Balanced Message Research Articles

Threat, Coping, and Social Distance Adherence During COVID-19: Cross-Continental Comparison Using an Online Cross-Sectional Survey.

BackgroundSocial distancing is an effective preventative policy for COVID-19 that is enforced by governments worldwide. However, significant variations are observed in adherence to social distancing across individuals and countries. Due to the lack of treatment, rapid spread, and prevalence of COVID-19, panic and fear associated with the disease causes great stress. Subsequent effects will be a variation around the coping and mitigation strategies for different individuals following different paths to manage the situation.ObjectiveThis study aims to explore how threat and coping appraisal processes work as mechanisms between information and citizens’ adherence to COVID-19–related recommendations (ie, how the information sources and social media influence threat and coping appraisal processes with COVID-19 and how the threat and coping appraisal processes influence adherence to policy guidelines). In addition, this study aims to explore how citizens in three different countries (the United States, Kuwait, and South Korea), randomly sampled, are effectively using the mechanisms.MethodsRandomly sampled online survey data collected by a global firm in May 2020 from 162 citizens of the United States, 185 of Kuwait, and 71 of South Korea were analyzed, resulting in a total sample size of 418. A seemingly unrelated regression model, controlling for several counterfactuals, was used for analysis. The study’s focal estimated effects were compared across the three countries using the weighted distance between the parameter estimates.ResultsThe seemingly unrelated regression model estimation results suggested that, overall, the intensity of information source use for the COVID-19 pandemic positively influenced the threat appraisal for the disease (P<.001). Furthermore, the intensity of social media use for the COVID-19 pandemic positively influenced the coping appraisal for the disease (P<.001). Higher COVID-19 threat appraisal had a positive effect on social distancing adherence (P<.001). Higher COVID-19 coping appraisal had a positive effect on social distancing adherence (P<.001). Higher intensity of COVID-19 knowledge positively influenced social distancing adherence (P<.001). There were country-level variations. Broadly, we found that the United States had better results than South Korea and Kuwait in leveraging the information to threat and coping appraisal to the adherence process, indicating that individuals in countries like the United States and South Korea may be more pragmatic to appraise the situation before making any decisions.ConclusionsThis study’s findings suggest that the mediation of threat and coping strategies are essential, in varying effects, to shape the information and social media strategies for adherence outcomes. Accordingly, coordinating public service announcements along with information source outlets such as mainstream media (eg, TV and newspaper) as well as social media (eg, Facebook and Twitter) to inform citizens and, at the same time, deliver balanced messages about the threat and coping appraisal is critical in implementing a staggered social distancing and sheltering strategy.

A balanced perspective on the importance of extensive ruminant production for human nutrition and livelihoods and its contribution to greenhouse gas emissions

There is a general perception that ruminants produce large quantities of greenhouse gases which contribute to global warming. Sometimes percentages are quoted out of context. For example, the percentage quoted for developed countries indicates the greenhouse gas contribution from livestock is less than 6%, while that for developing countries is 40–50%. However, the reason for this relatively low contribution from developed countries is because of very high contributions from other sectors. Ruminant production also is in the spotlight as it is the world’s largest user of land and South Africa is no exception. Only ruminants can utilise areas of non-arable land where the vegetation is rich in fibre and convert this fibre into high-quality nutrients for human consumption. Foods from animal sources (including ruminants) are essential for the human diet, as they support early childhood and cognitive development. Many rural households depend on ruminants and these animals are central to the livelihoods and well-being of these communities. The negative effects of red meat on human health and the negative environmental impact of livestock production are overemphasised, while the higher bioavailability of nutrients from livestock source foods, which stimulates mental and cognitive development compared to vegetarian or grain based foods, is ignored. Here we estimate that livestock are responsible for only 4% of the world’s greenhouse gases through methane production. We also highlight that if the high fibre vegetation is not utilised by livestock, it will still produce greenhouse gases through burning or rotting, without any benefit to humans. Livestock source foods are important if global nutritional, educational and economic needs are to be met; and this message should be conveyed to the public.&#x0D; Significance:&#x0D; &#x0D; We propose that a balanced message should be conveyed to the broader scientific community and the public on the role of livestock in meeting global nutritional needs and contributing to global warming.&#x0D; Livestock source foods are important if the global nutritional, educational and economic needs are to be met and can be used to feed developing countries out of poverty.&#x0D;

