One message for all? Framing public health messages to recognize diversity

This study investigates the influence of framing messages as either a “gain” or a “loss” to encourage eligible women to participate in a population-based program to screen for breast cancer in New Zealand. In the first phase, self-completion questionnaire surveys were distributed to a random sample of 1085 women who had experienced a screening mammogram, which included an invitation to participate in focus group or individual interviews. The data from the survey questionnaire were quantitatively analyzed using SPPS to conduct χ2-tests for independence in contingency tables. Qualitative analysis of the survey and focus group interview material was carried out using an interpretive phenomenology approach of hermeneutic analysis [Ricoeur, P. (1981). Hermeneutics and the human sciences (J. B. Thompson, Trans., & Ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press].As the first New Zealand study of the screening mammography program to stratify by ethnicity, this research has indicated that some ethnic minority groups respond differently to the mainstream population to framed messages about the desirability of participating in a screening mammogram. Questions which arise from the differing responses to framed communication reflect the crucial importance of recognizing the information needs of diverse populations in any communication strategy, which indicates the important need for future research in this area.