Radio Public Service Announcements Research Articles

Radio public service announcements to promote vaccinations for older adults: Effects of framing and distraction

This article investigates the effects of message framing and distraction on older adults’ responses to a radio public service announcement (PSA) to promote influenza and pneumococci vaccinations. In detail, it addresses the message impact on recognition, attitudes toward the ad, and information-seeking intentions. The 2 × 2 online experiment was conducted in August 2019 in Germany. 378 participants aged 60 years and above received a radio PSA with either gain- or loss-framed messages (factor 1). Additionally, half of the participants completed a distraction task while listening (factor 2). Gain frames (η2p =.02) and a non-distracted reception situation (η2p =.04) positively influenced older adults’ recognition accuracy. Recognition, in turn, was found to mediate the effect of framing and distraction on the intention to seek further information on the campaign (framing: b = -0.03, distraction: b = 0.05). We conclude that gain-framed radio PSAs are an appropriate tool to raise awareness for a vaccination campaign and its contents, especially when recipients are concentrated while listening to it. We suggest to implement them at the early stages of a health intervention to sensitize people about vaccination, followed by more in-depth information material (e.g., brochures) to create behavior change.

CONNECTING HEALTHY BRAINS AND HEALTHY HEARTS IN INDIAN COUNTRY

The release of the Healthy Brain Initiative Road Map for Indian Country inspired the International Association for Indigenous Aging (IA2), Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop health communication materials to promote heart health and brain health among states with American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities. IA2 engaged public health, tribal health, and brain health experts to inform the key messages and intended audiences. The final package includes two posters, one flyer, one provider guide, four radio public service announcements, and two short videos. Tribal health officials and state health are encouraged to distribute the resources through senior centers and inter-tribal organizations, healthcare facilities, administrative offices, tribal newspapers/radio stations, and as mailers to tribal members. The session will focus on how the resources raise awareness of and promote action on heart and brain health among AI/AN communities.

Assessing the Efficacy of Radio Public Service Announcements: Results From Three Field Experiments

Public service announcements (PSAs) are key staples for broadcasters in fulfilling their Federal Communications Commission–mandated public interest mission, and the familiarity of the PSA format has helped motivate broadcaster attempts to monetize these short, community-focused messages. But relatively few studies have rigorously assessed the impact of PSAs; to date, there have been no randomized experiments gauging PSAs aired on radio stations with different programming formats. To fill this gap, we report the results of three field-based experiments randomizing the airdates of PSAs on three separate broadcast radio stations. Results suggest PSAs have significant, but short-lived, effects on audience behavior. This finding has implications for organization sponsorship and broadcaster use of PSAs as well as researcher approaches to studying these spots through randomized field experiments.

Evaluating the Enhancing of Quality of Life of Tehran Citizens with Radio Public Service Announcements

Evaluating the Enhancing of Quality of Life of Tehran Citizens with Radio Public Service Announcements

Psychological Violence and Sexual Risk Behavior Among Predominantly African American Women.

Physical and sexual violence are commonly researched as risk factors for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). However, psychological violence and its relationship with HIV risk behaviors have received limited attention among African American/Black (Black) women. This study examined (a) the frequency of recent (past 3 months) psychological violence, physical violence, and sexual violence and (b) the association of HIV risk behaviors, including unprotected sex, sex under the influence of alcohol/drugs, and sex exchange for money/drugs/shelter, with psychological violence. Participants included 191 women (89.2% Black), who were recruited through information sessions held at community centers, Parent Teacher Association meetings, substance use and HIV counseling centers, radio public service announcements, and word of mouth. Interested women participated in a multisession HIV and substance use prevention program and completed a self-reported assessment at program baseline. The current study utilized baseline data collected for a longitudinal study. Results from descriptive analysis indicated that the rate of psychological violence was higher than physical violence or sexual violence, and it was strongly associated with physical and sexual violence. Furthermore, hierarchical logistic regression analysis showed that unprotected sex was significantly associated with recent psychological violence after controlling for covariates. Findings suggest that recent psychological violence is more common than physical or sexual violence and it relates to sexual risk behaviors among Black women. Recent psychological violence may indicate psychosocial and sexual vulnerability for HIV and warrants particular attention among Black women.

