Browsing by Author "Cox, Dena"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Behavior and health beliefs as predictors of HIV testing among women: a prospective study of observed HIV testing
    (Taylor & Francis, 2018) Fan, Hao; Fife, Kenneth H.; Cox, Dena; Cox, Anthony D.; Zimet, Gregory D.; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    Much of the research examining predictors of HIV testing has used retrospective self-report to assess HIV testing. Findings. therefore, may be subject to recall bias and to difficulties determining the direction of associations. In this prospective study, we administered surveys to women in community clinics to identify predictors of subsequent observed HIV testing, overcoming these limitations. Eighty-three percent were tested. In the adjusted multivariable model, being born in the U.S., perceived benefits of testing, worries about being infected with HIV, having had more than 15 lifetime sexual partners, and having had one or more casual sexual partners in the previous three months predicted acceptance of testing. Perceived obstacles to testing predicted non-acceptance. Those who had never been tested for HIV and those tested two to five years previously had greater odds of test acceptance than those who had been tested within the last year. The findings from this study with observed testing as the outcome, confirm some of the results from retrospective, self-report studies. Participants made largely rational decisions about testing, reflecting assessments of their risk and their history of HIV testing. Health beliefs are potentially modifiable through behavioral intervention, and such interventions might result in greater acceptance of testing.
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    The effects of message framing and healthcare provider recommendation on adult hepatitis B vaccination: A randomized controlled trial
    (Elsevier, 2019-08-09) Kasting, Monica L.; Head, Katharine J.; Cox, Dena; Cox, Anthony D.; Zimet, Gregory D.; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    Many adults in the U.S. do not receive recommended vaccines, and the research literature remains inconclusive on the best communication strategies for increasing this behavior. This study examined the association of message framing (gained-framed vs. loss-framed vs. control), and healthcare provider (HCP) recommendation (offered vs. recommended) on uptake of adult hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination in a high risk population using a 3×2 block design randomized controlled trial. Fear of shots, fear of vaccines, and perceived message framing were examined in secondary analyses. Of the 1,747 participants, 47.7% (n=833) received 0 doses of HBV vaccine, 27.8% (n=485) received 1 dose, 10.4% received 2 doses, and 14.1% received all 3 recommended doses. There was not a significant interaction between message framing and HCP recommendation (p =.59). Mean number of doses received by the gain-framed group (m=.96) was not significantly different from the loss-framed group (m=.97, RR=.99, 95% CI=.88–1.12). However, those receiving any framing message received significantly more doses (m= .96) than those in the control condition (m=.81, RR=1.17, 95%CI=1.06–1.31). Participants who received a HCP recommendation received significantly more vaccine doses (m=.95) than those in the vaccine-offered condition (mean=.82, RR=1.16, 95%CI=1.05–1.28). These results suggest there is no difference in vaccine uptake between gain-frame and loss-frame messages, but both are better than a control message. These results also support advising HCP to provide a strong recommendation for vaccinations beyond merely offering it to patients. This study has implications for vaccine uptake beyond HBV, and can inform future research on effective vaccine communication research.
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    HOW DO DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER DRUG ADVERTISEMENTS MEASURE UP?
    (Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2012-04-13) Hamid, Abdelaziz; Cox, Tony; Cox, Dena
    Prior to the 1980's, it was illegal for prescription drug manufacturers in the United States to advertise directly to consumers. Instead, these compa-nies only advertised to medical professionals. Several prescription drug companies began direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising during the 1980s. However, this advertising faced strict limitations from the Food and Drug Administration. However, in 1997, the FDA relaxed some of these limita-tions, and DTC advertising began to grow rapidly. By 2009, drug companies' expenditures on DTC advertising had grown to $4.5 billion. Nonetheless, DTC advertisements continue to face criticism. One criticism of direct-to-consumer advertisements is that product benefit and risk information is of-ten not communicated clearly to consumers, e.g., that the ads contain inad-equate information regarding risks, or vague descriptions of medication ben-efits. The present study seeks to assess the merits of these criticisms. This research is being conducted in two stages. First, secondary research is being conducted to determine what other researchers have concluded re-garding the representation of risk and benefit information in direct-to-consumer advertisements. Past studies have examined several aspects of DTC ads, including the balance between benefit and risk information, and the specificity of the information expressed. Second, primary research will be conducted, in which current DTC advertisements will be content-analyzed. This research will involve collecting DTC advertisements, develop-ing a system of coding the information in these ads, and assessing and cri-tiquing the ways in which product benefits and risks are presented to con-sumers through such advertisements.
