Healthy Skepticism Library item: 4785

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: Journal Article

Duerksen SC, Mikail A, Tom L, Patton A, Lopez J, Amador X, Vargas R, Victorio M, Kustin B, Sadler GR.
Health disparities and advertising content of women's magazines: a cross-sectional study.
BMC Public Health 2005 Aug 18; 5:(85):
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/5/85

Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Disparities in health status among ethnic groups favor the Caucasian population in the United States on almost all major indicators. Disparities in exposure to health-related mass media messages may be among the environmental factors contributing to the racial and ethnic imbalance in health outcomes. This study evaluated whether variations exist in health-related advertisements and health promotion cues among lay magazines catering to Hispanic, African American and Caucasian women. METHODS: Relative and absolute assessments of all health-related advertising in 12 women’s magazines over a three-month period were compared. The four highest circulating, general interest magazines oriented to Black women and to Hispanic women were compared to the four highest-circulating magazines aimed at a mainstream, predominantly White readership. Data were collected and analyzed in 2002 and 2003. RESULTS: Compared to readers of mainstream magazines, readers of African American and Hispanic magazines were exposed to proportionally fewer health-promoting advertisements and more health-diminishing advertisements. Photographs of African American role models were more often used to advertise products with negative health impact than positive health impact, while the reverse was true of Caucasian role models in the mainstream magazines. CONCLUSION: To the extent that individual levels of health education and awareness can be influenced by advertising, variations in the quantity and content of health-related information among magazines read by different ethnic groups may contribute to racial disparities in health behaviors and health status.

Keywords:
Adolescent Adult Advertising/statistics & numerical data* African Americans Bibliometrics* Comparative Study European Continental Ancestry Group Female Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice Health Promotion/statistics & numerical data* Health Status Indicators* Hispanic Americans Humans Mass Media/classification Mass Media/statistics & numerical data* Middle Aged Periodicals/statistics & numerical data* Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S. Socioeconomic Factors United States Women's Health/ethnology*