Researchers from the Annenberg School for Communication and Johns Hopkins University are receiving $9.6 million in government funding to study public health messaging about the risk of tobacco use.
The four-year grant is part of the Tobacco Regulatory Science Program, a partnership between the United States Food and Drug Association's Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Professor of Communication Andy Tan, who also directs Annenberg's Health Communication & Equity Lab, will serve as a principal investigator alongside Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health professor Meghan Moran.
The grant is titled “From Perceptions to Behaviors: A Comprehensive Approach to Examine the Impact of Public Health Communication Messaging about the Continuum of Risk for Tobacco Products." The research aims to help the CTP understand how different audiences respond to messages conveying the risk of tobacco use. The study will also investigate how to effectively convey such risk in ways that do not create adverse effects.
"We have two complementary objectives in this research; the first is to communicate accurate information with adults who use combustible forms of tobacco so they can make informed decisions to use less harmful forms of tobacco, if they are unable to quit," Tan said in the Penn Almanac announcement. "Our second goal is to ensure that such messages do not lead to unintended effects of making tobacco products appealing to youth."
Tan previously worked on a similar project called Project RESIST, a study on the effectiveness of tobacco and anti-tobacco marketing in the LGBTQ+ community. That project focused on marginalized populations, specifically lesbian, gay, and bisexual women.
The FDA and NIH study is seeking evidence on how a diverse group of audiences react to different types of messaging surrounding the continuum of risk for tobacco products, according to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The research team will first use online surveys and interviews with individuals to collect extensive data on message preference, comprehension, and precursors to behavior such as knowledge and attitudes. Next, the project will look at how the brain reacts to different messages using neuroimaging technology and eye-tracking to identify features that draw attention. Finally, two studies will be conducted to assess the short- and long-term behavior changes from viewing messages regarding tobacco use.
Several other Penn professors will be working on the project in addition to Tan. These researchers include Wilbur Schramm Professor Emeritus of Communication and Health Policy Robert Hornik, Gerald R. Miller Professor Emeritus of Communication Joseph Cappella, and psychiatric professors Andrew Strasser and Janet Audrain-McGovern at the Perelman School of Medicine.
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