The Cost of Scaling a Reliable Interconnection Topology

In distributed computing, many papers try to evaluate the message complexity of a distributed system as a function of the number of nodes $n$ n . But what about the cost of building the distributed system itself? Assuming that we want to reliably connect $n$ n nodes, how does the total number of nodes of the network evolve with $n$ n ? Addressing such a question lies at the heart of achieving scalability in cloud computing. In this paper, we give the explicit description of a distributed system of which any two of the $n$ n nodes, for any $n$ n , remain connected (by a path of alive nodes and channels) with probability at least $\mu$ μ , despite the very fact that (a) every other node or channel has an independent probability $\lambda$ λ of failing, and (b) the number of channels connected to every node is physically bounded by a constant. We show however that if we also require any two of the $n$ n nodes to maintain a balanced message throughput with a constant probability, then $O(n \log ^{1+\epsilon } n)$ O ( n log 1 + e n ) additional intermediary nodes are sufficient, where $\epsilon > 0$ e > 0 is an arbitrarily small constant.

Change Over Time in Australian Newspaper Reporting of Drinking During Pregnancy: A Content Analysis (2000-2017).

This paper analyses the content of news media messages on drinking during pregnancy in Australia over an 18-year period to understand whether and how the nature of messages communicated to women has changed over time. Factiva was used to search Australian newspapers from 2000 to 2017, resulting in a sample of 1394 articles from the 18 major national and state-based newspapers. Content analysis of articles was undertaken, and Poisson regression analysis was used to assess changes over time. The largest number of articles on drinking during pregnancy was published in 2007. Themes that significantly increased over time included Harms to the Child (from 0.97% in 2008 to 29.69% in 2015) and Prevention Initiatives (from 0% in 2005 to 12.50% in 2017). Articles endorsing women not consuming alcohol during pregnancy significantly increased over time (from 20.69% in 2001 to 53.78% in 2013), matched by a decreasing trend in the proportion of articles presenting mixed advice (from 15.93% in 2009 to 0% in 2017). The largest number of articles adopted no position in relation to women's consumption. A stronger abstinence message during pregnancy has been communicated through Australian newspaper media over time. The mixed messaging and large number of articles not endorsing a position on consumption may reflect the inconclusiveness of the evidence on harms from low to moderate levels of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Opportunities remain for researchers to work with public health advocates to disseminate balanced messages based on evidence-based research.

KAMPANYE GIZI SEIMBANG MELALUI KESENIAN RABAB

ABSTRACT&#x0D; The prevalence of underweight children under five in Indonesia is still high, compared to the target of Indonesia's MDGs of 18.5% West Sumatra is still below the target. Health problems can not only be solved by the government, but community involvement is required, therefore the potential needs to be mobilized. Rabab is a traditional Minangkabau traditional string instrument made from coconut shell. With this rabab can be channeled one's musical talents. Usually in this rabab narrated a variety of nagari stories or known by the term Kaba.merupakan a traditional theater that is populist in Minangkabau area, West Sumatra. Research with qualitative approach with research strategy "Case Study Research (CSR)" with descriptive case study. The study was planned to be conducted on 10 (ten) rabab players active in the Balai Selasa, Pesisir Selatan District. Most informants stated that the balanced nutrition message can be compiled into story through Rabab, almost all informants stated that balanced nutrition messages can be prepared according to the language of the community local, most informants stated that the message of balanced nutrition can be compiled according to the dialeg minang community, most informants stated that the message of balanced nutrition can be compiled by summarizing information in simple form, Rabab as a regional art that has the potential Minangkabau have the potential to campaign balanced nutrition in achieve optimal health for children under five and family. It is recommended to review the balanced nutrition messages for the various ages of the community through Rabab art, to examine the influence of Rabab arts interventions on the knowledge, attitude and actions of people of all ages on balanced nutrition, to formulate strategies for the development of Rabab art through the preparation of scenarios for changes in community behavior about balanced nutrition.&#x0D; &#x0D; Keywords: nutrition, rabab

