Perceptions of Glasses as a Health Care Product: A Pilot Study of New Zealand Baby Boomers

Marketers have been slow to customize their strategies for the influential consumer segment of aging baby boomers. This qualitative research provides insights on New Zealand baby boomers' perceptions of glasses as a health care product. Appearance was a dominant theme; status was not a major concern, although style and fashion were. Wearing glasses had negative associations related to aging; however, both male and female participants recognized that glasses offered improved quality of life. Data relating to the theme of expense indicated that these New Zealand baby boomers made sophisticated perceptual associations and subsequent pragmatic trade-offs between price, quality, and style.     

IMeonate‐mother interaction: tactile contacts in the days following birth

The analysis of tactile contacts in the days following birth was conducted on the basis of observations of maternal behaviour in a natural situation #opduring the exchanges associated with the feeding of the new baby#cp.

This behaviour recorded by video, among 42 mothers — full term baby couples and 19 mothers — premature baby couples, allowed us to describe the “pattern manipulatoire des meres apres la naissance”. Different categories of contacts were distinguished according to the parts of the baby's body involved #oplimbs, face, trunk, clothing#cp and the apparent intention (so‐called “utilitarian” contacts and contacts “not absolutely necessary for feeding”). No significant difference was found in the frequency of these contacts as a result of the order of birth, the term or age of the baby. On the other hand, a greater frequency of tactile contacts was shown with baby girls than with baby boys.

These data allow, within the framework of a wider study of the first corporal interactions, questioning of the significance to accord to this quite specific pattern.

     

Investigating the digital health acceptance of Korean baby boomers: Comparative study of telemedicine and wearable healthcare devices

ObjectiveIn the COVID-19 era, the importance of and need for digital health services, such as telemedicine and wearable healthcare devices, are increasing. Although these services are treasured by older adults, their acceptance rates remain low. Thus, we attempted to find ways to enhance the acceptance rates of these services by investigating factors that influence the digital health acceptance of baby boomers. Based on the behavioral model of health service use and a multi-dimensional value perspective, we developed a research model to compare the factors influencing telemedicine and wearable healthcare device acceptance.MethodsTo examine the research model, we conducted face-to-face surveys with 300 baby boomers. The survey consisted of two sections: telemedicine and wearable healthcare devices. We used measurement instruments that had been validated in previous studies.ResultsEach research model's measurement model and structural model were evaluated. The reliability and validity of the measurement items of each model were satisfactory. The structural model test illustrates that three beliefs (usefulness, information, and cost saving) are important for the acceptance of telemedicine and wearable healthcare devices. Reassurance and convenience only significantly influence telemedicine and wearable healthcare devices, respectively. Among need and enabling factors, subjective health and income affect the intention to accept telemedicine and wearable healthcare devices. Conclusions: This study has theoretical implications in that it applied multidisciplinary theories by reflecting on the convergence characteristics of digital health, which are health and digital. In addition, it provides managerial implications to promote baby boomers' acceptance of digital health services.     

Benefits Gained,Benefits Lost: Comparing Baby Boomers to Other Generations in a Longitudinal Cohort Study of Self‐Rated Health

Policy Points

• Despite beliefs that baby boomers are healthier than previous generations, we found no evidence that the health of baby boomers is substantially different from that of the previous or succeeding cohorts.
• The effects of increased education, higher income, and lower smoking rates on improving self-rated health were nearly counterbalanced by the adverse effect of increasing body mass index (BMI).
• Assumptions that baby boomers will require less health care as they age because of better education, more prosperity, and less propensity to smoke may not be realized because of increases in obesity.

Context

Baby boomers are commonly believed to be healthier than the previous generation. Using self-rated health (SRH) as an indicator of health status, this study examines the effects of age, period, and birth cohort on the trajectory of health across 4 generations: World War II (born between 1935 and 1944), older baby boomers (born between 1945 and 1954), younger baby boomers (born between 1955 and 1964), and Generation X (born between 1965 and 1974).

