Doctors in the Jamaican Yellow Pages [abstract]

OBJECTIVE: To determine the characteristics of listings under the "Physicians and Surgeons" section of the Jamaican telephone directory Yellow Pages. METHODS: A review of the Greater Kingston Telephone Directories published by Cable and Wireless Jamaica Ltd for the period 1994/95 to 1999/00 was made. The section captioned "Physicians and Surgeons" in the National Yellow Pages of each of the five directories was used to obtain the following: a count of all listings and the font type (case, colour and emphasis) of each listing. Where listings were advertisements, than a structured content analysis was done to guage informativeness. RESULTS: For the five-year period of review, the mean number of listings was 244 (Standard Deviation (SD) = 24). There was a steady increase in the number of listings between 1994/95 (n = 219) and 1999/00 (n = 278). The proportion of listings that were in bold uppercase black font was fairly consistent throughout the period (mean of 32 percent). However, listings in bold uppercase red font showed an increase from 0.5 percent in 1994/95 to 2.5 percent in 1996/97, thereafter remaining close to this level. Listings qualifying as advertisements increased from 1.36 percent at the start of the period to 2.5 percent at the end. Consistent with this increase was an increase in total space occupied by advertisements and the diversity of colours and informational content. The majority of advertisements were by medical centres, of which dermatology services were the most frequent and consistent. The most informative advertisement over the period was by and individual physician. CONCLUSIONS: There has been an increase in listings in the "Physicians and Surgeons" section of the Jamaican National Yellow Pages over the five-year period of the study with an apparent trend towards more visible and sophisticated promotion services. (AU)

Tobacco use by youth: a surveillance report from the Global Youth Survey project

The Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) project was developed by the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to track tobacco use among youth in countries across the world, using a common methodology and core questionnaire. The GYTS is school based and employs a two stage sample design to produce representative data on smoking among students aged 13-15 years. The first stage consists of a probabilistic selection of schools. All students in the selected classes are eligible for the survey. In 1999, the GYTS was conducted in 13 countries and is currently in progress in over 30 countries. This report describes data from 12 countries: Barbados, China, Costa Rica, Fiji, Jordan, Poland and the Russian Federation (Moscow), South Africa, Sri Lanka, Ukraine (Kiev), Venezuela and Zimbabwe. The findings show that tobacco use in the surveyed age group ranged from a high of 33 percent to a low of 10 percent. While the majority of current smokers wanted to stop smoking, very few were able to attend a cessation programme. In most countries the majority of young people reported seeing advertisements for cigarettes in media outlets, but anti-tobacco advertising was rare. The majority of young people being taught in school about the dangers of smoking. Environmental tobacco smoke exposure was very high in all countries. These results show that the GYTS surveillance system is enhancing the capacity of countries to design, implement, and evaluate tobacco prevention and control programmes. (AU)

Private sector response against the cholera treat in Trinidad and Tobago

During the first half of 1992 the threat of cholera to Trindad and Tobago prompted a strong health education effort by public authorities and the private sector. To help assess the private sector effort, the cost of cholera-related advertisements and private announcements placed in the country's two leading newspapers during January-June 1992 were received. The review indicated that an estimated TT$ 540 660 was spent on these ads and announcements, that they contributed strongly to keeping cholera prevention continuously in the public eye, and that most of the messages published were accurate, specific, and safe. The strength and success of the private contribution to cholera prevention in this case suggests that similar approaches could be applied to other health problems and to the cholera problem outside Trinidad and Tobago. Overall, the lesson appears to be that if one can find congruence between private sector motives and public health interests, then the potential prospects for a successful partnership are great (AU)

The influence of infant food advertising on infant feeding practices in St. Vincent

A survey to examine the extent to which infant food advertising could be shown measurably to influence infant feeding practice was carried out in S. Vincent in the eastern Caribbean. A questionaire was administered to mothers of about 200 children one to two uears old, nearly a complete sample in each of two towns. Infant food advertising was found to be uncommon. The typical infant feeding pattern, largely a combination of both breast and bottle feeding, had existed for decades. Despite the fact that this was not a very appropriate setting for such a study, and that there were a number of methodological constraints, the results of two multiple regression analyses suggested that the more a mother was influenced by infant food advertising, the sooner she began to bottle feed and the sooner she stopped breastfeeding. The cessation of all promotion of commercial infant foods to the public as well as to health professionals, is called for. (AU)

Evaluation of a breast-feeding campaign in Trinidad

There has been a marked decline in breast-feeding throughout the developing world. It is generally agreed that this trend should be reversed, and that in achieving this objective mass communications media could play an important role. The present article analyzes the results of a campaign to promote breast-feeding in which the press, television, and radio were used. It is hoped that this analysis will prove useful for other individuals and groups that may wish to plan similar campaigns (AU)

Infant food advertising and malnutrition in St. Vincent

A study was carried out in the Caribbean country of St. Vincent to assess the role of infant food advertising in the etiology of malnutrition. The marketing and promotion of commercial infant foods in St. Vincent were studied. Store keepers, import agents, and health professionals were interviewed. Evidence of past and present infant food advertising was gathered. Mothers of about 200 one- to two-year-old infants were interviewed in two towns, nearly total samples for that age group. Socioeconomic data on their families were obtained from surveys done by local paraprofessional health aides. Data on infant feeding practice and past health histories of the infants were obtained by interviewing the mother. Heights and weights of the target infants were taken. The major finding was taht, even though little infant food advertising had been done in recent years, earlier advertising was still exerting a powerful influence. The extent opf the mother's recall of advertised brand names, and her preference for highly advertised over underadvertised infant foods were independently associated with an earlier age of supplementation of commercial infant foods. Brand name recall was associated with an increased number of brand name infant food purchased. It was therefore concluded that (1) It would appear justified to ban all forms of infant food advertising in St. Vincent. This should be seriously considered by any country desiring to avoid a further shift from breast to bottle feeding. (2) Optimally this should be acoompanied by a reduction in the availability and visibility of commercial infant foods. (3) There is an urgent need to learn ways of overcoming the apparent long term effects of infant food advertising (AU)