Udział kobiet w mediach a problematyka stereotypów płci

The role women play in the media can be analyzed in terms of their activity – women as creators of messages, or passivity – women as the recipients of mass messages. The latter aspect causes most controversy and frequently leads to the creation of sexual stereotypes. The range of male and female images in the mass media is highly diversified and not necessarily objective. While women tend to be increasingly present in the media, and the number of programs they prepare increases, men continue to prevail in the media sector. They hold a definite majority of managerial posts and more frequently act as experts and commentators on social and political events. The Communication of the European Commission for 2006–2010 stresses the role of the media and information campaigns in the elimination of sexual stereo- types. In 2010, the Commission adopted a new five-year strategy to facilitate better use of female potential. It should be the superior objective of a policy of gender equality in the media to broadcast balanced messages free from stereotypes. It is also significant to ensure women a greater participation in decision-making with respect to the mass media, increasing their opportunities to utilize the media to voice their opinions and facilitating women’s professional promotion in media institutions. These objectives were already embraced in the National Program in Aid of Women’s Rights that was implemented in Poland from 2003 through 2005. In 2010, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights and the „Feminoteka” Foundation stressed the issue of women’s discrimination in the Polish mass media. Monitoring of programs demonstrated that the principle of gender equality was not observed. The so-called female press is a significant element of the media market. The issues discussed in this sector usually concentrate on stereotypical female roles in society. Recently, however, a clear diversification of topics handled by the press can be noted and the efforts some periodicals are making in order to break gender stereotypes. Such attempts have been made by two new periodicals addressed mainly at women: „Bluszcz” and „Zadra”. An analysis of the content of „Bluszcz” did not evidence the abandonment of the traditional image of women though. A perusal of „Zadra” led to completely different conclusions. This is a feminist periodical that mainly discusses the issues of the social and political activity of women. The paper also emphasizes the increasing participation of women in the internet and in the social media.

The state of the world’s mangroves in the 21st century under climate change

Concerted mangrove research and rehabilitation efforts over the last several decades have prompted a better understanding of the important ecosystem attributes worthy of protection and a better conservation ethic toward mangrove wetlands globally. While mangroves continue to be degraded and lost in specific regions, conservation initiatives, rehabilitation efforts, natural regeneration, and climate range expansion have promoted gains in other areas, ultimately serving to curb the high mangrove habitat loss statistics from the doom and gloom of the 1980s. We highlight those trends in this article and introduce this special issue of Hydrobiologia dedicated to the important and recurring Mangrove and Macrobenthos Meeting. This collection of papers represents studies presented at the fourth such meeting (MMM4) held in St. Augustine, Florida, USA, on July 18–22, 2016. Our intent is to provide a balanced message about the global state of mangrove wetlands by describing recent reductions in net mangrove area losses and highlighting primary research studies presented at MMM4 through a collection of papers. These papers serve not only to highlight on-going global research advancements, but also provide an overview of the vast amount of data on mangrove ecosystem ecology, biology and rehabilitation that emphasizes the uniqueness of the mangrove community.

