Journal article
Public Figure Announcements About Cancer and Opportunities for Cancer Communication: A Review and Research Agenda
Health communication, Vol.29(5), pp.445-461
05/28/2014
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/113190
PMID: 23845155
Abstract
Announcements by public figures and celebrities about cancer diagnosis or death represent significant events in public life. But what are the substantive effects of such events, if any? The purpose of this article is to systematically review studies that examined the impact of public figure cancer announcements on cancer-oriented outcomes. Using comprehensive search procedures, we identified k = 19 studies that examined 11 distinct public figures. The most commonly studied public figures were Jade Goody, Kylie Minogue, Nancy Reagan, and Steve Jobs, with the most common cancers studied being breast (53%), cervical (21%), and pancreatic (21%) cancer. Most studies assessed multiple outcome variables, including behavioral outcomes (k = 15), media coverage (k = 10), information seeking (k = 8), cancer incidence (k = 3), and interpersonal communication (k = 2). Results fairly consistently indicated that cancer announcements from public figures had meaningful effects on many, if not most, of these outcome variables. While such events essentially act as naturally occurring interventions, the effects tend to be relatively short term. Gaps in this literature include few contemporary studies of high-profile public figures in the United States and a general lack of theory-based research. Directions for future research as well as implications for cancer communication and prevention are discussed.
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Details
- Title
- Public Figure Announcements About Cancer and Opportunities for Cancer Communication: A Review and Research Agenda
- Creators
- Seth M Noar - Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillJessica Fitts Willoughby - School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillJessica Gall Myrick - School of Journalism, Indiana UniversityJennifer Brown - Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Institute for Global Tobacco Control
- Publication Details
- Health communication, Vol.29(5), pp.445-461
- Academic Unit
- Strategic Communication, Department of
- Publisher
- Routledge
- Identifiers
- 99900547990301842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article