Communication Policy to Reduce Health Disparities: A Cross-Language Content Analysis of YouTube Television
Melissa J DuPont-Reyes1, Alice P Villatoro2, Merlin Chowkwanyun3
1Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, New York; Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, New York.
Introduction:
This study aimed to identify disparate health-related marketing across English- and Spanish-language television networks in New York City, ultimately to inform policy that can counteract disproportionate health-related marketing that provides harmful content to and withholds beneficial information from Latinx populations.
Methods:
A 2-week composite sample of primetime English-language (National Broadcasting Company and Columbia Broadcasting System) and Spanish-language (Telemundo and Univision) television networks from YouTube television was randomly drawn from September 7, 2022 to September 27, 2022 in New York City. A total of 9,314 health-related television advertisements were identified for systematic media content analysis and coded into categories: alcohol, core or noncore foods/beverages, mental health/tobacco prevention, health insurance, medical centers, and pharmaceuticals. Analyses conducted in 2022-2024 included intercoder reliability and descriptive and rate difference estimates using total advertisement broadcasting time in the full sample and subsamples by language networks on YouTube television.
Results:
Spanish television networks broadcast greater health-adverse advertisements per hour for alcohol (rate difference=4.91; 95% CI=3.96, 5.85) and noncore foods/beverages (rate difference=13.43; 95% CI=11.52, 15.34) and fewer health-beneficial advertisements per hour for mental health/tobacco prevention (rate difference= -0.99; 95% CI= -1.45, -0.54), health insurance (rate difference= -1.00; 95% CI= -1.44, -0.57), medical centers (rate difference= -0.55; 95% CI= -1.23, 0.12), and pharmaceuticals (rate difference= -5.72; 95% CI= -7.32, -4.11) than New York City primetime English television networks.
Conclusions:
Multilevel policy innovation and implementation are required to mitigate primetime television marketing strategies that contribute to health inequities.
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