Abstract P6-02-10: Knowledge of the potential benefits and harms of breast cancer screening: A survey of participants and nurses

Abstract Background: It has been 10 years since a population-based mammography screening was implemented in Japan. Publicly funded mammography and breast examination are performed every two years on women who are over 40 years old. It is important that the subjects understand the benefits of breast cancer screening in terms of a reduced mortality from breast cancer; however, they must also be aware of the potential disadvantages, such as false-positive diagnoses and over diagnosis. It is unclear how well the Japanese people understand the benefits and harms of breast cancer screening. This study assessed the opinions of participants in Akita, Japan, asking them about the benefits and harms attributable to breast cancer screening. Their answers were compared with those given by a group of registered nurses, who had been asked the same questions. Methods: This study was carried out from August to December 2014 in Akita, Japan. A questionnaire survey, including questions on the expected benefits and harms of breast cancer screening was devised and given to women undergoing screening mammography and breast examination. The same survey was given to nurses working in eight hospitals in the Akita Kouseiren Hospital group. Results: The questionnaire survey was given to 1649 participants aged 29–96 years and 1905 registered nurses (including 89 men) aged 20–69 years. All the members of the first group experienced breast cancer screening, but 42% of the registered nurses had no screening experience. The questionnaire was returned by 1552 people (94.1%) and 1710 people (89.8%), respectively. There were many misunderstandings found in the answers to the questions. The common misconceptions were as follows: screening prevents or reduces the risk of development of breast cancer (86% of participants, 62% of registered nurses); screening reduces the mortality from breast cancer by more than 50% (69% of participants, 60% of registered nurses); and 10 years of regular screening for 50-year-old women will prevent 10 or more breast cancer deaths per 1000 women (62% of participants, 61% of registered nurses). However, there were some correct answers; approximately half of the people studied (46% of participants, 57% of registered nurses) knew that detecting a cancer early by screening did not always reduce mortality or lengthen life. Conclusion: In Japan, most people overestimated the benefit that can be expected from breast cancer screening and the number of women who would benefit was not well understood. These misunderstandings were seen in the group of registered nurses as well as in the participants. So far, breast cancer screening has been publicized with only positive messages, for example, "the earlier the better" and "the smaller the better." Henceforth, screening should be publicized with more balanced messages, including figures for how many women will benefit and how many will be harmed. Individuals should then be able to use that information to make an informed choice about whether or not to undergo breast cancer screening. Citation Format: Shimada T, Takahashi M, Tsukisawa K, Shimizu Y, Tanaka M, Saito N, Takahashi K, Ishikawa N, Hashimoto M, Kinouchi K, Fujiwara M, Sato T. Knowledge of the potential benefits and harms of breast cancer screening: A survey of participants and nurses. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Eighth Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2015 Dec 8-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-02-10.

Consensus Control for Directed Networks Under Quantized Information Exchange

AbstractIn this paper, without assuming balanced network topologies, we address the weighted average consensus problem for discrete‐time single‐integrator multi‐agent systems with logarithmic quantized information communication. By incorporating generalized quadratic Lyapunov function with the discrete‐time Bellman–Gronwall inequality, a new upper bound about the quantization precision parameter of the infinite‐level logarithmic quantizer is derived to design quantized protocol, under which agents in strongly connected directed networks can attain weighted average consensus. The obtained new upper bound clearly characterizes the intimate relation between the quantization precision parameter and the directed network topology. The proposed quantized protocol is particularly applicable to digital networks where balanced message passing among agents is not available.

Health initiatives for the prevention of skin cancer.