Kidenga: Public engagement for detection and prevention of Aedes -borne viral diseases

Objective(1) Early detection ofAedes-borne arboviral disease; (2) improveddata onAe. aegyptiandAe. albopictusdistribution in the UnitedStates (U.S.); and (3) education of clinicians and the public.IntroductionZika, chikungunya, and dengue have surged in the Americas overthe past several years and pose serious health threats in regions of theU.S. whereAe. aegyptiandAe. albopictusmosquito vectors occur.Ae. aegyptihave been detected up to 6 months of the year or longer inparts of Arizona, Florida, and Texas where mosquito surveillance isregularly conducted. However, many areas in the U.S. lack basic dataon vector presence or absence. The Zika, dengue, and chikungunyaviruses range in pathogenicity, but all include asymptomatic or mildpresentations for which individuals may not seek care. Traditionalpassive surveillance systems rely on confirmatory laboratory testingand may not detect emergent disease until there is high morbidity in acommunity or severe disease presentation. Participatory surveillanceis an approach to disease detection that allows the public to directlyreport symptoms electronically and provides rapid visualization ofaggregated data to the user and public health agencies. Several suchsystems have been shown to be sensitive, accurate, and timelierthan traditional surveillance. We developed Kidenga, a mobilephone app and participatory surveillance system, to address someof the challenges in early detection of day-biting mosquitoes andAedes-borne arboviruses and to enhance dissemination of informationto at-risk communities.MethodsKidenga sends a weekly push notification prompting users toreport symptoms, travel history, and day-biting mosquito activity.If an individual reports through Kidenga that they or a family memberhave had symptoms consistent with Zika, dengue, or chikungunya,they receive an email with educational information about the diseases,prevention strategies, and treatment/testing information for clinicians.Upon registration, users can opt in to have additional follow-up viaemail. At any time, users may also view maps of aggregated userreports, confirmed case counts by county from public health partners(in pilot areas),Aedesdistribution maps, information about preventionand control strategies, and news on the diseases and vectors from acurated newsfeed. Users in select pilot areas may also receive pressreleases issued by their state or local public health department relatedto the diseases and their vectors. University of Arizona owns andmaintains the app and its data. Local and state health departmentsthat want more detailed information on user symptoms and mosquitoactivity may request and monitor the data at no cost. A marketingcampaign to recruit a broad user base is being implemented inArizona, Texas, and Florida.ResultsKidenga was developed with significant input from public healthstakeholders and launched in September 2016,accompanied byEnglish and Spanish radio public service announcements in selectArizona markets, press releases, and a social marketing campaign.A Spanish version of the app is under development. We willdescribe the results of user registration and survey submissions,challenges identified during development and deployment of thisnovel surveillance system, plans for data use and evaluation, andcollaborations with public health partners.ConclusionsThe utility of Kidenga as a surveillance system will depend onbroad and consistent participation among diverse user populations,particularly in low-risk areas; strategies to integrate health reports forhigh-risk populations who may not have smartphones; validation ofdata and development of sensitive and specific algorithms for takingpublic health action, and buy-in from public health departments touse the data and advocate for this novel surveillance tool. Kidenga’ssecondary function as an education tool onAedes-borne viruses is lessdependent upon a large user base and can be evaluated separately.Participatory surveillance systems that specifically monitorAedes-borne pathogens are relatively new, and the challenges associatedwith their early detection may differ from those of other diseases.

Radio Public Service Announcements and Voter Participation Among Native Americans: Evidence from Two Field Experiments

Although similar to other U.S. minorities in terms of socio-economic status and political interest, Native Americans are more dispersed geographically and much less likely to vote. This pattern suggests that at least part of the disparity in turnout might be due to Native Americans’ lower exposure to statewide and national mobilization campaigns. To test this idea, a randomized experiment was conducted in order to evaluate the effectiveness of a radio campaign that encouraged Native Americans to vote. In 2008 and 2010, experiments were conducted across a total of 85 radio markets spanning more than a dozen states. Results suggest that this nonpartisan radio campaign increased turnout among registered Native American voters in both elections, although the estimated effects fall short of conventional levels of statistical significance.

Tu Amigo Pepe: Evaluation of a Multi-media Marketing Campaign that Targets Young Latino Immigrant MSM with HIV Testing Messages.

