Community type and the diffusion of campaign information

Abstract

This study explored the role of community pluralism in the diffusion of information. More specifically, this paperused community pluralism as a contextual variable in studying the mediating impact of SES variables on program awareness and name recall of a cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention program in three communities of differing complexity. Data for this study came from 14 surveys over a period of five years. The study found that program awareness and name recall diffused more slowly in the more pluralistic communities compared to the less pluralistic communities. This effect was more pronounced for program name recall than program awareness. We also found that social structure mediates the impact of SES variables on the flow of information. Implications of the findings for future study of diffusion research as well as for purposive campaigns are discussed.