Skin cancer is the most frequent type of cancer in white population worldwide. However, because the most prominent risk factor-solar UV-radiation and/or artificial UV from sunbeds-is known, skin cancer is highly preventable be primary prevention. This prevention needs, that the public is informed by simple and balanced messages about the possible harms and benefits of UV-exposure and how a person should behave under certain conditions of UV-exposure. For this purpose information and recommendations for the public must be age- and target-group specific to cover all periods of life and to reach all sub-groups of a population, continuously. There is a need that political institutions together with Health Institutions and Societies (e.g., European Commission, WHO, EUROSKIN, ICNIRP, etc.), which are responsible for primary prevention of skin cancer, find a common language to inform the public, in order not to confuse it. This is especially important in connection with the ongoing Vitamin D debate, where possible positive effects of UV have to be balanced with the well known skin cancer risk of UV. A continuously ongoing evaluation of interventions and programs in primary prevention is a pre-requisite to assess the effectiveness of strategies. There is surely no "no message fits all" approach, but balanced information in health initiatives for prevention of skin cancer, which use evidence-base strategies, will further be needed in the future to reduce the incidence, morbidity and mortality skin cancer.

The Global Online Sexuality Survey: Public Perception of Female Genital Cutting among Internet Users in the Middle East

Female genital cutting (FGC) is a ritual involving cutting part or all of the female external genitalia, performed primarily in Africa. Understanding the motivation behind FGC whether religious or otherwise is important for formulating the anti-FGC messages in prevention and awareness campaigns. The study aims to provide an investigation of opinion over FGC, the root motive/s behind it, in addition to the current prevalence of FGC among Internet users in the Middle East. The Global Online Sexuality Survey was undertaken in the Middle East via paid advertising on Facebook®, comprising 146 questions. The main outcomes are the prevalence of and public opinion on FGC among Internet users. 31.6% of 992 participants experienced FGC at an average age of 9.6 ± 3.5 years, mostly in Egypt (50.2%). FGC was performed among both Muslims (36.9%) and Christians (18.8%), more in rural areas (78.7%) than urban (47.4%), and was performed primarily by doctors (54.7%) and nurses (9.5%). Whether or not it is necessary for female chastity, FGC was reported as highly necessary (22.5%), and necessary (21.6%). This was more among males, particularly among those with rural origin, with no difference as per educational level. This is in contrast to only 3.7% regarding FGC as a mandate of Islam. Religious opinion among Muslims was: 55.4% anti-FGC and 44.6% pro-FGC. An important motivation driving FGC seems to be males seeking female chastity rather than religion, especially with FGC not being an Islamic mandate, not to undermine the importance of religion among other motives. School and university education were void of an effective anti-FGC message, which should be addressed. There is a shift toward doctors and nurses for performing FGC, which is both a threat and an opportunity. We propose that the primary message against FGC should be delivered by medical and paramedical personnel who can deliver a balanced and confidential message.

From Stigma to Intervention

Pentecostals and Charismatics in Zambia continue to contribute greatly on matters that are at the heart of Zambia’s Socio-economic problems. More importantly, their engagement with HIV/AIDS and related issues in the last decade has been profound. The scale of their engagement varies based on the capacity of individual churches. Whether on a congregational or national level, they are actively developing means by which they can help sufferers and their families have a sense of hope. What is clear is that from an initial detached attitude towards civic engagement, privileging evangelism in the preparation of the imminent return of Christ, there is now a balanced message that is accompanied by an engagement with physical problems that the Zambian population continue to face, in this case HIV/AIDS, among other things.

Being transparent or spinning the message? An experiment into the effects of varying message content on trust in government

Computer-mediated transparency is widely acknowledged to be a powerful instrument to strengthen citizen trust in government. However, government websites are often used as a convenient way to spread 'spinned' policy messages with highly positive interpretations of government policies. This paper focuses on this particular element of transparency: the extent to which a policy message contains balanced information. A truly balanced message should also mention dissenting viewpoints of government policies. This study examines the effect on trust of a balanced message compared to messages subject to varying degrees of spin. An experiment was designed to compare the effect of a very positive policy message, a slightly positive message and a message containing both positive and negative information. The results demonstrate that a balanced message on a website about government policy leads to negative evaluations of government competence to solve policy problems. Further, less spin does not positively affect the perceived honesty and benevolence of a government organization. This study suggests that showing balanced content might not be helpful when it comes to increasing trust in government, and that people might even prefer a light form of spin on government information as it provides the image that government knows what it is doing and where it is heading.