Methods

We analyzed Canada’s longitudinal National Population Health Survey 1994-2010 (n = 8,570 at baseline), using multilevel growth models to estimate the age trajectory of SRH by cohort, accounting for period and incorporating the influence of changes in education, household income, smoking status, and body mass index (BMI) on SRH over time.

Findings

SRH worsened with increasing age in all cohorts. Cohort differences in SRH were modest (p = 0.034), but there was a significant period effect (p = 0.002). We found marked cohort effects for increasing education, income, and BMI, and decreasing smoking from the youngest to the oldest cohorts, which were much reduced (education and smoking) or removed (income and BMI) once period was taken into account. At the population level, multivariable analysis showed the benefits of increasing education and income and declines in smoking on the trajectory of improving SRH were almost counterbalanced by the effects of increasing BMI (obesity).

Conclusions

We found no evidence to support the expectation that baby boomers will age more or less healthily than previous cohorts did. We also found that increasing BMI has likely undermined improvements in health that might have otherwise occurred, with possible implications for the need for health care. Period effects had a more profound effect than birth cohort effects. This suggests that interventions to improve health, such as reducing obesity, can be targeted to the entire, or a major portion of the, population and need not single out particular birth cohorts.     

Alcohol and the Older Adult: A Comprehensive Review

Alcohol consumption in the older adult is of major concern with the advent of baby boomers coming into the over 65-age bracket. Alcohol consumption has been touted as beneficial for health, and while that may be accurate for moderate consumption in younger persons, there is considerable risk associated with increased alcohol intake in older adults. This increase is partially due to age-related physiological changes, existing diagnoses, number of comorbid conditions, and increased use of prescribed and/or over-the-counter medications, coupled with other concerns. This review addresses the current research regarding ethanol consumption in older adults and all-cause mortality as well as several conditions more frequently seen in the geriatric population. These conditions include vascular diseases, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, gastrointestinal disorders, hepatic disorders, dental and oro-facial problems, bone density decline, and falls and fractures. In addition, drug interactions and recent research into select vitamin and mineral considerations with increased alcohol intake in older persons are addressed. While recommendations for alcohol intake have not been specifically established for age ranges within the 65-year-and-older bracket, and practitioners do not routinely assess alcohol intake or ethanol related adverse events in this population, common sense approaches to monitoring will become increasingly important as the generation of “boomers” who believe that alcohol intake improves health comes of age.     

Using Viral E-mails to Distribute Tobacco Control Advertisements: An Experimental Investigation

The authors' objective was to conduct a trial of viral e-mail marketing as a distribution method for tobacco control advertisements. University students (n = 200) in the state of Western Australia were randomly allocated to receive 1 of 2 e-mails with hyperlinks to tobacco control advertisements (“Toilet” and “Rubbish”) emphasizing the disgusting nature of smoking. Recipients followed a hyperlink to a Web page playing Toilet or Rubbish on endless loop. Viewers were encouraged to forward the e-mail to their friends and invited to complete an online survey about the advertisement. Unique downloads for each advertisement were identified by internet provider (IP) location and tallied by date and geographical location to assess subsequent dissemination beyond the initial 200 students. There were 826 unique viewings of the advertisements averaging 26.9 viewings per day for the first fortnight, followed by a lower average of 4.1 hits per day for the next 3.5 months. IP addresses identified hits from 3 other Australian states and 7 other countries. Online surveys were completed by 103 respondents (12.5% of total hits) but included few smokers (n = 9). Significantly more respondents rated Toilet as “funny” compared with Rubbish (40% vs. 11%; p < .05), likely explaining why the former accounted for significantly more viewings than the latter (487 vs. 339; p < .001). There was a greater than fourfold return in dissemination for each initial e-mail sent but daily hits rapidly deteriorated over time. Entertainment appears to facilitate viral e-mails being forwarded onwards but only exceptionally compelling tobacco control materials are ever likely to become self-perpetuating.     