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    IUPUI Center for HPV Research: Effects of a Brief Health Messaging Intervention on HPV Vaccine Acceptability among Parents of Adolescent Sons
    (Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2014-04-11) Donahue, Kelly; Stupiansky, Nathan; Cox, Anthony; Cox, Dena; Zimet, Gregory
    Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is an very common infection that is a primary cause of warts and many cancers, including cervical, anal, vaginal, vulvar, penile, and head and neck cancers. In an effort to address the problems associated with HPV infection and prevention, the Center for HPV Research at IUPUI (Zimet & Fortenberry, Co-Directors) fosters collaboration among investigators from multiple disciplines and departments at IUPUI, IU Bloomington, Purdue University, and University of Notre Dame. There currently are 25 faculty and 7 pre- and post-doctoral trainees who are members of the Center. The Center for HPV Research was established in July, 2012 with funds from the IUPUI Signature Center Initiative, The Department of Pediatrics, and the IU Simon Cancer Center. In this abstract we highlight a study representing a collaboration among 5 center members, including our current center-supported post-doc. Objectives: HPV vaccination coverage remains very low among adolescent males in the U.S. We explored the effect of brief Web-based health messages on parents’ willingness to vaccinate their sons against HPV. Methods: A U.S. national sample of parents of 11-17-year-old sons (N=779) completed a Web-based survey assessing attitudes and behaviors related to HPV vaccination. Parents of non-vaccinated sons (79% of the sample) were randomized to a two-level normalizing message (NM) condition: no message vs. NM (“Millions of doses of the vaccine have been administered to adolescent girls in the US at this time.”) and a three-level protection message (PM) condition: no message vs. son-only PM (“The HPV vaccine can protect your son from most kinds of genital warts and anal cancers,”) vs. son+partner PM (son-only message plus “If your son gets vaccinated it can also protect his future spouse from genital warts and cancer.”). Parents then reported willingness to vaccinate their sons against HPV on a scale of 1-100. Intervention effects were analyzed using a 2×3 between-subjects ANOVA. Results: Mean willingness was 55.2 (SD=29.7). A significant interaction was found between health messaging conditions, F(2,576) = 3.17, p = 0.043). Parents receiving the son-only PM reported significantly lower willingness if they received the NM vs. no NM (p=.014). Parents receiving no NM reported significantly higher willingness if they received the son + partner PM vs. no PM (p=.029). Conclusions: Reading brief online health messages affected parents’ willingness to vaccinate their adolescent sons against HPV. Overall, presenting normalizing information pertaining to adolescent females (for whom routine immunization was first recommended) appeared to lower parent willingness to vaccinate their adolescent sons. Presenting information about protecting their son and/or son’s partner against HPV-associated outcomes appeared to increase parent willingness to vaccinate in the absence of such normalizing information.
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    To Err is Human? How Typographical and Orthographical Errors Affect Perceptions of Online Reviewers
    (Elsevier, 2017-10) Cox, Dena; Cox, Jeffrey G.; Cox, Anthony D.; Kelley School of Business - Indianapolis
    Consumers increasingly rely on online product reviews when making purchase decisions. However, assessing the credibility of online reviewers presents consumers with unique challenges. This paper examines how consumer perceptions of reviewer credibility are influenced by the presence and type of textual errors in the review itself. The results of an online experiment indicate that consumers’ reactions to textual errors are moderated by their general trust in others. Low-trust consumers are relatively insensitive to textual errors in judging reviewer credibility. However, high-trust consumers are less forgiving of typographical errors (which may signal carelessness) than orthographical errors (which may indicate cognitive challenges). Implications for future research are discussed.