Abstract
OBJECTIVES: First, to evaluate whether a local campaign to prevent childhood injuries increased parents' inclination to follow eight television programmes broadcast nationwide, and second, to assess whether parents reached by a local campaign benefitted more from the television programmes than those not reached by the campaign. METHODS: Before the television programmes were broadcast, all families with preschool children living in a typical Swedish municipality (the intervention area) received a letter from the head of the child health services encouraging them to watch the programmes. The local campaign also included face-to-face information and advice on childhood injuries at all day care centres and child health centres in the intervention area. After all the programmes had been broadcast, telephone interviews were conducted with one parent from 77% of all 1699 households with at least one preschool child in the intervention area, and with 87% of a random sample of 144 parents from other, similar municipalities. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The local campaign increased parents' inclination to follow the programmes. No significant association was found, however, between the number of programmes followed and measures undertaken in the homes as a direct consequence of the programmes. Nor was a significant association found between the number of programmes viewed and parents' attitudes towards risks. A local campaign may increase parents' awareness of information provided by the mass media on childhood injuries.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Alcalay R. The impact of mass communication campaigns in the health field. Soc Sci Med. 1983;17(2):87–94. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(83)90359-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Bergman A. B., Rivara F. P. Sweden's experience in reducing childhood injuries. Pediatrics. 1991 Jul;88(1):69–74. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Colver A. F., Hutchinson P. J., Judson E. C. Promoting children's home safety. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1982 Oct 23;285(6349):1177–1180. doi: 10.1136/bmj.285.6349.1177. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Flay B. R. Mass media and smoking cessation: a critical review. Am J Public Health. 1987 Feb;77(2):153–160. doi: 10.2105/ajph.77.2.153. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Frisby M. L., Hill J. H. A community's response to childhood drownings. A model for accident prevention. Crit Care Nurs Clin North Am. 1991 Jun;3(2):373–379. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Fønnebø V., Søgaard A. J. The penetrating educational effect of a mass-media based fund-raising campaign "heart for life". Scand J Soc Med. 1990 Sep;18(3):185–193. doi: 10.1177/140349489001800306. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Herlitz J., Blohm M., Hartford M., Karlson B. W., Luepker R., Holmberg S., Risenfors M., Wennerblom B. Follow-up of a 1-year media campaign on delay times and ambulance use in suspected acute myocardial infarction. Eur Heart J. 1992 Feb;13(2):171–177. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.eurheartj.a060142. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Jason L. A., Greiner B. J., Naylor K., Johnson S. P., Van Egeren L. A large-scale, short-term, media-based weight loss program. Am J Health Promot. 1991 Jul-Aug;5(6):432–437. doi: 10.4278/0890-1171-5.6.432. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Shelley J. M., Irwig L. M., Simpson J. M., Macaskill P. Evaluation of a mass-media-led campaign to increase Pap smear screening. Health Educ Res. 1991 Sep;6(3):267–277. doi: 10.1093/her/6.3.267. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Warner K. E. Television and health education: stay tuned. Am J Public Health. 1987 Feb;77(2):140–142. doi: 10.2105/ajph.77.2.140. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]