What Could Producers Of Psas Learn From Health Behavior Change Theories?
From Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications VOL. 4 NO. i
Motivating Behavior Change: A Content Analysis of Public Service Announcements From the Let'south Move! Campaign
By
Elon Journal of Undergraduate Inquiry in Communications
2013, Vol. iv No. 1 | pg. 1/iii | »
Children in the The states are growing, and although we may want them to grow taller, they are besides growing wider. Over the by thirty years, childhood obesity prevalence has tripled in the United States (Yaqubi, 2011). Co-ordinate to the National Health and Diet Exam Survey taken in 2008, approximately half (50.1%) of our youth ages ii-nineteen were considered obese (Yaqubi, 2011). These alarming numbers are due in part to an overall subtract in concrete activeness and an increase in unhealthy eating habits. Children spend endless sedentary hours consuming amusement media and eating more than ever before. Childhood obesity is an of import problem to address because adolescent obesity can lead to serious wellness and self-esteem problems later in life.
In 2010, the United States government launched the Permit'south Move! entrada, a program adult past Outset Lady Michelle Obama "defended to solving the problem of obesity within a generation, and then that children born today will grow up healthier and able to pursue their dreams" ("First Lady Michelle Obama launches Allow'south Move"). To marker the one-yr anniversary of the campaign, Let'southward Motion! joined forces with the U.Southward.
Section of Health and Human Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and The Advertizement Council to develop TV, radio, print, outdoor and web public service advertisements. These ads aim to educate parents and children near salubrious eating and physical activeness to ultimately motivate behavior change. This study analyzed tv set and print public service advertisements for the Let's Move! campaign with the goal of discovering how health messages are communicated to motivate beliefs change. This enquiry also aimed to evaluate the health advice theory and practices used in these entrada advertisements.
No specific studies accept analyzed how health letters are communicated in the Allow's Movement! entrada public service advertisements to motivate behavior alter. For the purpose of this study, academic literature was reviewed about public health communications campaigns, the effectiveness of public service advertisements in yielding beliefs alter and health communication theory. A instance report most the success of the VERB campaign to increase physical activeness amidst children was also reviewed.
Public Wellness Communication Campaigns
Public wellness communication campaigns are implemented to address health bug such as poor nutrition, inactivity, tobacco use and AIDS prevention. These campaigns use a diversity of communication tactics and channels to achieve publics and influence health behavior including in-schoolhouse presentations, handouts, public service announcements and discussion groups (Snyder, 2007). Studies published about the effectiveness of health communication campaigns found that utilizing an appropriate channel and targeting a specific audience are helpful in motivating behavior modify among publics. Abroms, Schiavo and Lefebvre conducted a written report evaluating the successfulness of various heath campaigns and constitute that past integrating new media such as the Internet, computer games, digital boob tube and cell phones into public health campaigns, a larger number of people were reached and the length of the campaign was expanded (2007). Many of the tools that distribute new media are free via the Net, which makes dissemination fifty-fifty easier and more cost-efficient, thus exposing the campaign to more people and overall increasing the motivation to modify the requested health behavior (Abroms et al., 2008; Snyder, 2007). Although mass media campaigns reach a wide breath of people, when interventions were specifically targeted to a grouping of publics, they were even more effective in yielding beliefs change (Marcus, Owen, Forsyth, Cavill, & Fridinger, 1998).
Wellness communications campaigns are faced with the constant challenge of reaching publics from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds. A written report analyzing media-based physical activity interventions conducted by Marcus, Owen, Forsyth, Cavill, and Fridinger found publics who were socially disadvantaged were harder to reach with a media-based intervention campaign than those who were non socially disadvantaged (1998). Furthermore, in an assessment of an adolescent physical activity entrada, Faulkner, Kwan, MacNeil and Brownrigg found that children from depression-income families recalled less information about the campaign than children from high-income families (2011).
Social Cognitive Theory and Wellness Belief Model
Communications and public health theory are used to develop constructive communications that drive behavior change in public health campaigns. The social cognitive theory and wellness belief model are useful in explaining behavior change amid publics. For the purpose of this report, research about sure aspects of these theories was explored. The social cognitive theory is a learning theory adult past psychologist Albert Bandura, which explains how certain behavioral patterns are adopted. People are influenced by personal factors and environmental factors, which in turn touch on the private's behavior (2001). According to Bandura, the nearly important pre-requisite for a person to change their beliefs is the existence of self–efficacy, which is the internal belief that the individual is able to implement the proposed behavior change (2001). With self-efficacy, one can make a behavior change fifty-fifty when obstacles are in the way.
Bandura's social learning theory asserts that individuals learn from observing the actions of others and the benefits of those deportment (Bandura, 2001). The social lerning theory evolved from the social cognitive theory, which is explained above. Co-ordinate to Bandura, individuals tin can learn through observing actions of others in three means: when an actual person demonstrates the desired behavior, when a person verbally instructs them how to make the desired behavior alter, and when they models themselves for a real or fictional character who demonstrates the desired behavior in the media (1977). Although they learn through observing, it is not guaranteed they volition make a behavior change (1977).
