Why people talk about antismoking media content and the implications for health communication campaigns.

摘要

Although there is near universal agreement that stimulating talk about health communication campaigns is important, the frequency of talk across campaigns varies considerably. Recently, there have been several calls to better address the mechanisms that facilitate or impede talk. These authors note that further theorizing is needed on the intersection of mass and interpersonal communication as it relates to health campaigns. Building upon these calls, the present study assesses how a number of theoretically important variables impact talk about the negative consequences of smoking within the context of a large-scale antismoking media campaign. The research takes a multi-level approach to assessing the role of connectivity and conversation, examines the relationship between perceived knowledge and talk, assesses talk's role in increasing intention to quit, and investigates how ad-level characteristics impact frequency of conversation. Results are discussed in terms of their contribution to the literature, and their implications for health campaign professionals.