TALLAHASSEE, Fla.-When it comes to encouraging women to have mammograms, two Florida State University researchers have found that a sure way to success lies in the way the encouragement is framed.
FSU College of Human Sciences associate professors Doris Abood and Ann Mullis found that women who were given a message that informs them of what they could lose by not being screened for breast cancer were almost seven times more likely to get a mammogram than those not exposed to the message.
The "loss-frame" approach, or framing a message that promotes screenings in terms of potential loss, was part of a behavorial research grant that was funded by the Florida Division of the American Cancer Society. Abood said it is the opposite approach than that taken by most public health campaigns that promote proper health behaviors. Many such campaigns do not address the consequences of failing to engage in certain health behaviors and inadvertently create complacency in people about their health.
During a six-month period, medically underinsured and uninsured women living in certain rural Florida counties were informed of the risks of not being screened for breast cancer when they called to inquire about free mammograms offered by the Florida Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Screening Program. The women were informed of their risk for breast cancer, regardless of whether they have a family history of it. They also were told that mammograms can detect the presence of breast cancer one to two years before it can be felt, making early treatment possible.
"This approach was designed to counter any unrealistic optimism that a woman might have regarding her breast health," Abood said. "It isn't enough for women to be told to get a mammogram in an information vacuum without explaining the consequences they could face by not being screened."
Abood and Mullis presented their research findings at a Centers for Disease Control-sponsored cancer conference in Atlanta this past September.
"After we made the presentation at the CDC, we found many public health officials asking for our guidance on how they could revise their own public health campaigns," Abood said. "This approach is compelling enough for those in public health to rethink the way health communication campaigns are composed."
Currently, Abood and Mullis are testing the approach among a comparable group of Florida women who live in urban areas.
Abood said the results of the study also have implications for the way public health messages are framed for a wide range of early detection behaviors designed to reduce the physical, emotional and financial costs of chronic disease.
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