Heuristic algorithms for effective broker deployment

In the pervasive e-business applications covering large geographical areas and involving many RFID readers or sensors, broker deployment strategies have a direct effect on the deployment cost and collaboration efficiency. By analyzing the deployment cost and collaboration basis, this paper proposes a model for the broker deployment problem, and presents two heuristic algorithms for the multi-object optimization of broker deployment, where one is for the deployment area which contains the zones forbidden to place brokers in, and the other is for the deployment area without any forbidden zone. Experiments are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms. The experimental results also show the deployment algorithms have the advantage of being low cost of deployment. Moreover, the brokers deployed carry relatively balanced loads and messages are forwarded from an event source to a broker over a small number of hops.

Is it time to change the stereotype of cancer: the expert view

Negative public attitudes towards cancer may contribute to delays in presentation and present barriers to providing quality care. This study explored the views of cancer experts regarding the content of public health messages to improve public attitudes to cancer. Twenty-one healthcare professionals (HCPs) from a range of backgrounds took part took part in interviews. Interview transcripts were evaluated using thematic analysis focusing on the HCPs views of the prevailing negative stereotype of cancer patients and their recommendations for cancer awareness campaigns that could redress this view. HCPs contrasted the progress that had been made in the effective management of cancer with popular stereotypes and media representations. Information quality and supply were identified as barriers to changing the cancer stereotype held by the public. HCPs believe there is a need for more information about cancer in the public domain and it should focus on providing more balanced messages that include information about the improvements that have been achieved in preventing and treating cancer.

Managing organ transplantation, the ultimate public resource

Public awareness campaigns have minimal impact on transplant waiting lists. Why? There is no substantial Australian-based research on the attitudes of stakeholders, or the public. An explanation is awareness groups may have a negative impact either by promoting public fatigue about organ donation or, for want of professionalism and training, lack the tact to convey a balanced message. The nascent Australian Organ and Tissue, Donation and Transplantation Authority is a welcome influence to the administration of transplantation, with a promise of an evidence-based approach to tackle a pragmatic appraisal of the problem and implementing practical methodologies to increase transplantation.

ANALISIS HUBUNGAN PENERAPAN PESAN GIZI SEIMBANG KELUARGA DAN PERILAKU KELUARGA SADAR GIZI DENGAN STATUS GIZI BALITA DI PROVINSI KALIMANTAN BARAT

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 7.1pt 6pt 14.2pt; text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;span class="longtext"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10pt;" lang="en-us" xml:lang="en-us"&gt;The present study aims to analyze of relationship of the implementation of balanced nutrition messages family and behavior family nutrition awareness with under five years child nutritional status in West Kalimantan Province. The study uses Health Research Data Base of West Kalimantan Province in year 2007 with the design of cross-sectional study. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="longtext"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10pt;" lang="en-us" xml:lang="en-us"&gt;The total of 1992 household samples were recruited in the study with criteria having child aged 6 to 59 months. &lt;span style="background: #FFFFFF none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"&gt;Weight for height, weight for age and height for age indicators were used to measure child nutritional status. The results showed that three messages did not meet criteria as required by the Indonesian Food Guideines. &lt;/span&gt;T&lt;span style="background: #FFFFFF none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"&gt;hree messages did not meet criteria as required by the Indonesian Food Guidelines. They were eat food withr energy needs requaired, eat half of food sources of carbohydrate for energy needs and eating one of fourth of food sources of fat for energy needs. L&lt;/span&gt;ogistic multiple regression analysis showed that failure to follow the &lt;span style="background: #FFFFFF none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"&gt;the Family Nutrition Awareness&lt;/span&gt; had 1.21 risk for children to became stunting than family to follow to guideline properly&lt;span style="background: #FFFFFF none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

