Assignment 4A
Analysis - Journal 1
1. The main purpose of this article is: to ‘investigate whether a public education campaign can increase awareness and change help-seeking behaviour with respect to ocular health in an Indian population. The purpose is clearly stated in the abstract as well as throughout the journal article. I think it is justifiable as glaucoma is a major cause of preventable blindness, which could be reduced if there were successful health campaigns.
2. The key question that the author is addressing is: whether or not a ‘public health invention can improve awareness and health-seeking behaviour for glaucoma. I consider the question to be clear and unbiased, due to the researcher wanting to gain knowledge rather than prove a theory.
3. The most important information in this article is:
• Small study group
• Looking at what media is most effective in relation to this group
• Analysing data pre- and post campaign in order to compare effectiveness.
4. The key secondary sources used are:
• Pilot Qualitative Study of Diagnosis and the Impact of Sight Loss
• Research and evaluation of mass media – Changing theory and practice: trends in methods, strategies and settings in health education
• Pilot Study – Can a public health package on glaucoma reach its target audience?
• Glaucoma case finding: a cluster randomized intervention trial
• Department of Health advertising campaigns
• Published and assessed campaigns: physical activity, diabetes and sexual health
• Priorities of focus group: Barriers to uptake f available ophthalmic services among the Asian community in Ealing
5. The key primary sources used are:
• Health Knowledge Questionnaire (General health questions and eye specific topics)
• Pre- and Post-intervention Interviews (Face-to-face interviews took place in participant’s home or within a place of worship. Interview was conducted in participant’s own language).
• Optometric Date (Practices within the study area collected date for 6 months before and after he campaign).
6. The main inferences/conclusions in this article are: Prior to this health education programme knowledge on glaucoma was low amongst the focus group. Results collected during this study show that knowledge on this subject grew after the campaign, with the majority of participants gaining information about glaucoma through the radio. The author highlights that health conscious groups were more responsive and that younger age groups knew more information about the topic. The final conclusion was that the campaign was successful in helping the focus group become more aware, but the campaign failed to have an influence on changing behaviour.
7. The key concept(s) we need to understand in this article is/are: The key concept is to ‘investigate whether a public education campaign can increase awareness and change help-seeking behaviour with respect to ocular health in an Indian population.’ The research also looks into which type of media is most effective in reaching this target audience. However, the reader must understand that this is a very specific study looking at a cultural and area specific group. Therefore the conclusions obtained are only relevant for this group, further studies would have to take place on a larger scale in order to see how different communities would react to this approach of health advertising.
8. The main assumption(s) underlying the author’s thinking is (are): The reader may question whether the author has considered whether or not the participant’s have given honest answers. If the answers are not true then the results will not be accurate. However the author does point out where figures obtained from participants differ from data collected from other sources.
9. If we take this line of reasoning seriously, the implications are: Similar campaigns may be used to target this focus group in the future. The author suggests that charities should consider who they want to reach and how this would be achieved prior to spending money on similar campaigns. This could save charities significant amounts of money, whilst also producing the most successful campaign possible (for target audience).
10. If we fail to take the author’s line of reasoning seriously, the implications are: Radio may be used for all public health campaigns, which would only reach certain groups. Therefore the campaign would be unsuccessful in making the majority of the public aware of health related topics. If charities/ government don’t consider whom they are trying to reach large sums of money may be spent unneccassarily with very little effect.
11. The main point(s) of view presented in this article is (are):
• Greater public awareness may increase understanding
• Media can be effective in conveying information on health issues
• Radio is most successful in reaching this target group
• Health is a low priority in this group
The writer supports their argument by referring to their findings, and other research/studies that enhance the point being made.
Analysis - Journal 2
1. The main purpose of this article is: to ‘investigate the impact of a media campaign for disaster mental health counseling in Post-September 11 New York. The purpose of this article is clearly identified in the title and the objective. Events such as 9/11 can cause mental distress and this research tries to identify whether media spending has an impact in the number of people seeking help.
2. The key question that the author is addressing is: Is there a relationship ‘between the patterns of spending within this campaign and the volume of calls received an referred to a counseling programme.’ The question is well stated and highlighted in the objective section of the journal article. I think the question being asked in unbiased as it aims to discover how effective these campaigns are rather than arguing in favour of them.
3. The most important information in this article is:
• Very rare situation
• Looking at multi-media campaigns
• Analysing media spending in relation to call volume
4. The key secondary sources used are:
• Population Surveys: Mental Health in New York City after the September 11 terrorist attacks.
