Comparing responses to public health and industry-funded alcohol harm reduction advertisements: an experimental study
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 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.
education & training (see medical education & training), preventive medicine, public health
Brennan, Emily
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Schoenaker, Danielle A.J.M.
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Durkin, Sarah J.
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Dunstone, Kimberley
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Dixon, Helen G.
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Slater, Michael D.
8fc18c18-6e28-446d-8a2e-893b6b2b1539
Pettigrew, Simone
95450d38-6faa-4173-ac5c-9c445918f0cb
Wakefield, Melanie A.
04f28589-7ba5-4583-bf6c-2d25d1b3e0fa
28 September 2020
Brennan, Emily
68e1aade-69f9-4243-9edb-e84ae5561e7d
Schoenaker, Danielle A.J.M.
84b96b87-4070-45a5-9777-5a1e4e45e818
Durkin, Sarah J.
7c141b8d-75e2-47c9-a740-e851d00b7244
Dunstone, Kimberley
dac6b36e-fc7c-46e2-baa9-1b4d3961d33b
Dixon, Helen G.
d80b8a7e-ea3c-4573-880b-4762c76da907
Slater, Michael D.
8fc18c18-6e28-446d-8a2e-893b6b2b1539
Pettigrew, Simone
95450d38-6faa-4173-ac5c-9c445918f0cb
Wakefield, Melanie A.
04f28589-7ba5-4583-bf6c-2d25d1b3e0fa
Brennan, Emily, Schoenaker, Danielle A.J.M., Durkin, Sarah J., Dunstone, Kimberley, Dixon, Helen G., Slater, Michael D., Pettigrew, Simone and Wakefield, Melanie A.
(2020)
Comparing responses to public health and industry-funded alcohol harm reduction advertisements: an experimental study.
BMJ Open, 10 (9), [035569].
(doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2019-035569).
Abstract
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.
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Accepted/In Press date: 4 August 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 28 September 2020
Published date: 28 September 2020
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
Funding This work was supported by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council under Project Grant #1070689 and by Cancer Council Victoria.
Funding Information:
Competing interests EB, SJD, KD, HGD and MAW report grants from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, during the conduct of the study. EB, SJD, KD, HGD and MAW are employed by a non-profit organisation that conducts public health interventions and advocacy aimed at reducing alcohol-related health harms in the community, especially those pertaining to cancer. SP reports funding from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council to conduct alcohol-control research, and she is a non-executive director of the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education.
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Keywords:
education & training (see medical education & training), preventive medicine, public health
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Local EPrints ID: 444391
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/444391
ISSN: 2044-6055
PURE UUID: c24ea193-712c-4c68-872a-a2397683ce1e
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Date deposited: 16 Oct 2020 16:30
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 04:01
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Contributors
Author:
Emily Brennan
Author:
Sarah J. Durkin
Author:
Kimberley Dunstone
Author:
Helen G. Dixon
Author:
Michael D. Slater
Author:
Simone Pettigrew
Author:
Melanie A. Wakefield
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