UJI COBA PEDOMAN APLIKASI PERUMUSAN PESAN UMUM GIZI SEIMBANG (PUGS) SESUAI KONDISI DAERAH

Test The Guidance For The Impelentation of For Different Area Conditions. Background: Dietary guidelines for nutrition education tool developed by the health department until now still difficult in the field. Dietary guidelines should be arranged by local officials. Guidelines that needs to be made how to craft a balanced nutrition messages in accordance with local conditions. Objectives: To develop a guidance on how to implement the PUGS which is suitable for the local conditions. Methods: Exploratory research methods as applied research for local officials. Implematation manual has been composed PUGS who first disseminated to local officials at the district level. And than local officials to practice through the following stages; how do identify nutritional problems and then how to make balanced nutrition messages in accordance with local conditions. This guidance was tested in the district of Tasikmalaya, West Java and Magelang of Central Java. Results: Showed that there was a significant difference after and before test the guidance for the implementation of dietary guidelines in local officers were able to identify nutrition problems and to develop messages on PUGS. Keywords: PUGS, implementation of dietary guidelines and local condition.

Consumer perceptions about seafood – an Internet survey

AbstractConsumer knowledge of and attitude toward seafood and seafood consumption was assessed using a nationwide Internet survey. The survey was evaluated for content validity and was pilot tested by consumers. There were 1062 respondents representing the US population for age, gender, income, ethnicity and geographic location. Respondents were asked questions regarding seafood consumption frequency, sources of information about seafood and preferred formats, knowledge of key seafood issues, and barriers to seafood consumption. Consumers were asked if they had heard positive or negative information about seafood and where they heard this information. Respondents were categorized as current seafood eaters (CSE), 88%; former seafood eaters (FSE), 9%; and nonseafood eaters (NSE), 3%. While only 22% of Americans met the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommendation of two servings of seafood each week, overall, 45% ate seafood at least once a week. Only 19% of women of childbearing age ate seafood two or more times per week. The top‐ranking reason for not eating seafood or changing seafood consumption habits was taste preference (46%) for FSE and NSE respondents, and affordability (45%) for CSE. Based on the results of this survey, a better understanding of consumers’ seafood habits can be used for the development of balanced messages for consumers over a variety of demographics. Respondents chose the media (30%) and the Internet (14%) as their preferred seafood information resource.

Communicating Risks and Benefits from Fish Consumption: Impact on Belgian Consumers' Perception and Intention to Eat Fish

Communicating about the health effects of fish and seafood may potentially result in a conflict situation: increasing intake is desirable because of health and nutritional benefits, but higher consumption may also lead to an increased intake of potentially harmful environmental contaminants. In order to anticipate the communication challenge this conflict may pose, the research presented here aimed to assess the impact of risk/benefit communication on Belgian consumers' fish consumption behavior and fish attribute perception. Data were collected in June 2005 from a sample of 381 women, aged between 20 and 50 years. An experimental design consisting of four message conditions (benefit-only; risk-only; benefit-risk; and risk-benefit) combined with three information sources (fish and food industry; consumer organization; government) was used. Exposure to the benefit-only message resulted in an increase from a self-reported fish consumption frequency of 4.2 times per month to an intended fish consumption frequency of 5.1 times per month (+21%), while fish attribute perceptions only marginally improved. The risk-only message resulted in a strong negative perceptual change in the range of two points on a seven-point scale. This translated into an 8% decrease of behavioral intention (from eating fish 4.5 times per month to an intention of eating fish 4.1 times per month). Balanced messages referring to both risks and benefits yielded no significant change in behavioral intention, despite a significant worsening of fish attribute perception. The presentation order of benefits and risks in the balanced message showed a tendency to affect both behavioral intention and attribute perception, with the first message component being most influential. Information source did not yield any significant impact either on behavioral intention or on attribute perceptions, independent of the message content. The results from this study provide valuable insights for future risk/benefit and balanced communication about seafood.