LGBT Identity and Its Influence on Perceived Effectiveness of Advertisements from a LGBT Tobacco Public Education Campaign

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals are at increased risk for tobacco use compared to those who are not LGBT. The Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products launched the first U.S. large-scale tobacco public education campaign for LGBT young adults aged 18–24, This Free Life. The current study, using data from the evaluation of the This Free Life campaign, investigated the role of LGBT Identity Affirmation (i.e., the development of positive feelings or attachment to being LGBT), LGBT Identity Centrality (i.e., the degree to which an aspect of a person’s identity shapes their overall identity), and Identification with the LGBT Community (i.e., an individual’s relationship with the LGBT community) on perceived effectiveness of four This Free Life advertisements. The current study sample included 2,788 LGBT young adults. For the “Our Story” and “Flawless” advertisements, all three identity constructs were statistically significant positive predictors of perceived advertisement effectiveness. For female-centric and male-centric “Tip the Scale” advertisements, LGBT Identity Centrality and Identification with the LGBT Community were significant positive predictors. An additional secondary analysis found differences in identity constructs between sexual and gender minority subgroups. These results support that identity constructs may be leveraged in health interventions.     

Long‐term care services expenditure projection in South Korea from 2015 to 2050

South Korea has been undergoing significant change in its population structure over the past three decades. Within 10 years, South Korean baby‐boomers will reach the age of 65 years and accelerate this change. This trend in population structure is crucial, because an aging population may increase medical demand, especially that for long‐term care (LTC) services, which would create a financial burden on society. This study estimates total LTC expenditure in South Korea from 2015 to 2050 by modifying the method proposed by the UK Personal Social Science Research Unit, the seminal study on projecting costs of LTC services. Using population data from the projections of the Korean Statistical Information Service, I stratify the projected population by gender and age, using the groups 65–69, 70–74, 75–79 and 80 or over and divide LTC services into two categories, namely facility and home care. South Korea's total LTC expenditure is predicted to continuously increase and then reach 4.2% of GDP in 2050. Expenditure on LTC services for women is higher than that for men. Moreover, the increase in total expenditure is dramatic after 2040 for home‐based services but is constant for facility services. This study shows that the presence of baby‐boomers heavily influences LTC expenditure in South Korea. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Underage Drinkers' Responses to Negative-Restrictive Versus Proactive-Nonrestrictive Slogans in Humorous Anti–Alcohol Abuse Messages: Are Humorous Responsible Drinking Campaign Messages Effective?

This study examined underage drinkers' responses to negative-restrictive versus proactive-nonrestrictive slogans in humorous anti–alcohol abuse advertisements. The authors conducted a posttest-only control group experiment with 91 teenagers and college-aged participants. For underage moderate drinkers, the negative-restrictive slogans (e.g., “Don't drink”) increased participants' perceived risk of excessive drinking and increased a level of intention to change their drinking behavior. However, for underage binge drinkers, the negative-restrictive slogans lowered participants' risk perception of excessive drinking and intention to change their drinking behavior.     

Vaccine-related advertising in the Facebook Ad Archive

BackgroundIn 2018, Facebook introduced Ad Archive as a platform to improve transparency in advertisements related to politics and “issues of national importance.” Vaccine-related Facebook advertising is publicly available for the first time. After measles outbreaks in the US brought renewed attention to the possible role of Facebook advertising in the spread of vaccine-related misinformation, Facebook announced steps to limit vaccine-related misinformation. This study serves as a baseline of advertising before new policies went into effect.MethodsUsing the keyword ‘vaccine’, we searched Ad Archive on December 13, 2018 and again on February 22, 2019. We exported data for 505 advertisements. A team of annotators sorted advertisements by content: pro-vaccine, anti-vaccine, not relevant. We also conducted a thematic analysis of major advertising themes. We ran Mann-Whitney U tests to compare ad performance metrics.Results309 advertisements were included in analysis with 163 (53%) pro-vaccine advertisements and 145 (47%) anti-vaccine advertisements. Despite a similar number of advertisements, the median number of ads per buyer was significantly higher for anti-vaccine ads. First time buyers are less likely to complete disclosure information and risk ad removal. Thematically, anti-vaccine advertising messages are relatively uniform and emphasize vaccine harms (55%). In contrast, pro-vaccine advertisements come from a diverse set of buyers (83 unique) with varied goals including promoting vaccination (49%), vaccine related philanthropy (15%), and vaccine related policy (14%).ConclusionsA small set of anti-vaccine advertisement buyers have leveraged Facebook advertisements to reach targeted audiences. By deeming all vaccine-related content an issue of “national importance,” Facebook has further the politicized vaccines. The implementation of a blanket disclosure policy also limits which ads can successfully run on Facebook. Improving transparency and limiting misinformation should not be separate goals. Public health communication efforts should consider the potential impact on Facebook users’ vaccine attitudes and behaviors.     

