Effects of a Television Drama about Environmental Exposure to Toxic Substances

Abstract

This study assessed short-term outcomes of viewing an episode of a prime-time television drama in which a child developed cancer after environmental exposure to an illegal pesticide. The study explored the effects among viewers of feeling transported into a narrative world. Respondents (n = 2,139) to a post-episode Internet panel survey were asked if they had seen the show and asked questions about their demographic information, their frequency of viewing the television show, the degree to which they had felt transported into a narrative world created by the drama, and their knowledge and beliefs about the health effects of environmental exposure. Conversations with key informants from federal agencies and advocacy groups were also held. Episode viewing and narrative transportation were positively associated with knowledge of toxic exposure effects, and transported viewers reported being more likely to report an unusually high number of cancer cases to authorities. The show also appeared to have prompted a clarification of federal pesticide-testing policy. Entertainment Education is a promising strategy for disseminating key points of information about environmental health.