Download CRRTC Investigator Contacts and Project Abstracts

CRRTC Project Abstracts and Investigator Contacts
Selected Project Contacts
If you would like to discuss your proposal ideas with one of CRRTC’s investigators, contact any
of the individuals listed below.
Investigator
Marcy
Boynton
Noel Brewer
Role
Biostatistical and
Survey Methods
Core Deputy
Director
Project 1 PI
Adam
Goldstein
Seth Noar
Project 3 PI
Leah Ranney
Project 3 Co-I
Kurt Ribisl
Erin Sutfin
Overall PI for
CRRTC
Project 2 PI
Mark Wolfson
Project 2 Co-I
Communication
Core Co-Director
Affiliation
UNC-CH,
Lineberger
Comprehensive
Cancer Center
UNC-CH, Health
Behavior
UNC-CH, Family
Medicine
UNC-CH, School of
Journalism and
Mass
Communication
UNC-CH, Family
Medicine
UNC-CH, Health
Behavior
WFSM, Social
Science and Health
Policy
WFSM, Social
Science and Health
Policy
E-mail
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
CRRTC Abstract
Title. “Effective Communication on Tobacco Product Risk and FDA Authority”
PI. Kurt M. Ribisl
Abstract. We propose a Center for Regulatory Research on Tobacco Communication that
uses communication science to improve messages about cigarette smoke constituents,
emerging tobacco products, and FDA's regulatory authority over tobacco products.
Consistent with FDA's authority and responsibility to protect public health, the Center will
conduct a series of integrated research projects addressing 11 CTP priority areas to assist
FDA in communicating effectively with diverse audiences. Studies will oversample
vulnerable populations with high rates of smoking (Black, gay, lesbian, bisexual, low
income) and adolescents and young adults who are at greatest risk for tobacco use
initiation. Overall Center aims are to (1) characterize the public's awareness and beliefs
about tobacco products and FDA regulatory authority through mixed methods approaches,
using focus groups and multiple population-based telephone surveys of 9,200 adults and
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adolescents in the United States, (2) create potent messages on risk and FDA authority, (3)
conduct RCTs that assess messages' impact on tobacco use intentions and behaviors in
real world contexts, and (4) build capacity for tobacco communication research through
training programs and dissemination activities. Research Project 1 focuses on how soon-tobe-released information on tobacco smoke constituents will change perceived risk and
discouragement from wanting to smoke. Research Project 2 looks at the impact of health
warnings for new and emerging tobacco products not yet regulated by FDA, including ecigarettes, hookah tobacco, and cigarillos/little cigars.. Research Project 3 emphasizes
increasing credibility of FDA communications regarding regulatory authority over tobacco
products. The training and pilot/developmental funding programs will expand the Center's
research impact by training new and established researchers as tobacco control regulatory
scientists and providing funds for innovations in health and risk communication across our
Center and other TCORS sites. Scientific findings will advance regulatory science and assist
FDA in communicating more effectively with the public, including tobacco users and nonusers, thereby impacting public health by reducing tobacco product initiation and increasing
cessation.
Project Abstracts
Project 1
Title. “Communicating the Risks of Harmful Cigarette Smoke Constituents”
PD. Noel Brewer
Abstract. The 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act requires tobacco
manufacturers to disclose the prevalence of harmful and potentially harmful constituents in
each of their products by brand and sub-brand. This wealth of data will be novel and
informative, but it’s likely impact on the public remains wholly unknown. The proposed
project aims to understand the impact of the new constituent information on smokers’ risk
beliefs and cigarette smoking, building toward a randomized controlled trial that examines
whether constituent disclosures on cigarette packs that smokers use every day alter
cessation behavior. The project will interview enough adolescents, Blacks, Hispanics, and
gay, lesbians, and bisexuals to allow subgroup analyses for these key populations. Aim 1
will identify tobacco constituents that adults and adolescents find threatening and that
discourage them from wanting to smoke. First, we will conduct 6 focus groups to
qualitatively assess how adults and adolescents think about constituents. To quantify
constituents’ effect on risk beliefs and discouragement from wanting to smoke, we will then
conduct a population-based phone survey (n=4,600, ages 13-65), jointly with our Center’s
other research projects. Aim 2 will develop a library of constituent disclosures about Aim 1
constituents that are most likely to discourage people from smoking. We will test these
messages qualitatively using 14 focus groups and quantitatively through an online survey
with adults and adolescents. The research team will select two especially promising
messages that discourage smoking in all groups for use on cigarette packs for further
experimental testing. In Aim 3, we will randomly assign 672 adult smokers to receive
cigarettes with no constituent disclosure or one of the two disclosures identified in Aim 2.