Effects of e-Cigarette Advertisements on Adolescents’ Perceptions of Cigarettes

ABSTRACT

This study examined the effect of exposure to “cigalike” (products resembling cigarettes) e-cigarette advertisements on adolescents’ perceptions of cigarettes. A nationally representative sample of 802 adolescents (13–17 years old) was randomly assigned to watch three e-cigarette or three control advertisements. Never-smokers who saw the e-cigarette advertisements (n = 352) reported significantly lower perceived risks of smoking than those in the control condition (n = 320). Ever-smokers (n = 130) did not show significant differences across the conditions. In subgroup analyses, current smokers (reported smoking in the past 30 days, n = 31) in the e-cigarette condition reported significantly lower perceived benefits of smoking than those in the control condition. E-cigarette advertisements can affect adolescents’ perceptions of cigarettes. Many advertisements, especially the ones promoting “cigalikes,” depict e-cigarettes as being similar to cigarettes (e.g., look, flavor) but also as a solution for cigarettes’ shortcomings (e.g., bad smell). While the advertisements include messages about problems posed by cigarettes, proposing e-cigarettes as a solution may decrease the perceived risks of smoking among never-smokers. It may also not be clear to adolescents whether advertisements are for cigarettes or e-cigarettes. Regulating e-cigarette advertisements to minimize adolescents’ exposure may prevent potential harmful effects on never-smokers’ perception of smoking.     

Pink Ribbons and Red Dresses: A Mixed Methods Content Analysis of Media Coverage of Breast Cancer and Heart Disease

This research examined media coverage of breast cancer (n = 145) and heart disease and stroke (n = 39) news articles, videos, advertisements, and images in a local Canadian context through quantitative and thematic content analyses. Quantitative analysis revealed significant differences between coverage of the diseases in placement, survivors as a source of information, health agency, human interest stories, citation of a research study, the inclusion of risk statistics, discussion of preventative behaviors, and tone used. The thematic analysis revealed themes that characterized a “typical” breast cancer survivor and indicated that “good” citizens and businesses should help the cause of breast cancer. Themes for heart disease and stroke articulated individual responsibility and the ways fundraising reinforced femininity and privilege. Findings provide insight on how these diseases are framed in local Canadian media, which might impact an individual’s understanding of the disease.     

Generation Z--striking the balance: healthy doctors for a healthy community

We have a multigenerational workforce. Popular social science has loosely divided the five living generations into the 'builders' (or matures/veterans), 'baby boomers' and the respective generations 'X', 'Y' and 'Z'. Arguably identity is more keenly formed by generation than by either gender or religion. We have three generations currently engaged in the workforce: the baby boomers, generation X and generation Y. Each generation is labelled with their own unique traits. All generations bring their generational traits to the medical profession. The baby boomers have traditionally worked longer hours and seen medicine as a tireless vocation. This has made them the workhorses of the profession. Generation X and Y are defined by an increased grasp on technology, mobility and an ideology that seeks a balance in life. Generation Z (born 1991-2006) is likely to follow in aunty Y's footsteps in terms of behaviour. If the current models of medical education continue we can expect our first Z doctor to begin work as an intern in 2017.     

