Scott C Ratzan, Rebecca K Ivic, Sara Rubinelli, Kenneth H Rabin, Hye Kyung Kim, Ruth M Parker
{"title":"Advancing Health communication, a Call for the Future: 30 Years of the <i>Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives</i>.","authors":"Scott C Ratzan, Rebecca K Ivic, Sara Rubinelli, Kenneth H Rabin, Hye Kyung Kim, Ruth M Parker","doi":"10.1080/10810730.2025.2515206","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2025.2515206","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The 30th anniversary of the Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives occurs at a pivotal moment. In our inaugural issue in 1996, founding editor Scott Ratzan described his vision \"to promote global health with effective communication strategies to improve health outcomes and well-being.\" Since then, JOHC has consistently championed rigorous and forward-thinking research and perspectives that have helped shape today's multi-disciplinary practice. As we mark this milestone and honor the Journal's legacy, we must also confront the pressing challenges that define the current landscape of health communication. We live in an era where scientific reasoning is increasingly questioned by policymakers, patients, and the public alike. The institutions that have traditionally upheld evidence-based practice have lost trust, respect and authority. In this evolving context, health communication cannot remain a static field. In the decades ahead, the Journal must take an active and unapologetic stance-maintaining the highest ethics while driving innovation in digital health communication, scientific methodology, data interpretation and translation for better uptake. Its mission must be to accelerate measurable global health gains by advancing communication strategies that not only inform, but inspire trust, foster agency, and empower individuals and populations to make evidence-based choices they willingly and confidently adopt.</p>","PeriodicalId":16026,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Communication","volume":" ","pages":"1-6"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144325970","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Stacey J T Hust, J F Willoughby, L Couto, S Kang, C Nickerson, R Price, O Johnson, S Ross-Viles
{"title":"Washington State Teens' Perceptions of Cannabis-Infused Product Packaging: A Qualitative Study.","authors":"Stacey J T Hust, J F Willoughby, L Couto, S Kang, C Nickerson, R Price, O Johnson, S Ross-Viles","doi":"10.1080/10810730.2025.2514835","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2025.2514835","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The use of recreational cannabis is becoming legal in more states across the United States. With that, many cannabis-infused products were developed, and regulation surrounding cannabis product packaging was created to ensure packaging was not especially appealing to young people. We conducted small group online focus groups and in-depth interviews with 28 Washington teens (13-17 years-old) about their perceptions of cannabis edible product packages, such as gummies and pretzels, and analyzed the data using thematic analysis. We found that many teens perceived cannabis packages to be appealing because of their aesthetics such as bright colors and the pictures on the package, as well as the lifestyles the products promoted. Additionally, we identified that teens with greater cannabis knowledge and product literacy were more skeptical of the cannabis product packages. Our findings have implications for health educators and policymakers. Efforts to include teen perspectives in the regulatory process could be beneficial, and prevention specialists may want to focus efforts on improving teens' cannabis knowledge and product literacy to empower them to be more critical of cannabis product packaging.</p>","PeriodicalId":16026,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Communication","volume":" ","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144325971","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Why Health Institutions Must Learn from Social Media Influencers. A Paradigm Shift in Health Communication.","authors":"Sara Rubinelli","doi":"10.1080/10810730.2025.2517385","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2025.2517385","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16026,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Communication","volume":" ","pages":"1-4"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144317105","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Inoculating Against Misleading News Reports About the COVID-19 Vaccine: The Roles of Temporal Frames and Actively Open-Minded Thinking.","authors":"Stella Juhyun Lee","doi":"10.1080/10810730.2025.2514842","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2025.2514842","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Misleading news reports about COVID-19 vaccines may hinder acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines. The present study aimed to first assess the impact of these misleading news reports on people's attitudes and intentions toward getting the COVID-19 vaccine. The second goal was to determine whether inoculation messages could confer resistance to these misleading reports. In addition, the roles of temporal frames in inoculation messages and the individual characteristic of actively open-minded thinking were examined. A randomized experiment that exposed South Korean participants to different types of inoculation messages was carried out (<i>N</i> = 500). Viewing only misleading news articles about the COVID-19 vaccine led to negative attitudes and intentions to avoid it. In contrast, exposure to standard inoculation messages significantly reduced negative attitudes and intentions to avoid the vaccine. Temporal frames did not make a difference. However, those with high actively open-minded thinking styles responded more favorably to future-framed inoculation messages.