• Response strategies: Lessons Learned since September 11th, 2001
• Previous campaigns: Media intervention impact: evidence and promising strategies
• Project Liberty Media and Marketing Report
• Awareness and perceptions of a community mental health programme in New York City after September 11
• New York Academy of Medicine Survey
5. The key primary sources used are:
• Project Liberty Media Activity Data (media spending/ types of media used)
• Hotline activity from LifeNet (number of calls received and referred)
• Sloan Group Data (numbers of viewers/listeners)
6. The main inferences/conclusions in this article are: Media spending may have helped generate help-seeking behaviour amongst the counties under investigation during this research period. During times of increased media spending there tended to be more calls made to LifeNet. Knowledge of Project Liberty was most commonly linked to television advertising. Findings also suggest that advertising through television is effective in promoting help-seeking behaviour.
7. The key concept(s) we need to understand in this article is/are: Mental illnesses are stigmatised in America society therefore most people are poorly informed on the topic and the services available to sufferers. However, after an event such as September 11, there will be an increase in mental health problems due to the trauma and stress caused by the incident. Reader must understand that the figures collected are specific to this situation only.
8. The main assumption(s) underlying the author’s thinking is (are): I think the author may be taking the fact that this was a very traumatic event, which effected everyone in New York, for granted. The majority of those living in New York at the time would have suffered some sort of trauma and turned to these help lines for advice. They may have been given this number by their doctor, school or through searching for help online. Media spending can be linked to call volume, however this may not be individual callers, it could be regular users. Therefore statistics may not show the true number of people using these services.
9. If we take this line of reasoning seriously, the implications are: The Health Service has to be aware that after ‘catastrophic events’ there tends to be higher rates of mental distress and services need to be in place to deal with this. Future outreach programmes may look into television and electronic media for advertising as this tends be most effective in promoting health-seeking behaviour. Report also suggests further research would need to conducted in order to justify future media spending.
10. If we fail to take the author’s line of reasoning seriously, the implications are: Money may be spent on advertising that is not effective in encouraging help-seeking behaviour. Also if further research is not carried out into whether multimedia-based campaigns are effective then these campaigns may not reach the people who most need the information.
11. The main point(s) of view presented in this article is (are):
• Events such as 9/11 cause mental distress
• Greater public awareness can increase help-seeking behaviour
• Television is most effective type of media to use to promote this
• Increase in call volumes due to shifting composition of media rather than media spending alone
Author is very fair and refers back to their findings when concluding the report.
Assignment 4B - Essay
In the United Kingdom today, advertising is estimated to be worth £19 billion and accounts for 7% of Britain’s annual economy. This industry is big business and is primarily designed to promote and sell a wide range of products and services. Advertising, however does more than just encourage sales, it is considered to be an important source of public awareness with both Government and charitable organisations spending vast sums of money on a variety of health related promotions. These campaigns include such issues as sexual health, road safety and healthy eating.
With all this money being used to fund multimedia health campaigns the big question being asked is – Does this type of advertising work?
In order to investigate the success of recent health initiatives and ascertain the most effective means of targeting a specific group, two journal articles relating to this subject were sourced.
Journal A entitled ‘Can a public health intervention improve awareness and health-seeking behaviour for glaucoma’ was published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology in 2008. The main question under investigation in this article is ‘ whether a public education campaign can increase awareness and change help-seeking behaviour with respect to ocular health in an Indian population.’ (Baker & Murdoch, 2008)
Glaucoma is an eye condition leading to a loss of vision. It ‘is a major cause of preventable blindness in the U.K.’ (Baker & Murdoch, 2008) The objective was to encourage the target group to attend regular ophthalmic screening.
The main issue was how to reach as many members of this community as possible. Researchers decided to run an advertising campaign, made up of radio, TV and print content. The author’s reasoning behind this was to see which form of advertising was most effective within this study group.
As the ‘target population’ (Baker & Murdoch, 2008) were an Indian community the idea was to run these campaigns on Asian TV and radio stations, as well as placing adverts in Asian newspapers and posters in places of worship. Following the campaign Health Knowledge questionnaires and face-to-face interviews were carried out. The results from these primary sources were analysed alongside data collected from local optometric practices, and conclusions made.
Findings prove that the author’s idea of using advertising to increase awareness of Glaucoma was successful. Evidence shows that the number of people who had heard of the eye condition doubled after the campaign. The majority of these individuals obtained the information through radio commercials and radio interviews.