Promoting weight loss methods in parenting magazines: Implications for women

ABSTRACT

Weight gain before and after pregnancy is important for women’s health. The purpose of this study was to assess articles and advertisements related to weight loss in three widely read parenting magazines, “Parenting School Years,” “Parenting Early Years,” and “Parenting,” which have an estimated combined readership of approximately 24 million (mainly women readers). Almost a quarter (23.7%, n = 32) of the 135 magazine issues over a four year period included at least one feature article on weight loss. A variety of topics were covered in the featured articles, with the most frequent topics being on losing weight to please yourself (25.2%), healthy ways to lose weight (21.1%), and how to keep the weight off (14.7%). Less than half (45.9%) of the articles displayed author credentials, such as their degree, qualifications, or expertise. A fifth (20.0%, n = 27) of the magazines included at least one prominent advertisement for weight loss products. Almost half (46.9%) of the weight loss advertisements were for weight loss programs followed by weight loss food products (25.0%), weight loss aids (21.9%), and only 6.2% of the advertisements for weight loss were on fitness. Parenting magazines should advocate for healthy weight loss, including lifestyle changes for sustained health.     

Cohort differences in self-rated health: evidence from a three-decade, community-based, longitudinal study of women

Despite the fact that life expectancy has nearly doubled over the past century, the US public has become increasingly preoccupied with issues of health and illness. In this study, the authors investigated cohort differences in self-rated health between women born in 1935-1944 (preboomers) and women born in 1945-1954 (baby boomers). A randomly selected, community-based sample of 618 mothers, 314 preboomers, and 304 baby boomers was interviewed. Over three decades, self-rated health was assessed in 1975, 1983, 1985-1986, 1991-1994, and 2001-2004. An individual growth model showed a linear decline (-0.61 per year, p<0.001) in self-rated health from mean ages 31-59 years combined, with a quadratic age effect (-0.03, p<0.001). Baby boomers reported lower self-rated health (mean difference, -5.30; p<0.001) and more rapid decline per year (slope difference, -0.52; p<0.001) than did preboomers of overlapping ages; those differences remained after adjusting for demographics, socioeconomic variables, personality factors, health behaviors, chronic illness, and depression symptoms. Study findings have important implications with regard to the potential growing burden on the nation's health care system, suggesting that generational changes in health evaluations and expectations may continue to increase demand for medical care.     

Jacob and the preacher: Conversations in context,part I

“You're the child care worker. Right?” “I'm the child care worker.” “So, wadda you want? I told the old lady I'd see you because she was freaking out. I got ten minutes. Talk.” “I want to buy you a cup of coffee and tell you how to save your life.” “I don't drink coffee.” “So? What about your life?” “What are you, a missionary from the local church? Or are you just an asshole?” “If I gotta make a choice, I'd rather be an asshole. What about you?” “You're fucking crazy, man. Me, I wouldn't make a choice like that.” “That's the problem. You're not making choices. That's why your life is going to hell. And that's why I'm here: to give you the choice of saving your life. Now. Do you want to do it or don't you?” “Are you paying attention here, preacher?” “Sorry, Jacob. I was thinking about your history.” “Who gives a shit? Pay attention. I was asking you if you wanted to go over to the park with me. I got something I gotta do.” “Is it safe for me?” “Sure. Don't worry. I'll look after you. Nobody's gonna touch you if you're with me. The only thing is, you gotta do what I tell you.” “I'm glad you're looking after me, son. It always feels good to know somebody's taking care of you.”     

Defusing the baby boomer time bomb: projections of after-tax income in the twenty-first century.

There has been a major national policy debate over the prospective tax burden facing future generations of workers as a result of the impending retirement of the baby boom generation. However, the real determinant of well-being is after-tax income, not the tax rate on before-tax income. This study constructs a series of projections of after-tax income, for workers and families at different points in the income distribution, to examine the effects of several different trends. The author first calculates the extent to which after-tax income can be expected to decline as the result of the aging of the baby boomers, then calculates the impact on after-tax income for families at different points in the income distribution of a continuation of recent trends in wage inequality. He also constructs a category of "after-tax, after-health-care spending" income, which examines the impact of the continued rapid growth in health care costs. The findings suggest that the continuation of recent trends in inequality and health care cost growth will have a much larger effect on future living standards than will the aging of the baby boomers.