Browsing by Author "Lin, Lillian"

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Let’s Talk Online Video Pilot Results
(Montana State University, 2017-03) Flagg, Kenneth A.; Schupbach, Jordan; Lin, Lillian
Background: Montana has the highest suicide rate in the nation, with 26 deaths from suicide per 100,000. To address this threat, young adults were recruited to perform community-based theatre projects about the importance of seeking professional help for depression and thoughts of suicide. This study examined the effectiveness of two short documentaries that were based on the Let’s Talk theatre intervention in reducing stigma of help-seeking. Methods: 87 students at a college in Billings, Montana were randomly assigned to two interventions and one control group during the 2016-17 school year. Self-administered questionnaires were completed by students in all groups at baseline and approximately 2 weeks after program implementation. Results: 38 students completed both the baseline and follow-up questionnaires (a 44% follow-up rate). Lower rates of self-stigma of seeking help (SSOSH) were observed among students in the longer format intervention group. For respondents in that intervention group, we estimate the mean SSOSH score decrease to be 4.16 (SE = 1.67) more than the mean score decrease for individuals in the control group (P = 0.017). There was no evidence that the students' race/ethnicity, grade, and gender altered the impact of the intervention on any of the outcomes assessed in this analysis. Conclusion: This study provides preliminary analysis of the intervention, but further evaluations are needed with a larger and more racially and socio-economically diverse sample. Let’s Talk continues to be a unique, narrative-based suicide prevention program with demonstrated effects on self-reported stigma of help-seeking in a study utilizing a randomized experimental design.
National Let’s Talk Online Video Pilot Results
(Montana State University, 2017-03) Flagg, Kenneth A.; Tran, Tan; Lin, Lillian
Background: Suicide is a leading cause of death for young adults in the United States. Although online messages have emerged as a new vehicle for suicide prevention efforts over the last decade, few have been systematically evaluated. This study examined the effectiveness of two suicide prevention videos – one from a community-based, narrative prevention program (Let’s Talk), and one from an established school-based curriculum (Signs of Suicide) in reducing stigma of help-seeking. Methods: 596 college students recruited from a national online panel by Qualtrics Survey Software were randomly assigned to two interventions and one control group during the 2017-18 school year. Self-administered questionnaires were completed by students in all groups at baseline and approximately 2 weeks after program implementation. Results: 291 students completed both the baseline and follow-up questionnaires (a 49% follow-up rate). Lower rates of self-stigma of seeking help (SSOSH) were observed among students in the SOS intervention group. On average, the mean SSOSH score of the participants in the SOS group decreased 1.76 more than those in control group (P = 0.0474) with 95% confidence interval from 0.02 to 3.50. There was no evidence that the sttudents' race/ethnicity, grade, and gender altered the impact of the intervention on any of the outcomes assessed in this analysis. Conclusion: This study provides preliminary analysis of the intervention, but further evaluations are needed with a larger and more racially and socio-economically diverse sample. SOS continues to be one of the only universal school-based suicide prevention programs to demonstrate significant effects of self-stigma of seeking help in a study utilizing a randomized experimental design.
Social Marketing Risk-Framing Approaches for Dental Sealants in Rural American Indian Children
(2015-06) Larrson, Laura S.; Champine, Dorothy; Hoyt, Dee; Lin, Lillian; Salois, Emily; Silvas, Sharon; Weasel Tail, Terri; Williams, Matthew
Objective: To compare three variants of a culturally relevant and theoretically based message to determine the most influential risk-framing approach for improving intention to place dental sealants for preschool children. Design and Sample: A convenience sample of adult, American Indian participants (n = 89) attending a community health fair were assigned to view a gain-framed, loss-framed, or mix-framed dental sealant message. Measures: We compared participants\' scores on a 46-item survey to determine the relative effect of the frame assignment on seven indices of behavior change. Results: The mean difference in participants\' stage-of-change scores (x = 1.17, n = 89, SD = 1.90) demonstrated a significant improvement for all groups after watching the dental sealant message t88 = 5.81, p < .0001, 95% CI [0.77â€“1.57]. Self-efficacy was the only construct for which we detected a statistically significant difference as a function of frame assignment. Overall, the mix-framed message resulted in the highest scores. The gain-framed message was the least influential on four constructs. This finding is in contrast to findings that gain-framed oral health messages are most influential (Gallagher & Updegraff, 2012; O'Keefe & Jensen, 2007). Conclusions: Community advisory board members determined to use the mix-framed approach in an oral health social marketing campaign with a rural, American Indian audience.