However, even though the belief that advertising can increase awareness was proven to be true the target groups attitude to this increased knowledge was one of indifference. Data collected from the optometric practices showed that there was no increase in the number of eye tests taking place post-campaign. Therefore in this particular study the authors failed to achieve their main objective.
The paper concludes with the suggestion that prior to spending money on future health campaigns organisations should investigate who their target audience is, and what the best methods of reaching them are. It was noted that background research into the diverse social and cultural beliefs of target groups is essential. If the outcomes of such analysis were taken seriously charities, government organisations could save significant amounts of money on advertising in the future. By considering who they want to reach and how this would be best achieved, successful campaigns could be initiated.
Journal B entitled ‘Impact of a media campaign for disaster mental health counselling in post-September 11 New York was published in Psychiatric Services in 2006. The purpose of this article was to evaluate ‘the association between patterns of spending’ within the campaign (initiated by New York State Office of Mental Health following the attacks) ‘and the volume of calls received and referred to a counselling program.’ (Frank, et al, 2006)
Disastrous events such as the attacks on September 11 can cause severe mental trauma, and it is important that the public are aware of organisations such as LifeNet (health hotline) so that they can receive the support that they need. Project Liberty was managed by NYOMH and established in response to the need for counselling services, with its main aim to educate the public on the help available to them. With large sums of money being spent on advertising these projects to the public, the key question that the authors are addressing, in this article, is whether media spending has an impact on the number of people seeking help.
Mental illness is often stigmatised in the US, therefore most people are poorly informed on the topic and unaware of the services available to sufferers. The main concern for NYOMH was that people may not know how to seek help or where to obtain it. In response to this concern an outreach programme was set up to inform as many people as possible. The multimedia campaign consisted of print, radio, television and celebrity endorsed advertising.
In order to discover whether the idea that media spending relates directly to ‘help-seeking behaviour’ (Frank, et al, 2006) the authors analysed data that was collected from Project Liberty and LifeNet.
Figures show that during months of heightened media spending calls to the counselling service increased substantially. The authors suggest, therefore, that ‘media spending may have generated help-seeking behaviour as measured by calls too LifeNet.’ (Frank, et al, 2006)
A secondary source referred to during this study makes the authors aware that the majority of those who report having heard of the project, had so through adverts on television. The authors believe that television may be ‘particularly effective in encouraging help-seeking behaviour.’ (Frank, et al, 2006)
However evidence suggests that it is not necessarily the highest spending that is linked to most calls but what media source is used. The researchers noted that ‘increase call volumes as associated with shifting composition of media outreach appear to be independent of the level of spending.’ (Frank, et al, 2006) When the NYOMH became aware that television appeared to be the most successful means of getting the information to the public they decided to spend more on television advertising. Statistics reflect that during periods of increased TV spending calls also peaked.
The conclusions that can be drawn from the article are the author’s suggestion that television may be one of the most effective ways of encouraging victims of disaster to seek help. However, it s also stated, that further investigation would have to be carried out before adopting this approach for similar projects. The authors’ idea that more research into this particular issue is needed prior to further campaigns will hopefully result in future projects being geared towards reaching the majority of people.
Can it be concluded, therefore, that health campaigns work? From the findings obtained in both Journal A and B I would argue that such media campaigns can have a positive effect and help raise awareness of particular health issues.
Both journals found that one particular form of advertising proved to be the most effective at reaching the target population under study. Journal A focused on a culture and area specific group, and discovered that advertising on Asian radio stations the most effective way to reach that small community. Whereas Journal B focused on a study into informing the entire New York population, in this case television advertising had maximum impact. Even though these are two different forms of advertising they both make use of electronic components.
The issue of achieving health-seeking behaviour was a top priority in both research studies. Whilst Journal A health intervention failed to change the behaviour of the focus group, the campaign under study in Journal B proved to be a success. However I think this could be put down to circumstance. The study in Journal A aims to get people to get their eyes tested, something that the majority of the public don’t regard as a serious issue. Although figures state that ‘1.8 million people in the UK live with sight loss’ (RNIB 2009), many people continue to ignore the offer of free eye tests on the NHS. In my opinion I don’t think this campaign worked because the people targeted did not regard it as a major concern.
Journal B evaluated the impact of a media campaign by a counselling service following 9/11. The attacks in New York would have affected all members of society to a varying degree. As this was a problem effecting them at the time they were more likely actively seek help than the group in Journal A. Needless to say the campaign was very successful as numbers of people who had heard of the service increased from pre to post attacks.
