Changing the way people think about health-enhancing physical activity: do mass media campaigns have a role?

Abstract

Mass media campaigns are conducted to influence community norms around health behaviours, including physical activity. Campaigns can reach large populations at relatively low cost, to influence awareness, knowledge and beliefs through to intention and behaviour change. We reviewed 15 campaigns with an explicit focus on physical activity, and explored impacts upon a range of proximal and distal variables. Campaigns achieved high recall, with a median of 70% of the target group aware of the campaign. Increases in knowledge or attitudes to physical activity were found among half the campaigns that reported this measure. Few campaigns reported other proximal variables, such as saliency, beliefs, self-efficacy or behavioural intention. Increases in physical activity were reported among motivated sub-groups of volunteers, but few campaigns reported population increases in activity. Campaigns increase awareness of the issue of physical activity but may not have a population-level effect on behaviour. Campaigns should focus more on influencing proximal variables, such as social norms, to bring about long-term behaviour change. This should be seen as part of a broader strategy, including policy and environmental change. Evaluation designs that measure the full range of variables are preferred to an over-concentration on behaviour alone.

Effects of a Mass Media Campaign to Increase Physical Activity Among Children: Year-1 Results of the VERB Campaign

“…Achieving awareness and understanding of a campaign brand and message is an essential first step in influencing children's attitudes and behaviors. 14,17,35 Two analyses were used to determine the campaign's behavioral effects for year 1. One analysis answered the following question: Did children's activity increase incrementally as their awareness of VERB increased (relationship of levels of advertising to levels of physical activity)?…”

“…13 Evaluations of media campaigns promoting physical activity, all with adults, have shown effects on awareness, attitudes, and beliefs, but results for behavioral effects have been inconsistent. [14][15][16] Models of campaign effects suggest that achieving behavioral changes requires very high levels of awareness, which are difficult to achieve without substantial investment. 17,18 Also problematic is attribution of effects to the campaign and not to secular trends or "noise" from other interventions.…”

Obesidad y cáncer en Chile: estimación de las fracciones atribuibles poblacionales

“…Algunas medidas exitosas en este ámbito han sido la regulación de alimentos no saludables (publicidad, impuestos específicos), subvención de productos saludables, el rotulado de los alimentos, involucrar a la industria en mejoras de productos, entre otras 21 . Respecto a la actividad física, se deben fomentar estrategias dirigidas a facilitar que las personas puedan caminar y hacer uso de la bicicleta y del transporte público por sobre el privado [22][23][24][25] .…”

Does Neighbourhood Walkability Moderate the Effects of Mass Media Communication Strategies to Promote Regular Physical Activity?

“…The campaign waves delivered Target Audience Rating Points (TARPs) of 1,465, 1,156, and 916 across the three waves, respectively. TARPs are commonly used in Australia and measure how many times someone in the target audience is likely to have viewed a television program during which the advertisement was aired [4]. TARPS for these waves were higher than other published Australian mass media campaign studies [21,22].…”

“…In Australia, the USA and the UK, mass media and social marketing campaigns are used as a component of a public health approach to promote physical activity to individuals. These campaigns are designed to raise awareness and emphasise the need for behavioural change [2,3], as well as influence social norms with regard to increasing physical activity [4].…”