</p>","PeriodicalId":16026,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Communication","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144234339","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The \"Whole-Of-Society\" Approach for Misinformation Correction: How Expert Didactic TikTok Videos Motivate Citizen Fact-Checking and Vaccine Promotion.","authors":"Gaofei Li, Mengyu Li, Sijia Yang","doi":"10.1080/10810730.2025.2503179","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2025.2503179","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study employs an experimental design to examine the effects of expert didactic corrective TikTok videos on motivating people's intentions to engage in citizen fact-checking and vaccine promotion. Our findings reveal that participants who watched expert didactic debunking videos, compared to those viewing layperson testimonial videos, reported higher intentions to correct others' misperceptions of COVID-19 vaccines and promote COVID-19 vaccines to those who have not completed the recommended vaccination. The impacts of expert didactic videos on fact-checking and vaccine-promoting intention are mediated by participants' perceived expertise of the video's source. Our findings contribute to the theoretical understanding of how multimodal correction messages motivate individuals' intentions for interpersonal behavioral outcomes. Practically, our research emphasizes the \"whole-of-society\" approach to combating health misinformation on video-based platforms such as TikTok.</p>","PeriodicalId":16026,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Communication","volume":" ","pages":"1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143969586","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Segmenting the Market: How Understanding Differences Among Smokers Can Improve Cigarette Warning Labels.","authors":"Hollie L Tripp, Jocelyn C Chow, Faris Grbic","doi":"10.1080/10810730.2025.2495623","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2025.2495623","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Health warning labels on cigarette packs are one of the most widely implemented and effective tobacco control interventions. Since their implementation in the United States in 1964, the appearance of these warnings has evolved as research surrounding them has grown. However, improved cigarette warning labels are needed in order to accelerate smoking quit rates and reduce smoking-attributable deaths. The Message Impact Framework describes the mechanisms through which such warnings influence attention, attitudes, knowledge, and intentions to quit smoking, which can ultimately lead to behavioral change. This framework has been used to advance tobacco regulatory research regarding cigarette warning labels; however, studies surrounding warning messages demonstrate how messaging influences smokers but are limited in how variability among smokers (e.g. cultural perspectives) can influence warning message interpretation. If cigarette warning labels are not sufficiently framed to account for diversity within the smoking population, they may not reach their intended audiences or have their intended effects. Rather than treating smokers as a monolith, this review draws on research to demonstrate the need for marketing segmentation of smokers. Such information can then be leveraged to update the Message Impact Framework and develop more targeted cigarette warning labels.</p>","PeriodicalId":16026,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Communication","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143966851","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zoltán Kmetty, Anna Vancsó, Eszter Katona, Krisztán Boros
{"title":"Does Local Context Matter? - Content Analysis of COVID-19 Vaccine-Related Online Comments in Hungary.","authors":"Zoltán Kmetty, Anna Vancsó, Eszter Katona, Krisztán Boros","doi":"10.1080/10810730.2025.2496953","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2025.2496953","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The COVID-19 situation brought novelties into discourses on anti-vaccination and vaccine hesitancy on social media-both in logic and concerning topics. The complexity of vaccine production and distribution parallel to constant political negotiations on a global level created an opaque and confusing system seedbed for misinformation, which decreased the trust in public management and authorities as the vaccination discussions became embedded in both local and global politics. In this study, we contrast the anti-vaxxers and the vaccine-hesitant people's attitudes toward the local aspects of vaccination. We compare these groups' main narratives in two key vaccine-related topics - locality and authority. Based on our analysis, anti-vaxxer comments are nonpolitical or differentiate national politics from global aspects of COVID-19 vaccination. On the contrary, vaccine-hesitant discourses are highly contextual and dependent on the continuous changing of the conditions. The east-west political narrative has severely impacted both non-anti-vaxxer and vaccine-hesitant groups and contributed to increased vaccination hesitancy in Hungary.