SBIR-STTR Award

Audio programming, whether distributed via radio broadcast or cassette tape, offers a potent_ but underutilized_health promotion medium with magnetic appeal for young people in particular. This project will investigate whether vividly produced, full-length audio material can provide the NCI with an effective means of transmitting health information to young adults. The program content will focus on dietary habits to reduce cancer risk; this focus is consistent with NCI recommendations. As a basis for designing a half-hour audio presentation, in-depth focus group interviews will ascertain awareness and preconceptions of this topic by members of the target population. A test-versus-control experiment will then compare a subject's knowledge and attitudes before exposure to the audiotape with those after exposure. A pilot study of 300 young Americans will test if exposure to the production can (a) increase awareness in the target population of the importance of eating "cancer-protective" foods, (b) impart related skills of food selection and preparation, (c) alter attitudes about the relationship between foods we eat and our cancer risk, (d) predispose listeners to modify their diets accordingly. The test will also measure the extent to which young adults respond to cassettes as an information medium on this topic.Awardee's statement of the potential commercial applications of the research: In Phase II, the audio production will be distributed to radio stations targeting this group (including the massive network of college radio stations known to be receptive to health information specials). The audio production will be distributed nationwide on cassette tape to health care facilities, schools, libraries and other agencies.National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Our project will develop and test a package of 5 A Day educational materials presented in audio. These will be adapted for radio broadcast, informational cassettes and in-store programming. Audio offers a powerful, inexpensive and underutilized channel for delivering health information. To investigate the effectiveness of this medium, in Phase I we created one half-hour audiotape, entitled Gimme 5. The target audience for this intervention was young adults. The findings show the efficacy of audio as a tool for changing listeners' knowledge and attitudes regarding fruit and vegetable consumption.In Phase II, targeting a broader adult audience, we will further develop the concept by creating a package of four new half-hour productions. From these and other materials we will also derive 20 short, PSA-style segments. listener response will then be measured in two settings with viable commercial potential: college campuses where the messages will reach students via radio and cassette distribution; and supermarkets where the messages will reach shoppers via in-store audio and also be made available on cassette. We will assess the impact of these interventions on listeners' knowledge, attitudes as well as level of fruit and vegetable purchase and consumption.National Cancer Institute (NCI)