Latino immigrant men who have sex with men (MSM) are at risk for HIV and delayed diagnosis in the United States. This paper describes the evaluation of a pilot of the Tu Amigo Pepe, a multimedia HIV testing campaign aimed at Latino MSM in Seattle, WA particularly targeting immigrants who may not identify as gay, ages 18-30years old. The 16-week campaign included Spanish-language radio public service announcements (PSAs), a Web site, social media outreach, a reminder system using mobile technology, print materials and a toll-free hotline. In developing the PSAs, the Integrated Behavioral Model was used as a framework to reframe negative attitudes, beliefs and norms towards HIV testing with positive ones as well as to promote self-efficacy towards HIV testing. The campaign had a significant and immediate impact on attitudes, beliefs, norms and self-efficacy towards HIV testing as well as on actual behavior, with HIV testing rates increasing over time.

An evidence-based method for targeting an abusive head trauma prevention media campaign and its evaluation.

A triple-dose abusive head trauma (AHT) prevention program (Period of PURPLE Crying) was implemented. The third dose consisted of an education media campaign. The study objectives were to describe the qualitative and spatial methods developed to target AHT prevention and to evaluate this campaign. A questionnaire on the level of importance of factors, rated on a 7-point Likert scale, was distributed to a panel of experts to determine the best advertising locations. Ranked factors were used to create weights for statistical modeling and mapping within a Geographic Information Systems to determine optimal ad locations. The media campaign was evaluated via a telephone survey of randomly selected households. The survey found locations of new families, high population density, and high percentage of lone parents to be the most important factors for selecting billboard sites. Spatial analysis revealed six areas that ranked highest in our factors. Five billboards, four media posters, and six transit shelters were selected for our advertisements. A population-based telephone survey revealed that 23% of respondents knew the campaign. Nearly half (42%) heard the radio public service announcements, and 9% saw billboards. Extending primary prevention efforts to the public helps to create a cultural change in the way inconsolable crying, the trigger for AHT, is viewed. With the use of ranked factors and Geographic Information Systems, geographic locations with high visibility and specific risk factors for AHT were identified for targeting the campaign, facilitating the likelihood that our message was reaching the population in greatest need.

Evaluation of an Online Partner Notification Program

Internet-based programs for sexually transmitted infections (STI)/HIV partner notification have generated considerable interest as public health interventions; yet data are lacking to support widespread dissemination. We report on a clinic-based and web-based evaluation of the Colorado inSPOT online partner notification program. Clinic-based surveys were conducted at a large urban STI clinic before and after the implementation of feasible clinic interventions as well as nonclinic campaigns to promote the use of inSPOT Colorado. Questions assessed recognition and use of the site. Website statistics were provided by the inSPOT service, including the number of site hits, e-cards sent, and specific STI exposures identified on the card. Recognition and use of the service among STI clinic patients remained low (<6%) despite the interventions. Site statistics demonstrated an immediate but quickly diminishing response after placement of a banner ad on a popular gay website. Newspaper advertisements and radio public service announcements showed small increases in website use. Analysis of STIs specified on the e-cards, showed scabies and pediculosis as the most-identified STIs, accounting for nearly 30% of all e-cards sent. Clinic survey data indicated that when respondents were faced with the hypothetical situation of being diagnosed with an STI, more than 90% would notify partners in person; only 5% would use e-mail or the Internet. Our data did not support the effectiveness of the inSPOT intervention among a predominantly heterosexual population in a large urban STI clinic.

A Personal Perspective: At the Crossroads of Heart Attack Care

This report presents a field-tested approach to the greatest health care problem facing our country, the fact that two-thirds of the deaths from acute myocardial infarction occur before hospital admission. Scores of fundraising appearances for the Missouri Heart Association during the 1950s and 1960s throughout the 1,000,000 population rural/urban Southwest Missouri region gave an ideal setting for teaching the public the early symptoms of heart attack. Audiences were advised that if any of these appeared they should immediately call their doctor or quickly get to the nearest hospital emergency room. These presentations led to a steady increase in hospital admissions. The Missouri Heart Association responded by launching the Early Warning Signs of Heart Attack Public and Professional Education Program in July 1971, incorporating these messages in radio, TV, and newspaper Public Service Announcements. In less than 6 months, analysis of consecutive admissions to the cardiovascular intensive care unit of the base hospital showed that the median time from the onset of symptoms to starting to the hospital was reduced from 4 to 2.2 hours; 64% of those patients called their doctor as their first step in seeking help and 58% went to the hospital by car. This message content was carried through the 1980s and 1990s under other auspices. The methods of the successful Missouri program are contrasted with others that have failed, establishing essential features in designing a nationwide program effective in hastening acute myocardial infarction patient hospital arrival.

