Abstract A026: Effects of values-based messaging and an ecological approach to communicate about sugar as a strategy to prevent cancer among Latinas
Authors: Chittamuru Deepti , Ramirez Susana 
Published: September 2020

Introduction: An important aspect of Latino cancer prevention is reducing consumption of the sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) that account for many of the excess calories consumed and contribute to high rates of diabetes, obesity and other cancer risks. SSB consumption is powerfully influenced by social context, including targeted advertising and marketing, yet health promotion approaches focus on individual behavior, ignoring the social determinants of health (SDOH). Social justice based empowerment approaches suggest that literacy empowers people both to make better individual behavioral choices and to engage in activities that result in improved health for the overall community. Such approaches lend themselves to messaging about SDOH consistent with an ecological approach to health. Moreover, recent research in cancer communication has suggested that values-based appeals may increase receptivity to and engagement with messages, which then improve literacy and empowerment. This approach may be particularly useful for addressing disparities populations like Latinos. Aim: We tested the efficacy of messages about SDOH that invoke the values of social justice, standing up to exploitative authority, and familism, three values held strongly by young adult Latinos. We hypothesized that values-based SDOH messages would be more effective than traditional fear-based individual messaging.

Methods: An unbalanced experimental design with Mexican-American women aged 18-29 (N=434). Control condition (N=73): A typical fear-based appeal on the individual harms of obesity. Experimental condition (N=361): 5 distinct values-based messages on the social determinants of obesity and diabetes. Main Outcomes: Receptivity to and acceptance of the messages. Secondary Outcomes: Public health literacy, SSB media literacy, empowerment. Analyses: Simple and multiple linear regression models accounting for the unbalanced design.

Results: Consistent with hypotheses, the values-based messages communicating an ecological model of public health were more effective than the traditional fear appeal individual behavior message: Participants were more receptive to (p&lt;.001) and accepting of (p&lt;.01) values-based messages relative to control. Values-based messages increased SSB media literacy (p&lt;.05) and the perceived efficacy of civic actions such as boycotting SSB (p&lt;.05) and using social media to advocate about SDOH and sugar (p&lt;.001). Values-based messages appear to work by engendering identification (p&lt;.001) and activating social justice values (p&lt;.05).

Conclusion: Values-based messages about the individual harms and social causes of SSB overconsumption resonate more than the traditional health communication approach among young adult Latinas who are at increased risk of diet-related cancer. An ecological approach to cancer communication incorporating SDOH and individual behavior holds considerable promise for addressing cancer disparities among Latinos.

Citation Format: Deepti Chittamuru, Susana Ramirez. Effects of values-based messaging and an ecological approach to communicate about sugar as a strategy to prevent cancer among Latinas [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2019 Sep 20-23; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl_2):Abstract nr A026.