Methods: This study used a qualitative design. Rice preference deeply explored using focus group discussion as a case-study. 85 informants with an average of ages 20 years old were divided into several groups. Several topics to discuss include the reasons to accept or reject brown and black rice, knowledge, attitude, motivation, and potency to substitute white rice.
Results: Price was the main barrier to substitute white rice to brown and black rice. The participants have known brown rice from parents, mass media, and friends. Most of them were still unfamiliar with black rice. Culture also affected the preferences of the participants. To motivate people to change their white rice diet, creative packaging and segmentation of the sale were recommended.
Conclusion: Substituting white to brown and black rice is still a challenge for young adults in Indonesia. Several barriers such as culture, accessibility, and affordability need to be considered. Further efforts are important to manage a program to increase brown and black rice consumption.
DESIGN: The Healthy Food-Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI) comprises forty-seven indicators of government policy practice. Local evidence of each indicator was compiled from government institutions and verified by related government stakeholders. The extent of implementation of the policies was rated by experts against international best practices. Rating results were used to identify and propose policy actions which were subsequently prioritised by the experts based on 'importance' and 'achievability' criteria. The policy actions with relatively higher 'achievability' and 'importance' were set as priority recommendations for government action.
SETTING: Malaysia.
SUBJECTS: Twenty-six local experts.
RESULTS: Majority (62 %) of indicators was rated 'low' implementation with no indicator rated as either 'high' or 'very little, if any' in terms of implementation. The top five recommendations were (i) restrict unhealthy food marketing in children's settings and (ii) on broadcast media; (iii) mandatory nutrition labelling for added sugars; (iv) designation of priority research areas related to obesity prevention and diet-related non-communicable diseases; and (v) introduce energy labelling on menu boards for fast-food outlets.
CONCLUSIONS: This first policy study conducted in Malaysia identified a number of gaps in implementation of key policies to promote healthy food environments, compared with international best practices. Study findings could strengthen civil society advocacies for government accountability to create a healthier food environment.
OBJECTIVES: This research aimed to examine how The Washington Post (WP) framed the stigma around monkeypox and COVID-19. Guided by framing theory and stigma theory, online news coverage of monkeypox and COVID-19 was analyzed to understand the construction of social stigma through media frames.
METHODS: This research used qualitative content analysis to compare news framings in The Washington Post's online news coverage of monkeypox and COVID-19.
RESULTS: Using endemic, reassurance, and sexual-transmission frames, The Washington Post predominantly defined Africa as the source of monkeypox outbreaks, indirectly labeled gays as a specific group more likely to be infected with monkeypox, and emphasized that there was no need to worry about the spread of the monkeypox virus. In its COVID-19 coverage, The Washington Post adopted endemic and panic frames to describe China as the source of the coronavirus and to construct an image of panic regarding the spread of the virus.
CONCLUSIONS: These stigma discourses are essentially manifestations of racism, xenophobia, and sexism in public health issues. This research confirms that the media reinforces the stigma phenomenon in relation to health through framing and provides suggestions for the media to mitigate this issue from a framing perspective.
METHODS: A total of 152 respondents filled in a 76-item questionnaire based on the Health Belief Model. Articles on colorectal cancer in three English newspapers in Malaysia from 1 January to 30 June 2022 were analysed.
RESULT: A majority of the Malaysian respondents had low experiential knowledge of colorectal cancer, high perceived severity, low perceived susceptibility, and low to moderate susceptibility based on self-reported lifestyle and health conditions. The diet factor puts a majority of respondents at risk but smoking, alcohol drinking, and large intestine problems are risk factors for less than 10% of the group. The respondents believed in the benefits of seeking treatment but they were only marginally positive as to whether quitting smoking and losing weight could reduce colorectal cancer risk. They reported strong response efficacy and self-efficacy but the top barriers were lack of knowledge and cost. The strongest cue to action for their health protective intentions was news about colorectal cancer in newspapers, magazines, television and youtube. There were positive moderate correlations among perceived severity, benefits, response efficacy, self-efficacy, cues to action, and intention. Little salience was given to colorectal cancer in the three English newspapers based on the number of articles (N=10). The high frequency of information on severity, susceptibility, and benefits of lifestyle changes and screening in the newspaper articles are reflected in questionnaire results on better knowledge. Lack of information and cost prevented respondents from seeking screening or treatment, despite attempts by the newspaper articles to address barriers.
CONCLUSION: The study suggests a need to heighten cues to action in the mass media and social media by providing information on cost and practical details of colorectal cancer screening and benefits of diet-related risk factors.