Examining prejudice‐reduction theories in anti‐racism initiatives

Abstract We examined the role of prejudice‐reduction theories in anti‐racism initiatives, by identifying, gathering, and analyzing anti‐racism campaigns from a variety of English‐language websites. Our review revealed many anti‐racism initiatives running in the United Kingdom and a smaller number of initiatives running in Canada, the United States, Australia, and other countries. We provide a description of the key themes and messages being used in anti‐racism initiatives, including a variety of components such as TV and radio public service announcements, print materials, social events, competitions, awards, and help‐services. We also discuss how the components of the initiatives correspond with Duckitt's (2001) multi‐level framework for prejudice reduction, operating on four causal levels: (1) perceptual‐cognitive, (2) individual, (3) interpersonal, and (4) societal‐intergroup. Recommendations for enhancing future anti‐racism initiatives are provided. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

The National Diabetes Education Program's “Control Your Diabetes. For Life.” Campaign: Design, Implementation, and Lessons Learned

The National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) is a federally sponsored national partnership including government, nonprofit, professional, and private sector organizations. The NDEP uses social marketing principles and processes to develop and implement awareness campaigns and educational activities to improve the treatment and health status of people with diabetes. Co-sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), NDEP launched its “Control Your Diabetes. For Life.” awareness campaign in 1998. The campaign was designed to educate the millions of Americans with diabetes and their social supporters about the seriousness of diabetes, ways to control the disease, and the benefits of good glucose control. The NDEP conducted extensive audience research and applied behavior change theories and the social marketing framework to design, implement, and evaluate the campaign. From 1998 to 2003, the campaign achieved at least 700 million media impressions with its culturally appropriate television and radio public service announcements, print ads, and newspaper and magazine stories. In addition, over half of people with diabetes indicated awareness of the campaign and NDEP has tracked positive trends in practice of blood glucose testing and awareness of the A1C (also known as the hemoglobin A1C), the best measure of blood glucose control, since the campaign's launch.

Telling Me Quickly

This study found that increasing the pacing of antisubstance radio Public Service Announcements (PSAs) increased perceived effects on self and diminished perceived differences between effects on self and on others. This was more evident for messages with arousing content than for those with calm content. The study used a mixed multivariate design with arousing content (2), production pacing (3), and message (4) as within-subjects factors and order of presentation (4) as a between-subjects factor. The impact of increased pacing was greater for those who made third-person (3P) judgments (others more affected than self) than by those who made first-person (1P) judgments (self more affected than others). In addition to message features, behavior also influenced perceived message effects. Analysis of a subset of PSAs using antismoking messages found that smokers were more likely to make 3P judgments and nonsmokers 1P judgments about message effects. Implications for PSA design are discussed.

Processing Radio PSAs: Production Pacing, Arousing Content, and Age

This experiment uses the limited capacity model of mediated message processing (LC3MP) to investigate the effects of production pacing and arousing content in radio public service announcements (PSAs) on the emotional and cognitive responses of college-age and tween (9–12-year-olds) participants. The LC3MP predicts that both arousing content and production pacing should increase emotional arousal, physiological arousal, cognitive effort, and encoding up to the point of cognitive overload after which cognitive effort and encoding should decrease. Results showed that, as expected, arousing content did increase emotional arousal and cognitive effort for both tweens and college students, though the effect was larger for college students. For production pacing, however, the results were less clear cut. First, it was found that for radio PSAs pacing increased arousal for calm messages only. Further, the effects of production pacing on cognitive effort were larger for tweens and were experienced primarily during the first 25 seconds of the message, while college students were less affected by production pacing, and those effects appeared in the last 25 seconds of the messages. Finally, none of the messages in this experiment resulted in cognitive overload—thus both production pacing and arousing content increased memory for both groups of participants.

Only Tap Water Delivers Value, Safety, and More

This article discusses a campaign launched by AWWA and its member utilities called “Only Tap Water Delivers,” that is intended to educate the public about the value of water and build support for infrastructure investment. The campaign includes print advertisements, talking points, a video, radio public service announcements (PSAs), handouts, and other items that can be adapted to address local circumstances.

National Nutrition Month: A Brief History

The first National Nutrition Week campaign was launched in 1973 with a presidential proclamation, TV and radio public service announcements, news releases, and bumper stickers, all featuring the theme “Invest in Yourself—Buy Nutrition.” From the beginning, National Nutrition Week was enthusiastically embraced by American Dietetic Association (ADA) members as an opportunity to promote the profession as well as to serve as a vehicle for delivering nutrition education messages to the public. Armed with a promotion kit produced in year two, dietetics professionals went to work planning special events in schools, health care facilities, and community centers.

