Evaluating Mass Media Public Health Education Campagins for Lasting Impact: Efforts in Los Angeles County

Theoretical Background and research questions/hypothesis:  Mass media public health educations campaigns are common strategies used to address chronic disease prevention; however, the impact of such campaigns is often unknown and evaluation efforts are limited.  Between 2015 and 2016, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health launched three public education campaigns as part of the countywide Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Initiative under the Choose Health LA Kids program. Topics included 1.) Choose Water (Fall 2015), 2.) Healthy Dining Out (Spring 2016), and 3.) Less Screen-time, More Active Time (Summer 2016). To assess the impact of the campaigns, an evaluation effort was launched early 2017 with the goal of determining what messages and media approaches were most effective, what behaviors changed as a result, and why.  Choose Health LA Kids is a program in Los Angeles County helping families with children ages 0-5 build and maintain healthy lifestyles. The program is administered by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health made possible through funding from the First 5 LA early childhood development organization. The Choose Health LA Kids program was designed with the social-ecological approach in mind. Multiple interventions operate at various levels of the social-ecological model – individual level, organizational level, community level, and systems/societal level. The mass media and education campaigns funded through this grant support the programmatic and policy work of the Choose Health LA Kids program and formed part of the societal level context of the social-ecological theoretical framework.

Methods:  A post campaign cross-sectional design was implemented using an online survey. The sample population targeted low-income caregivers of young children in Los Angeles County, CA. Surveys were conducted online in English and Spanish. Messages, including campaign images and radio spots, were tested using both aided and un-aided methods.

Results:  This presentation will highlight findings from the online survey, including analyses of the total cross-section and Spanish subsamples. Results from analyses of all subgroups will be shared including media awareness, effectiveness of approach, and impact in terms of behavior change.

Conclusions:  Given the common use of mass media education campaigns as a public health intervention, efforts to evaluate effectiveness of media messages and approaches are critical to making lasting behavior change. 

Implications for research and/or practice:  Health communications has a vital role in framing the messaging for public health behavior change in social marketing campaigns. The quantitative and qualitative results from the survey will help inform future campaign message development and outreach efforts. The results will also add to the evidence base for future education campaigns to improve health communications that support policy, systems, and environment change strategies.