</p>","PeriodicalId":16026,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Communication","volume":" ","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143969980","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Solving a Controversial Health Problem May Be Tricky: Examining Social Media News Use, Gender, Fear, and Information Behaviors in HPV Prevention.","authors":"Xizhu Xiao, Yan Wang, Wenyuan Yang, Yi Zhu","doi":"10.1080/10810730.2025.2496386","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2025.2496386","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Guided by the Situational Theory of Problem Solving (STOPS), this study surveys 1,853 Chinese individuals to identify factors influencing active information behaviors and HPV prevention intentions. Results show that involvement recognition is the key driver of situational motivation, leading to active information behaviors, which in turn significantly predict HPV vaccination intentions. Although fear does not directly impact information behaviors, it mediates the effect of perceptual variables on situational motivation. The study also highlights the different impacts of Chinese versus foreign social media news consumption on perceptual variables and the unique effect of gender on involvement recognition. These findings support the applicability of STOPS in HPV prevention and provide insights for improving health communication strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":16026,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Communication","volume":" ","pages":"1-14"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144029371","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kenneshia N Williams, Brenda Dimaya, Elizabeth C Hair, Jessica M Rath
{"title":"The Relationship Between Receptivity, Targeted Beliefs, and Tobacco Use.","authors":"Kenneshia N Williams, Brenda Dimaya, Elizabeth C Hair, Jessica M Rath","doi":"10.1080/10810730.2025.2488771","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2025.2488771","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Population-level tobacco prevention education campaigns influence a range of public health behaviors. Campaign receptivity is a precursor to shifts in campaign-targeted beliefs. This study examined the bi-directional nature of campaign receptivity and campaign-targeted beliefs (i.e. anti-industry, social movement, independence). Further, this study explored the relationship between campaign-targeted beliefs and campaign-targeted outcomes (i.e. tobacco behavior and intentions not to use). Data were drawn from the Truth Longitudinal Cohort, a nationally representative, probability-based cohort which includes youth and young adults (<i>N</i> = 3,771; 15-24 years). Campaign receptivity and campaign-targeted beliefs were measured at Times 1-4, while campaign-targeted outcomes were measured at Time 5. Findings indicate that a one unit increase in campaign receptivity is associated with an average increase of .94, .82, and .61 points in social movement, independence, and anti-industry beliefs, respectively. Analyses also revealed that for each unit increase in social movement and anti-industry beliefs, respondents' any current tobacco use declined by 0.06 and 0.08 points. Moreover, for each unit increase in social movement and independence beliefs, respondents' intentions not to use cigarettes/e-cigarettes increased by .12 and .10 points, respectively. This study reveals the pathway by which campaign receptivity translates to campaign-targeted beliefs and how this impacts campaign-targeted outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":16026,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Communication","volume":" ","pages":"1-6"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144004736","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Meghan D McGurk, Gail Ogawa, Katherine Inoue, Colin Wills, Lance K Ching, Alena K Shalaby, Naomee Kong, Heidi Hansen Smith, Jessica Lee, Lola Irvin, L Brooke Keliikoa
{"title":"Sweet Lies! Lessons Learned from Hawai'i's Sweetened Fruit Drink Countermarketing Campaign.","authors":"Meghan D McGurk, Gail Ogawa, Katherine Inoue, Colin Wills, Lance K Ching, Alena K Shalaby, Naomee Kong, Heidi Hansen Smith, Jessica Lee, Lola Irvin, L Brooke Keliikoa","doi":"10.1080/10810730.2025.2461588","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10810730.2025.2461588","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Beverage industry marketing tactics can cause caregivers to misperceive sweetened fruit drinks (SFDs) as healthy, increasing the likelihood they give their children SFDs. The <i>Sweet Lies!</i> countermarketing campaign sought to educate Hawai'i caregivers of children ages 0-8 about the industry's misleading tactics and the harms of SFDs. Focus groups were held to develop messages for Hawai'i caregivers. The campaign ran January-April 2023 on television, digital and social media, radio, and in malls. Campaign effects were assessed with media metrics and pre-/post-campaign cross-sectional surveys. Pre-surveys were conducted November-December 2022 (<i>n</i> = 458) and post-surveys were conducted in May 2023 (<i>n</i> = 482) to evaluate campaign effects on caregivers' perceptions of SFD health risks and SFD purchases in a simulated store. Pre-/post-survey samples were demographically different precluding comparisons and post-survey data were unable to show differences in health risk ratings and SFD purchases by exposure. The campaign produced 32,155,747 impressions across media outlets. Post-survey data showed campaign recall of 36.9% and informed campaign revisions. Lessons learned, including the importance of formative research for campaign tailoring and evaluation for real-world campaign implementation, the value of panel surveys for rapid evaluations, and to plan for low exposure rates, are shared to inform other campaign and evaluation efforts.</p>","PeriodicalId":16026,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Communication","volume":"30 sup1","pages":"14-27"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143753002","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}