The organic products market has grown worldwide in recent years. Increasing demand for products that are less harmful to the environment and health is one of the factors driving this phenomenon. Consumers are becoming more conscious than ever before about the environmental effects of the products they consume. Specifically, millennials have become environmentally responsible consumers. Although earlier studies have provided insights into factors influencing attitudes towards organic products in various contexts, there is limited research into organic products in the South African context, specifically research focusing on organic personal care products among millennials. Millennials are influential consumers who are environmentally conscious and digitally savvy. Recently, social media has gained increased attention for its ability to amplify environmental concerns and promote sustainable behaviour among young people. As a result, understanding how young consumers develop their purchasing behaviours towards organic personal care products is necessary. Therefore, this study investigated millennials' attitudes towards environmental issues and health consciousness, and the effects of their attitudes, social norms, and perceived behavioural controls on their willingness to pay for organic personal care products. The study followed a descriptive, quantitative research design using an online selfadministered survey. A non-probability virtual snowball sample of 433 Facebook users, aged between 18 and 25 years who live in South Africa, was followed. Out of the 433 questionnaires that were collected, 377 were included for analysis. Data were analysed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The results reveal that South African millennials' environmental concern and health consciousness had a significantly positive influence on their attitudes towards organic personal care products. The results also showed that attitude towards organic personal care products had a significant positive effect on subjective norms, and attitude was the strongest significant predictor of willingness to pay for organic personal care products. The results provide marketers with insights into how millennials ' attitude and willingness to buy organic personal care products can be influenced. Specifically, marketers should develop marketing strategies that incorporate environmental concerns, health awareness, and social influence to increase customer willingness to pay for organic personal care products. The findings also help policymakers understand the level of customer concern about the environment and their health, develop effective environmental policies necessary to achieve sustainability, and boost green purchasing through legislation. In addition, policymakers should be more constructive to promote ecologically conscious consumer behaviour. Collaborating with the private sector in various campaigns would help to enhance consumers' attitudes regarding the environmental concern.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-06-09T15:48:22Z No. of bitstreams: 1 samiamartinsdacostasilveira.pdf: 5955103 bytes, checksum: 276c4c7e14b41d0a3b88bef705cdaf89 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-07-13T13:36:38Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 samiamartinsdacostasilveira.pdf: 5955103 bytes, checksum: 276c4c7e14b41d0a3b88bef705cdaf89 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-13T13:36:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 samiamartinsdacostasilveira.pdf: 5955103 bytes, checksum: 276c4c7e14b41d0a3b88bef705cdaf89 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-04-20 / A Vigilância Sanitária é considerada a conformação mais antiga e complexa da Saúde Pública e está inserida como área de proteção e promoção da saúde no Sistema Único de Saúde. A missão da Vigilância Sanitária é promover e proteger a saúde da população através da sua competência essencial de controlar, eliminar ou reduzir o risco à saúde. O campo de atuação da Vigilância Sanitária é vasto e complexo, pois envolve todos os produtos e serviços ligados direta ou indiretamente à saúde em todos os níveis da cadeia produtiva e mercadológica, além dos serviços prestados a população e ao cidadão. Suas ações englobam as funções normativas, regulatórias e educativas e se inserem no âmbito das relações sociais de produção e consumo, onde se origina a maior parte dos problemas de saúde nos quais é preciso intervir. Por isso a falta de informação sanitária para a população é considerada um risco para a saúde da coletividade, sendo necessário à ampliação das ações da Vigilância Sanitária para além do seu caráter fiscalizatório e punitivo. Diante desse contexto, o setor de Medicamentos e Congêneres do Núcleo de Vigilância Sanitária da Superintendência Regional de Saúde de Juiz de Fora da Secretaria de Estado da Saúde de Minas Gerais desenvolveu, em 2009, um projeto educacional de informação e conhecimento em Vigilância Sanitária, denominado Projeto Educafarma, com o objetivo de promover a consciência sanitária do setor regulado. Assim, o presente trabalho buscou estudar a importância da ação educativa da Vigilância Sanitária com o objetivo de compreender a percepção dos profissionais farmacêuticos de farmácias e drogarias acerca da proposta educacional