The health belief model is from the public health subject area, and attempts to explain why people brand a health behavior change. The wellness conventionalities model asserts that in lodge for individuals to remember almost making a beliefs change, they must offset recognize they are susceptible to the condition or illness. Side by side, the individuals must believe this is a serious condition, and they tin reduce their risk if they take the advised action. The individuals likewise needs to receive cues to activity, such as how-to information, so they can initiate behavior modify. Lastly, they must take self-efficacy in lodge to take action (Champion & Skinner, 2008). According to Champion and Skinner, self-efficacy can be achieved through verbal reinforcement and guidance in the recommended activity (2008). It is of import wellness campaign messages utilize the above theories past showing and telling the how-to and when to in guild to assist drive behavior change (Snyder, 2007).
Childhood Obesity Campaigns
Public health campaigns that were designed to increment concrete action and educate virtually diet began to appear in the mid-1980s due to an increase in overweight and obesity (Huhman, Potter, Duke, Judkins, Heitzler & Wong, 2007). In the 1990s, campaigns became more intently focused on nutrition, particularly "increasing consumption of fruit, vegetables and low-fatty milk" (Huhman et al., 2007). Because of the contempo increment in the prevalence of childhood obesity, many public health advocates see the promotion of youth physical activity equally an fifty-fifty more pressing priority (Huhman et al., 2007). Co-ordinate to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, more than than half of adults believe the authorities should play a significant function in helping to reduce babyhood obesity (2011). This is why the government has launched 2 childhood obesity campaigns within the past x years: The VERB entrada and the Let's Motion! campaign.
In 2002, the U.S. Center for Disease Command and Prevention launched the VERB campaign, which used commercial marketing techniques to "sell" concrete activity to tweens ages 9-13. Results constitute that this physical action campaign had the largest effect on behavior change (Snyder, 2007). The campaign's chief strategy was to create a brand, "VERB: It's what you do." In society to make the brand known, the VERB campaign associated "with pop kids' brands, athletes and celebrities, and activities and products that are cool, fun, and motivating" (Parvanta, 2011). The VERB entrada used singular letters to communicate to tweens well-nigh physical activity. Instead of presenting facts, the entrada showed tweens how to have activeness past using visuals in public service advertisements on Television set and in print. Tweens featured in the advertisements were of various ethnic backgrounds, body weights and ability levels and then they were hands identifiable for a large number of publics. Furthermore, communication tactics were targeted separately at parents and children and so tweens would however associate VERB with a absurd and young brand (Parvanta, 2011).
A study conducted by Wakefield, Loken, and Hornik found that campaigns using mass media to prevent childhood obesity showed pregnant improvements in weight loss (2010). Considering the VERB campaign was mass media based, interventions reached a large number of target publics (Hihman et. al.,2007). Although these improvements were significant, long-term changes are difficult to maintain later on a campaign ends (Wakefield et al., 2010). Therefore, in 2010 First Lady Michelle Obama launched the Let's Move! campaign. This ongoing entrada promotes better nutrition data, increased physical activity, easier access to healthy foods, and personal responsibility. For the purpose of this study, public service advertisements from the Let's Movement! campaign were analyzed for advice tactics.
Public Service Advertisements
Mass media campaigns utilize public service advertisements to raise sensation and educate publics nearly an issue at paw with the goal of shifting attitudes and ultimately motivating beliefs change (Atkin, 2001). PSAs communicate virtually health topics or social issues including booze sensation, environmental protection, obesity prevention and gun control (Atkin, 2001). Charles Atkin conducted a report in which he reviewed major health campaign PSAs, and analyzed their value in yielding behavior modify. Atkin found "the effectiveness of public service advertising depends not only on the quantity and quality of campaign messages, but on the difficulty of achieving the intended outcome and the receptivity of the audience to the health behavior beingness promoted" (2001). Drawn from theory and enquiry, Atkin proposes a PSA should contain three types of messages to motivate behavior change: Sensation, didactics, and persuasion. To generate awareness, campaign messages must inform publics about the wellness topic. Educational activity letters should tell publics what to do and how to do it, and persuasion messages should give reasons why publics should adopt this particular wellness beliefs. Atkin too discusses how to increment the effectiveness of PSAs by calculation credibility, communicating in an engaging mode to gain the attention of publics, creating a simple understandable bulletin, and making the message personally involving and relevant (2001). Atkin advises it is important to cull a messenger that is influential to target audiences. Through these strategies, public service advertisements will influence target publics to a greater extent and ultimately result in the desired health behavior.
Research Questions
RQ1: What types of communication messages are presented in the Let's Move! campaign to motivate target audiences to change their behavior and reduce obesity?
RQ2: To what extent practise these messages follow wellness advice theories (Health belief model, social cognitive theory)?Connected on Next Page »
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