Methods of Health Promotion

Methods of Health Promotion; Media Campaigns - Cow

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The aim of a media campaign is to raise awareness about particular health behaviour e.g. smoking
TV, newspaper, magazine or radio advertisements
Field experiment of a 12 week media campaign that covered the Wales/West and North East Regions.
High fear arousal used a close up of disfigurement shown
Fire brigade stats showed a 32% reduction in chip pan fires, the reduction decreased but was still 17% less after 25 weeks. However, overexposure reduced effect.
1. objective data 2. results suggest that the media campaign had been effective in raising the awareness of chip pan fires 3. longitudinal study - able to show the effects over time 4. Field experiment - good ecological validity 5. Lack of control - could there be other factors that increased awareness?

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Changing the law can force people to adhere to a particular behaviour e.g. smoking ban
Only effective if the law can be enforced
Quasi/field experiment, 7000+ children from Howard/Montgomery/Baltimore County, sent questionnaire with Likert scales about bicycle & helmet use & awareness of law (parent helped child with responses). Howard County had just passed a law to make children wear cycle helmets. In one of the control groups there was an education campaign regarding the use of helmets.
Responses to questionnaire about 50%, usage of cycle helmets increased from 11% to 37% from previous year, only a small increase in other 2 counties. Although many children still did not wear helmets the increase would have potentially saved lives.
1. More effective than educational campaign 2. Problems with validity of using self-report methods 3. Subjectivity of using Likert scales - everyone interprets scale differently 4. Only 50% returned questionnaire - is sample representative?

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Based on the idea that fear can be aroused in people by suggesting to them what might happen if they do not change their behaviour.
In the UK there have been a number of successful media campaigns that have used fear arousal i.e. speeding, drink driving and smoking
Laboratory experiment where student participants either experienced a lecture on oral hygiene, which used high, moderate or minimal levels of fear arousal (+ control group). Before and after the lecture and one week later they were given a questionnaire.
Although the strong fear groups did arouse more fear, the minimal fear presentation was most effective in conformity to oral hygiene behaviour. However, other studies have shown high level of fear arousal is more effective (e.g. Leventhal) - maybe it depends on what the health behaviour is?
1. Is it ethical to use fear arousal? Should the individual be given the responsibility to make up mind based on factual information - e.g. having disturbing images on cigarette packets 2. Snap-shot study does not show whether fear arousal remains effective over time 3. Student Participants - issues of generalisability 4. Contradiction between studies about what level of fear arousal is best.

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