instituída. A pesquisa trata-se de um estudo descritivo e exploratório, baseado nos princípios da pesquisa qualitativa. A coleta dos dados foi feita a partir da abordagem qualitativa utilizando da observação participante e das entrevistas semi-estruturadas com treze profissionais farmacêuticos de drogarias e farmácias de manipulação privadas vinculados ao Projeto. A análise de dados foi desenvolvida a partir da técnica de análise temática de conteúdo, sendo verificado que o Projeto Educafarma é um veículo de informação e conhecimento. Os resultados apontam mudanças da mentalidade dos sujeitos da pesquisa e nas percepções com relação à atuação da Vigilância Sanitária e indicam a necessidade de modificação das práticas da Vigilância Sanitária para maior proximidade com o setor regulado a fim de torná-los pró-ativos no processo de promoção e prevenção da saúde da população. / The Sanitary Surveillance is considered the oldest conformation and complex public health sector and is entered as the protection and promotion of health care in the health system. The Mission of Sanitary Surveillance is to promote and protect the health of the population through monitoring, eliminate or reduce the risk to health. The player field of Sanitary Surveillance is vast and complex, as it involves all products and services related directly or indirectly to health at all levels of the chain of production and marketing, in addition to the services provided to the population and to the individual. His actions include the monitoring, educational and regulatory functions and fall within the scope of social relations of production and consumption, where originates the majority of health problems which we must intervene. Because of this lack of information for the population is considered a risk to the health of the community, being necessary to the expansion of Sanitary Surveillance actions beyond monitoring and educating. In this context, the pharmaceutical industry and Congeners of Sanitary Surveillance of Secretary of state in the Regional Superintendence of Juiz de Fora of Minas Gerais has developed an educational project of information and knowledge on Sanitary Surveillance, called Educafarma Project, with the intention of promoting health consciousness in the industry regulated. The present study was made to examine the importance of educational action of sanitary surveillance in order to understand the perception of pharmaceutical professionals of pharmacies and drugstores on the educational proposal established, through a descriptive and exploratory study, based on the principles of qualitative research. The data collection was made from the qualitative approach using participant observation and semi-structured interviews with thirteen pharmaceutical professionals of drugstores and pharmacies linked to handling private project. The data analysis was developed from the thematic content analysis technique, being verified that the Educafarma Project is a vehicle for information. The results indicate changes of mentality of the subject of research and perceptions regarding the role of Sanitary Surveillance and indicate the need to change the practices of Sanitary Surveillance for greater proximity to the regulated sector in order to make them active in the process of promotion and prevention of health of the population.

In light of recent persuasive appeals which promote a food product's health or nutritional benefits in advertisements, this exploratory study investigates the ways in which individuals read and understand health and nutrition-related claims in advertising and make subsequent judgments about the product, brand, and purchase intentions. Using the Elaboration-Likelihood model of persuasion, this study looks at how motivational (e.g., health consciousness, need for cognition) and ability (nutrition knowledge) factors influence attitudes toward three food products following exposure to manipulated advertisements containing a nutrition-related claim. Although the results do not demonstrate much support for the predicted relationships, the findings nonetheless provide researchers useful information that may benefit future studies. / Master of Arts

The author of the thesis formulates theoretical starting points, which draws attention to the problems of the health care system. It emphasizes the role of the individual and describes the mechanism by which it is possible to naturally and freely intervene in the health insurance system. A key role in this mechanism is provided by health insurers, which have the potential to moderate the relationship of the insured with the health system. The health insurer can do so by segmenting their insured and product orientation. The construction of the "ideal insured" should contribute to the this segmentation. The construction is based on the active and autonomous approach of the insured, these qualities are highly valued in the theory presented and it is assumed that this approach is desirable in terms of prevention. The author has created a tool to measure this construct. The tool is in the form of a questionnaire that is systematicaly reduced to include as few items as possible so it can be easily used in practice. Practical usability is the primary goal of creating this instrument to measure "ideal insured".