Comparing responses to public health and industry-funded alcohol harm reduction advertisements: an experimental study
Objectives Conduct a head-to-head experimental test of responses to alcohol harm reduction advertisements developed by alcohol industry Social Aspects/Public Relations Organisations (SAPROs) versus those developed by public health (PH) agencies. We hypothesised that, on average, SAPRO advertisements...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMJ Publishing Group
2020-09-01
|
| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/9/e035569.full |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850074948315381760 |
|---|---|
| author | Sarah J Durkin Melanie A Wakefield Emily Brennan Michael D Slater Simone Pettigrew Danielle A J M Schoenaker Kimberley Dunstone Helen G Dixon |
| author_facet | Sarah J Durkin Melanie A Wakefield Emily Brennan Michael D Slater Simone Pettigrew Danielle A J M Schoenaker Kimberley Dunstone Helen G Dixon |
| author_sort | Sarah J Durkin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives Conduct a head-to-head experimental test of responses to alcohol harm reduction advertisements developed by alcohol industry Social Aspects/Public Relations Organisations (SAPROs) versus those developed by public health (PH) agencies. We hypothesised that, on average, SAPRO advertisements would be less effective at generating motivation (H1) and intentions to reduce alcohol consumption (H2) but more effective at generating positive perceptions of people who drink (H3).Design Online experiment with random assignment to condition.Participants 2923 Australian adult weekly drinkers (49% high-risk drinkers) recruited from an opt-in online panel.Interventions Participants viewed 3 of 83 advertisements developed by PH agencies (n=2174) or 3 of 28 advertisements developed by SAPROs (n=749).Primary outcome measures Participants reported their motivation to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed; behave responsibly and/or not get drunk; and limit their drinking around/never supply to minors, as well as intentions to avoid drinking alcohol completely; reduce the number of drinking occasions; and reduce the amount of alcohol consumed per occasion. Participants also reported their perceptions of people who drink alcohol on six success-related items and four fun-related items.Results Compared with drinkers exposed to PH advertisements, those exposed to SAPRO advertisements reported lower motivation to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed (β=−0.091, 95% CI −0.171 to −0.010), and lower odds of intending to avoid alcohol completely (OR=0.77, 0.63 to 0.94) and to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed per occasion (OR=0.82, 0.69 to 0.97). SAPRO advertisements generated more favourable fun-related perceptions of drinkers (β=0.095, 0.013 to 0.177).Conclusions The alcohol harm reduction advertisements produced by alcohol industry SAPROs that were tested in this study were not as effective at generating motivation and intentions to reduce alcohol consumption as those developed by PH organisations. These findings raise questions as to whether SAPROs should play a role in alcohol harm reduction efforts. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d7a211a4fd7645f596a8c8a52519c41c |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-d7a211a4fd7645f596a8c8a52519c41c2025-08-20T02:46:27ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552020-09-0110910.1136/bmjopen-2019-035569Comparing responses to public health and industry-funded alcohol harm reduction advertisements: an experimental studySarah J Durkin0Melanie A Wakefield1Emily Brennan2Michael D Slater3Simone Pettigrew4Danielle A J M Schoenaker5Kimberley Dunstone6Helen G Dixon7Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaCentre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaCentre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia3 School of Communication, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USAprofessor of public health3 School of Primary Care, Population Sciences and Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UKCentre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaCentre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaObjectives Conduct a head-to-head experimental test of responses to alcohol harm reduction advertisements developed by alcohol industry Social Aspects/Public Relations Organisations (SAPROs) versus those developed by public health (PH) agencies. We hypothesised that, on average, SAPRO advertisements would be less effective at generating motivation (H1) and intentions to reduce alcohol consumption (H2) but more effective at generating positive perceptions of people who drink (H3).Design Online experiment with random assignment to condition.Participants 2923 Australian adult weekly drinkers (49% high-risk drinkers) recruited from an opt-in online panel.Interventions Participants viewed 3 of 83 advertisements developed by PH agencies (n=2174) or 3 of 28 advertisements developed by SAPROs (n=749).Primary outcome measures Participants reported their motivation to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed; behave responsibly and/or not get drunk; and limit their drinking around/never supply to minors, as well as intentions to avoid drinking alcohol completely; reduce the number of drinking occasions; and reduce the amount of alcohol consumed per occasion. Participants also reported their perceptions of people who drink alcohol on six success-related items and four fun-related items.Results Compared with drinkers exposed to PH advertisements, those exposed to SAPRO advertisements reported lower motivation to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed (β=−0.091, 95% CI −0.171 to −0.010), and lower odds of intending to avoid alcohol completely (OR=0.77, 0.63 to 0.94) and to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed per occasion (OR=0.82, 0.69 to 0.97). SAPRO advertisements generated more favourable fun-related perceptions of drinkers (β=0.095, 0.013 to 0.177).Conclusions The alcohol harm reduction advertisements produced by alcohol industry SAPROs that were tested in this study were not as effective at generating motivation and intentions to reduce alcohol consumption as those developed by PH organisations. These findings raise questions as to whether SAPROs should play a role in alcohol harm reduction efforts.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/9/e035569.full |
| spellingShingle | Sarah J Durkin Melanie A Wakefield Emily Brennan Michael D Slater Simone Pettigrew Danielle A J M Schoenaker Kimberley Dunstone Helen G Dixon Comparing responses to public health and industry-funded alcohol harm reduction advertisements: an experimental study BMJ Open |
| title | Comparing responses to public health and industry-funded alcohol harm reduction advertisements: an experimental study |
| title_full | Comparing responses to public health and industry-funded alcohol harm reduction advertisements: an experimental study |
| title_fullStr | Comparing responses to public health and industry-funded alcohol harm reduction advertisements: an experimental study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparing responses to public health and industry-funded alcohol harm reduction advertisements: an experimental study |
| title_short | Comparing responses to public health and industry-funded alcohol harm reduction advertisements: an experimental study |
| title_sort | comparing responses to public health and industry funded alcohol harm reduction advertisements an experimental study |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/9/e035569.full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sarahjdurkin comparingresponsestopublichealthandindustryfundedalcoholharmreductionadvertisementsanexperimentalstudy AT melanieawakefield comparingresponsestopublichealthandindustryfundedalcoholharmreductionadvertisementsanexperimentalstudy AT emilybrennan comparingresponsestopublichealthandindustryfundedalcoholharmreductionadvertisementsanexperimentalstudy AT michaeldslater comparingresponsestopublichealthandindustryfundedalcoholharmreductionadvertisementsanexperimentalstudy AT simonepettigrew comparingresponsestopublichealthandindustryfundedalcoholharmreductionadvertisementsanexperimentalstudy AT danielleajmschoenaker comparingresponsestopublichealthandindustryfundedalcoholharmreductionadvertisementsanexperimentalstudy AT kimberleydunstone comparingresponsestopublichealthandindustryfundedalcoholharmreductionadvertisementsanexperimentalstudy AT helengdixon comparingresponsestopublichealthandindustryfundedalcoholharmreductionadvertisementsanexperimentalstudy |