News articles and radio PSAs: developing science-based nutrition and physical activity information for consumers

Learn how to work with the media to promote science-based health information. Nearly two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese and over 13 percent of children and adolescents are overweight. According to Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, overweight and obesity are among the most pressing public health issues in the nation today. The public often hears conflicting advice about diet and physical activity, which causes confusion. The Weight-control Information Network (WIN) provides the general public and health professionals with up-to-date, science-based health information on weight control, obesity, physical activity, and related nutritional issues. WIN is part of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Science-based information reaches many health professionals, but does not always filter down to consumers. WIN broadens its reach to the general public by creating and placing articles and public service announcements (PSAs) in newspapers and on radio stations. The health messages in newspaper articles and PSAs are based on WIN publications, all of which go through a rigorous scientific review including review for compliance with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The resulting messages offer consumers consistent and scientifically accurate information that they can use in their daily lives. Topics of articles include barriers to physical activity, portion control, and management of diabetes through diet and exercise. In 2003, WIN reached over 20,000,000 people through placement of articles in newspapers nationally and over 23,000,000 people through radio PSAs. WIN’s materials are not copyrighted. FUNDING DISCLOSURE:

Exposure to the Sobriety “Checkpoint Strikeforce” Campaign in Maryland: Impact on Driver Perceptions of Vulnerability and Behavior

Objectives: To compare drivers who were: (1) exposed to Maryland's sobriety “Checkpoint Strikeforce” campaign; (2) not exposed but were aware of it; and (3) neither exposed nor aware of it. This six-month campaign involved periodic road-side sobriety checkpoints, in which police attempted to detect and arrest drunk drivers and a series of radio Public Service Announcements (PSAs) that promoted public awareness. Methods: A statewide sample of 1725 drivers were interviewed by telephone to determine their exposure to and awareness of this campaign, as well as their beliefs and behaviors concerning drunk driving and seat belt usage. Results: Relatively few people (9.6%) were exposed in any way to the campaign; however almost 30% were aware of it. Significant increases in perceived vulnerability to arrest for drinking and driving were found among those who were exposed. There were no differences in reported drinking and driving, but seat belt usage in the last 30 days was higher among those who were exposed. There were no differences among those people who had been directly exposed to the campaign (i.e., personally gone through a sobriety checkpoint) and those who were indirectly exposed (i.e., knew a family member or someone else who went through a checkpoint). Conclusions: Exposure to a sobriety checkpoint was associated with increased perceptions of drink-driving risk (i.e., likelihood of getting caught by the police), which was not dependent upon having personally experienced it. Awareness without exposure appears to be insufficient to change perceived risk. The need to increase the reach and frequency of the sobriety “Checkpoint Strikeforce” campaign is indicated.

Expanding self‐help group participation in culturally diverse urban areas: Media approaches to leveraging referent power

AbstractAccumulating research attests to the benefits of self‐help groups for people who have various chronic health problems. Expansion of self‐help group participation may enable a broader portion of society to experience these health benefits. The Media and Education for Self‐Help (MESH) Project was an effort to increase interest in health‐related self‐help groups among middle‐ and lower‐income people in two California urban areas with minority–majority populations. A diverse coalition of self‐help group leaders designed English‐ and Spanish‐language radio public service announcements and posters that were disseminated in Oakland and Los Angeles. The outcome measures in each urban area were self‐help‐group‐related telephone inquiries to local information and referral agencies (English and Spanish language) and the number of individuals attending self‐help groups at agencies hosting many groups. Telephone caller data were also gathered in a nonintervention control urban area (Sacramento). Los Angeles experienced an overall increase in telephone calls about self‐help groups during the MESH intervention, whereas the control urban area had no change in the number of telephone calls over the same period. The initial sharp increase in self‐help‐group‐related telephone calls was not sustained in Oakland, however. The number of Spanish‐language calls about self‐help groups increased 821% in Los Angeles and 149% in Oakland in the period from the 6 months that preceded the project through the first 6 months of the MESH Project. In the MESH Project urban areas, the number of visits to self‐help groups was significantly higher in intervention months than in the same calendar months of the preceding year, particularly in Oakland, where the increase exceeded 300 visits to self‐help groups per month. These intriguing findings are discussed in terms of their health policy and program evaluation implications. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comm Psychol 32: 413–424, 2004.