An Animated Serial Program for Health Promotion Targeted to African-American Adults

Background:  Health disparities in chronic diseases and conditions such as obesity, cancer, diabetes, hypertension and stroke cause a significant negative impact on the health of African-Americans.  Creative and innovative approaches for capturing the attention of this high health risk population require health communication tools that are highly accessible, address modifiable risk factors, have high appeal to the targeted population and most importantly, demonstrate efficacy to improve health knowledge and risk awareness.  Social learning theory in large part explains the role of Entertainment-Education     (E-E ) in knowledge acquisition and behavior change. The E-E programs provide a personal connection to the audience, depicting personal situations to which the listener or viewer can relate. There is compelling support for this method of health communication targeted for particular ethnic/racial, socio-demographic and gender subgroups - breast cancer and mammography awareness in Hispanic women, teen obesity, HIV/AIDS prevention in Africa, and cervical cancer screening, to cite but a few examples. However, combining E-E with various media platforms to target health disparities in African-Americans is novel.

Program background:  Focus groups were conducted to determine the features  (health topics, storylines, characters, animation style) of program content that would be appealing in a serial drama targeted to African-American adults.  The resulting prototype, Keeping Up With the Walkers® was developed and produced as an animated serial drama based on the Entertainment-Education model of health education. The series combines media that are simultaneously entertaining and educational.  This innovative health series can be distributed on multiple media platforms—including the Internet, DVD, and mobile phones, to maximize the reach to the target population. 

Evaluation Methods and Results:  We will present the prototype of the animated series shown to focus group participants (African-American men and women, ages 30-65) and the results of the focus group sessions that were conducted to determine the appeal and feasibility of using this approach as a health messaging tool.  Focus group discussions indicated that participants were entertained by the serial health-based storylines and they were able to identify and understand the key health messages. Participants suggested several health care settings in which this format could be utilized.

Conclusions: The animated serial drama, Keeping Up With the Walkers® was found to be an effective means of disseminating health information to focus groups comprised of African-American adults. Participants identified strongly with the characters and found the series to be engaging, informative, and motivating for seeking additional information about their health status and risk factors for chronic disease.  A key factor in the effectiveness and appeal of this series was the use of culturally familiar characters, dialogue and social contexts that were used to create situations with which the target audience readily identified.   

Implications for research and/or practice:   The use of an animated serial drama to disseminate health information to African-Americans holds promise as a novel and effective tool for health promotion.  Although this animated serial drama can be adapted to several media platforms, there are advantages, limitations, and barriers related to its use in different contexts and health care settings.