Both journals also highlight the importance of knowing your target audience. Journal A found that having background knowledge into the community was invaluable. In-depth research into the focus group was suggested prior to future campaigns. Journal B also notes that further study would have to be carried out before adopting a similar approach to future projects.
An article which supports this argument is entitled ‘How the media influences women’s perceptions of health care’ (Kahn, 2001) The researcher discovered that women, in this particular study, were more likely to encounter advertising through television or print based sources in magazines. The paper went on to conclude that ‘neither of these two media can be ignored.’ (Kahn, 2001) This only enhances the concern that more research, into target populations, is needed in order reach the optimum number of people.
Current Government Health Campaigns use multimedia advertising as a means of informing the general public on health issues. Present campaigns include Change4Life, Sex: Worth Talking About and Act F.A.S.T. Information on these projects are available online and it is clear from the statements made on the Internet that the Government is aiming to find the most effective way of reaching the public. In regards to the Sex: Worth Talking About intervention, the advertising is said to of ‘been tested with teenagers and parents, with a strong, positive response from both groups.’ (Department of Health) The Change4Life campaign also shows signs that research is being conducted prior to launching projects. The government highlights the fact that they ‘worked in collaboration with experts in their field to develop these toolkits, pooling together years of knowledge and know-how that we can all use on a practical level to help engage and encourage young families.’ (Department of Health)
I think positive steps are being made in order to establish which forms of advertising are most effective. By analysing evidence based research on the most effective means of contacting target groups both the Government and associated organisations can utilise these methods to best serve the public’s interests.
Assignment 4C
I found both the journal articles, highlighted in assignment 4B, very interesting. Since the conclusions that were made were evidence based they provide useful information on my chosen topic – Effectiveness of Health Advertising.
Both authors stated that further research into target groups is needed prior to developing health campaigns. Therefore I would try to obtain more journal articles on the subjects of advertising and health awareness. Using the cross search database, available on the university’s website, would provide a vast amount of credible sources. Perhaps broadening the search criteria to include the psychology of advertising and further investigation of celebrity endorsement would prove to be useful.
During assignment 3 I found it difficult to source relevant books on my chosen subject. It would be good, for further research purposes, to revisit the university library and try to find books on this subject matter.
The Internet can be a fast and effective way of gathering information. I could look at Government and charitable organisations’ websites to obtain figures and information relating to current health campaigns. The Internet could also be used to access data collected by health services including optometric practices or GUM clinics. This data would provide a good estimation into how effective such campaigns are.
Questionnaires could be carried out, to discover what the public really know and think about current health campaigns. These questionnaires would aim to ask key questions relating to the chosen subject, and would hopefully provide an insight into how the public perceive health advertising.
Another primary method of collecting information would be to carrying out face-to-face interviews. Asking members of the public to answer some key questions would again help to determine how effective current health initiatives are.
Finally it may be a good idea to try and note how many forms of health advertising I encounter during a week. I could keep a diary of where I saw a poster or take a note if I saw an advertisement on the television. The subject matter would also be documented to see which campaigns get the most coverage. Taking a trip to a doctors surgery or a drop in centre would also provide an opportunity to pick up information booklets and leaflets on my chosen subject area.
Assignment 4D - Bibliography
Advertising Association. (2009) Promoting and Protecting, the role, rights and responsibilities of Advertising [Online] Available from: www.adassoc.org.uk
Baker, H. (2008) ‘Can a public health intervention improve awareness and health-seeking behaviour for glaucoma?’ British Journal of Ophthalmology, 92 (12), pp. 1670 – 1675
Department of Health. (2009) Change4Life – Eat Well, Move More, Live Longer [Online] Available from: www.dh.gov.uk/en/News/Currentcampains/Change4Life/index.htm
Department of Health. (2009) New campaign makes contraception worth talking about [Online] Available from: www.dh.gov.uk/en/News/Recentstories/DH_109285
Frank, R. (2006) ‘Impact of a media campaign for disaster mental health counseling in post-September 11 New York.’ Psychiatric Services, 57 (9), pp. 1304 -1308.
Kahn, C. (2001) ‘How the media influences women’s perception of health care.’ Marketing Health Services, 21 (1), pp. 12 - 18
RNIB. (2009) Supporting blind and partially sighted people [Online] Available from: www.rnib.org.uk