The study design will determine which labels most effectively increase adult smokers’
cessation behaviors (quitting, attempting to quit, or smoking fewer cigarettes), including
stratified analyses for Black smokers.
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Project 2
Title. “Effective Risk Communication on New and Emerging Tobacco Products”
PD. Erin Sutfin
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (FSPTCA) gave the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) broad authority to regulate cigarettes, roll-your-own tobacco and
smokeless tobacco to protect public health. The FSPTCA also gave the FDA authority to
assert jurisdiction over other tobacco products, which the FDA indicated it intends to do.
This will include new tobacco products widely used by adolescents and young adults,
including electronic cigarettes, hookah tobacco, and cigarillos/little cigars, collectively known
as “other tobacco products” (OTPs). While cigarette smoking by adolescents and young
adults has decreased, OTP use appears to be on the rise. Although OTPs contain harmful
constituents and have negative health consequences, adolescents and young adults often
underestimate the health risks of OTP use. Once the FDA asserts jurisdiction over OTPs, it
will have a unique opportunity to inform the public about the health risks and constituents of
OTPs. To do so, the FDA will need evidence, which is currently limited, on how to convey
accurate risk perceptions to consumers. We propose to develop and test OTP warning
messages, with a focus on vulnerable populations, including adolescents and young adults
and gays, lesbians, and bisexuals. In Aim 1 we will identify perceived risks, knowledge of,
and attitudes towards harmful constituents and health risks of each type of OTP among
adolescents (age 13-17) and young adults (age 18-25) to inform the development of OTP
risk messages. First, we will conduct focus groups with adolescents and young adults to
explore attitudes, perceived risks, and knowledge of OTPs. Next we will conduct a
population-based phone survey (n=1,600, ages 13-25) to assess OTP attitudes among a
large national sample. In Aim 2 we will develop a library of OTP risk messages that increase
accurate risk perceptions. We will test these messages qualitatively using a second round of
focus groups and quantitatively through an online survey with 880 adolescents and young
adults. Based on these studies, we will select the two most promising messages for each
OTP that increase accurate risk perceptions for further testing. In Aim 3, we will establish the
real-world impact of OTP risk messages (developed in Aim 2) appearing at the point-of-sale.
To do so, we will conduct a cluster randomized trial at 30 convenience stores to assess OTP
message impact on 3,000 adolescent and young adult patrons’ risk perceptions; attitudes,
knowledge, and susceptibility among non-users; and quit intentions among users.
Project 3
Title. “Enhancing Source Credibility in Tobacco Regulatory Communications”
PD. Adam Goldstein
Abstract. Under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Tobacco Control
Act), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has regulatory authority over tobacco product
manufacture, marketing, and distribution. The FDA seeks to foster new communications
research on tobacco regulation. The Center for Regulatory Research on Tobacco
Communication (CRRTC) addresses communication components of the FDA’s Center for
Tobacco Products (CTP) messaging by: a) determining factors that influence public
perceptions of information sources (e.g., the FDA), b) exploring ways to engage tobacco
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users, c) investigating communication issues within vulnerable populations, and d)
evaluating how source message characteristics impact tobacco use. The study aims of this
research are to 1) characterize perceptions of FDA tobacco regulation, 2) examine
variations in message frames (i.e., source sponsor, source depiction, and source
engagement) that increase source credibility (i.e., trustworthiness) of tobacco regulation
messaging, and 3) assess the degree to which optimizing source credibility affects
behavioral intentions. Aim 1 will characterize perceptions of the FDA regulatory authority,
credibility, and tobacco control communication campaigns among adolescents, young adults
and adults, and vulnerable populations (Black and gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB)). We
will conduct seven focus groups with members of these populations in North Carolina (NC)
to assess existing perceptions of the FDA. We will conduct a national, cross-sectional
survey in years 2 and 4 to collect data from 3800 young adult and adult tobacco users and
non-users, and 800 adolescents. The survey will collect data to monitor changes in public
perceptions of the FDA, and determine which source sponsors are deemed most credible.
Aim 2 will examine determinants of source credibility in FDA regulatory communication
messages to create and test optimally framed messages with current smokers. We will
conduct 10 focus groups with young adult, adult, Black and GLB smokers to design
communication messages with high source credibility. Multiple combinations of source
credibility determinants will be reduced to two optimal message frames. Using a withinsubjects experimental design and eye-tracking technology, we will interview 300 NC young
adult, adult, Black and GLB smokers to determine if optimally framed messages improve
message effectiveness compared to sub-optimally framed messages. Aim 3 will use a
randomized controlled trial of 352 young adult and adult smokers to test the impact of
optimally framed FDA cigarette constituent messages on intentions to quit. We hypothesize
that FDA messages with optimal source credibility will lead to stronger behavioral intentions
compared to messages with sub-optimal source credibility.
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