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Self‐reported change in health behaviour after a mass media‐based health education campaign
Author(s) -
SØGAARD ANNE JOHANNE,
FØNNEBØ VINJAR
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.743
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1467-9450
pISSN - 0036-5564
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9450.1992.tb00892.x
Subject(s) - worry , norwegian , mass media , psychology , health education , behaviour change , population , advertising , social psychology , environmental health , public health , medicine , psychiatry , business , nursing , intervention (counseling) , anxiety , linguistics , philosophy
A comprehensive short‐term fund‐raising campaign, was launched in 1987 by a health charity organization in cooperation with the only Norwegian TV‐channel covering the whole country. The campaign which was extensively announced on TV and other media and which involved large proportions of the population, finished up with a six hour TV‐show on the fund‐raising day. Because a considerable amount of information on prevention of heart disease was presented in connection with the campaign, it is presently evaluated as a nationwide health education campaign. Twenty‐two per cent of the population reported changes in one or more habits in connection with the campaign (one third of them took more exercise, while one quarter reduced/quit their smoking). Health behaviour change among family/friends, reported new knowledge of health and worry created by the campaign, were the factors most clearly associated with self‐reported behaviour change. The paper discusses the magnitude of the effects of the campaign in relation to the study design, and the importance of social environment and fear arousal on health behaviour.