Message framing to inform cancer prevention pricing interventions in the UK and USA: a factorial experiment, 2019.
BMJ Open
; 11(1): e041324, 2021 01 25.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33495253
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
To advance understanding of how message framing can be used to maximise public support across different pricing policies for alcohol, tobacco and sugary drinks/foods that prevent consumption of cancer-causing products.DESIGN:
We designed a 3×4×3 randomised factorial experiment to test responses to messages with three pricing policies, four message frames and three products.SETTING:
Online survey panel (Qualtrics) in 2019.PARTICIPANTS:
Adults (N=1850) from the UK and USA.INTERVENTIONS:
Participants randomly viewed one of 36 separate messages that varied by pricing policy (increasing taxes, getting rid of price discounts, getting rid of low-cost products), four frames and product (alcohol, tobacco, sugary drinks/foods). PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMEMEASURES:
We assessed the relationship between the message characteristics and four dependent variables. Three were related to policy support (1) increasing taxes on the product mentioned in the message, (2) getting rid of price discounts and special offers on the product mentioned in the message and (3) getting rid of low-cost versions of the product mentioned in the message. One was related to reactance, a psychological response to having one's freedom limited.RESULTS:
We found no effect for pricing policy in the message. Frames regarding children and reducing cancer risk moderated some outcomes, showing promise for real-world use. We found differences in support by product and reactance with greatest support and least reactance for tobacco policies, less support and more reactance for alcohol policies, and the least support and most reactance for sugary drinks/foods policies.CONCLUSIONS:
Cancer prevention efforts using policy interventions can be informed by the message framing literature. Our results offer insights for cancer prevention advocacy efforts across the UK and USA and highlight that tax versus non-tax approaches to increasing the cost of cancer-causing products result in similar responses from consumers.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Preventive Medicine
/
Commerce
/
Delivery of Health Care
/
Health Communication
/
Neoplasms
Type of study:
Clinical_trials
/
Health_economic_evaluation
Aspects:
Determinantes_sociais_saude
Limits:
Adult
/
Child
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
En
Journal:
BMJ Open
Year:
2021
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United States