John W Ayers1, Benjamin M Althouse2, Seth M Noar3, Joanna E Cohen4. 1. Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA. Electronic address: ayers.john.w@gmail.com. 2. Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, USA. 3. School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA. 4. Institute for Global Tobacco Control, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Celebrity cancer diagnoses generate considerable media coverage of and increase interest in cancer screening, but do they also promote primary cancer prevention? METHODS: Daily trends for smoking cessation-related media (information-availability) and Google queries (information-seeking) around Brazilian President and smoker Lula da Silva's laryngeal cancer diagnosis announcements were compared to a typical period and several cessation awareness events. RESULTS: Cessation media coverage was 163% (95% confidence interval, 54-328) higher than expected the week after the announcement but returned to typical levels the second week. Cessation queries were 67% (95% confidence interval, 40-96) greater the week after Lula's announcement, remaining 153% (95% confidence interval, 121-188), 130% (95% confidence interval, 101-163) and 71% (95% confidence interval, 43-100) greater during the second, third, and fourth week after the announcement. There were 1.1 million excess cessation queries the month after Lula's announcement, eclipsing query volumes for the week around New Years Day, World No Tobacco Day, and Brazilian National No Smoking Day. CONCLUSION: Just as celebrity diagnoses promote cancer screening, they may also promote primary prevention. Discovery of this dynamic suggests the public should be further encouraged to consider primary (in addition to the usual secondary) cancer prevention around celebrity diagnoses, though more cases, cancers, and prevention behaviors must be explored.
OBJECTIVE: Celebrity cancer diagnoses generate considerable media coverage of and increase interest in cancer screening, but do they also promote primary cancer prevention? METHODS: Daily trends for smoking cessation-related media (information-availability) and Google queries (information-seeking) around Brazilian President and smoker Lula da Silva's laryngeal cancer diagnosis announcements were compared to a typical period and several cessation awareness events. RESULTS: Cessation media coverage was 163% (95% confidence interval, 54-328) higher than expected the week after the announcement but returned to typical levels the second week. Cessation queries were 67% (95% confidence interval, 40-96) greater the week after Lula's announcement, remaining 153% (95% confidence interval, 121-188), 130% (95% confidence interval, 101-163) and 71% (95% confidence interval, 43-100) greater during the second, third, and fourth week after the announcement. There were 1.1 million excess cessation queries the month after Lula's announcement, eclipsing query volumes for the week around New Years Day, World No Tobacco Day, and Brazilian National No Smoking Day. CONCLUSION: Just as celebrity diagnoses promote cancer screening, they may also promote primary prevention. Discovery of this dynamic suggests the public should be further encouraged to consider primary (in addition to the usual secondary) cancer prevention around celebrity diagnoses, though more cases, cancers, and prevention behaviors must be explored.
Authors: John W Ayers; Benjamin M Althouse; Jon-Patrick Allem; Eric C Leas; Mark Dredze; Rebecca S Williams Journal: Am J Prev Med Date: 2016-02-11 Impact factor: 5.043
Authors: Jon-Patrick Allem; Eric C Leas; Theodore L Caputi; Mark Dredze; Benjamin M Althouse; Seth M Noar; John W Ayers Journal: Prev Sci Date: 2017-07
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Authors: Sudhakar V Nuti; Brian Wayda; Isuru Ranasinghe; Sisi Wang; Rachel P Dreyer; Serene I Chen; Karthik Murugiah Journal: PLoS One Date: 2014-10-22 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Eric C Leas; Benjamin M Althouse; Mark Dredze; Nick Obradovich; James H Fowler; Seth M Noar; Jon-Patrick Allem; John W Ayers Journal: PLoS One Date: 2016-08-02 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Benjamin M Althouse; Samuel V Scarpino; Lauren Ancel Meyers; John W Ayers; Marisa Bargsten; Joan Baumbach; John S Brownstein; Lauren Castro; Hannah Clapham; Derek At Cummings; Sara Del Valle; Stephen Eubank; Geoffrey Fairchild; Lyn Finelli; Nicholas Generous; Dylan George; David R Harper; Laurent Hébert-Dufresne; Michael A Johansson; Kevin Konty; Marc Lipsitch; Gabriel Milinovich; Joseph D Miller; Elaine O Nsoesie; Donald R Olson; Michael Paul; Philip M Polgreen; Reid Priedhorsky; Jonathan M Read; Isabel Rodríguez-Barraquer; Derek J Smith; Christian Stefansen; David L Swerdlow; Deborah Thompson; Alessandro Vespignani; Amy Wesolowski Journal: EPJ Data Sci Date: 2015-10-16 Impact factor: 3.184
Authors: John W Ayers; J Lee Westmaas; Eric C Leas; Adrian Benton; Yunqi Chen; Mark Dredze; Benjamin M Althouse Journal: JMIR Public Health Surveill Date: 2016-03-31