Dissertation Defense: "The Effect of Message Framing on Attitudes and Intentions Toward Diabetes Mellitus Type II Prevention", Miwa Yamazaki (3/9/2009)

Dissertation Defense
The Effect of Message Framing on Attitudes and Intentions Toward Diabetes Mellitus Type II Prevention
Miwa Yamazaki
March 9, 2009
11:15am
POST 302

Healthcare marketers have continuously battled for solving a conundrum regarding how to frame the effective disease prevention messages that help empower consumers to obtain a healthier lifestyle. However, they have not yet examined the effect of message framing on Diabetes Mellitus Type II (DM2) prevention. This dissertation, therefore, investigated (1) the effect of message framing (advantages of preventing DM2 vs. consequences of ignoring DM2 prevention) on people’s attitude toward the message and their instantaneous intentions toward DM2 prevention; (2) people who have not yet developed diabetes, thus examining the effect of message framing on DM2 prevention, rather than on DM2 complication (e.g., blindness) prevention; (3) the effect of messages that highlighted why, rather than how (e.g., regular exercise, healthy diet), to prevent DM2 emphasizing sex-related consequences; and (4) potential gender differences in terms of subjects’ attitudes and intentions when the messages targeted their own versus the opposite gender.

Results revealed that, contrary to what was predicted, the message that highlighted consequences of ignoring DM2 prevention, such as having sexual dysfunction or risky pregnancies, was more effective than the message that highlighted advantages of preventing DM2 in eliciting subjects’ positive attitudes toward the message and their greater intentions to prevent DM2. Similar findings hold true, but were also unexpected, in an opposite-gender message condition. Moreover, female versus male subjects had significantly more positive attitudes and greater intentions, irrespective of the message framing particularly in the same-gender message condition. Ex post analyses revealed that fear mediated the relationship between message type and subjects’ attitudes and intentions.

The findings provide several implications for healthcare marketers regarding promoting DM2 prevention. Specifically, a positively-framed message is not always an effective way to communicate disease prevention. Instead, healthcare marketers may consider using the messages that focus on sex-related negative consequences and that arouse fear in DM2 prevention. Furthermore, identifying the message audience remains important in DM2 prevention; in particular, promoting the message that targets their own gender is effective.

 Committee Members:
 Dineh Davis, Chairperson
 Dennis J. Streveler, Committee Member
 Sven-Erik Bursell, Committee Member
 Thomas A. Kelleher, Committee Member
 Marie K. Iding, Outside Committee Member