serve as nodes of information transmission and achieve efficient trickle down through the family unit might do better to invest more heavily in television promotion.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan. sylyu@tmu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Shu-Yu
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Lyu
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan. rueyyu@tmu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Ruey-Yu
authors.initials: RY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Educational Information and Measurement, National Taichung University of Education, Taichung 40306, Taiwan. liangting.tsai@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Liang-Ting
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Department of Journalism, College of Communication, National Chengchi University, Taipei 11605, Taiwan. sfwang@mail.fgu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Shih-Fan Steve
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Leisure and Recreation Management, Asia University, Taichung 41354, Taiwan. lo.fengen@msa.hinet.net.
authors.forename: Feng-En
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Lo
authors.affiliation: Department of Education & Research, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei 10341, Taiwan. janechi0127@yahoo.com.tw.
authors.forename: Ying-Chen
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chi
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. dmorisky@ucla.edu.
authors.forename: Donald E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Morisky
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008402:Mass Media / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D011634:Public Health; D013624:Taiwan