Date of Award

2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Specialization

Communication and Leadership

School or Department

School of Leadership Studies

First Advisor

Dr. John Caputo

Second Advisor

Dr. Elizabeth Davis

Abstract

Every year, new public healthcare campaigns are launched attempting to change health behaviors or influence consumer’s healthcare decisions. Consumers see and hear numerous conflicting and confusing healthcare messages from various sources. This thesis attempts to evaluate and determine the impact of media on adults’ healthcare decisions. Particular focus is placed on adults’ 35-64 and their healthcare decisions in the last 12 months. Framework for the study is established through Ball-Rokeach and DeFluer’s media dependency theory and Thomas Nilsen’s significant choice. A majority of respondents (98%) stated that health and medical information that was viewed or found through media was utilized for their own information or to learn more about a medical condition. Information gathered from the media was less used to make an appointment with a specific doctor (23.8%), decide what clinic or hospital to visit (14.9%), or to ask for a certain medication (6.9%). These results show consumers do turn to media in order to gain information on health or medical topics, but it does not support previous literature that shows media impacts their decisions. Further research could measure respondents answers based on healthcare media they saw when making a decision, rather than media they saw when in the information gathering stage.

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