Entertainment-Education and Health and Risk Messaging

Abstract

Entertainment-education (EE) began as a communication approach that uses both entertainment and education to engender individual and social change, but is emerging as a distinct theoretical, practice, and evidence-based communication subdiscipline. EE has roots in oral and performing arts traditions spanning thousands of years, such as morality tales, religious storytelling, and the spoken word. Modern-day EE, meanwhile, is produced in both fiction and nonfiction designs that include many formats: local street theater, music, puppetry, games, radio, television, and social media. A classic successful example of EE is the children’s television program Sesame Street, which is broadcast in over 120 countries. EE, however, is a strategy that has been successfully planned, implemented, and evaluated in countries around the world for children and adults alike. EE scholarship has traditionally focused on asking, “Does it work?” but more recent theorizing and research is moving toward understanding how EE works, drawing from multidisciplinary theories. From a research standpoint, such scholarship has increasingly showcased a wide range of methodologies. The result of these transformations is that EE is becoming an area of study, or subdiscipline, backed by an entire body of theory, practice, and evidence. The theoretical underpinnings, practice components, and evidence base from EE may be surveyed via the peer-reviewed literature published over the past 10 years. However, extensive work in social change from EE projects around the world has not all made it into the published literature. EE historically began as a communication approach, one tool in the communication toolbox. Over time, the nascent approach became its own full-fledged strategy focused on individual change. Backed by emerging technologies, innovative examples from around the globe, and new variations in implementation, it becomes clear that the field of EE is emerging into a discrete theoretical, practice, and evidence-based subdiscipline within communication that increasingly recognizes the inherent role of individuals, families, communities, organizations, and policies on improving the conditions needed for lasting social change.

How Fear Appeal Approaches in COVID-19 Health Communication May Be Harming the Global Community

“…There are several evidence-based and promising strategies that can be used as alternatives to fear appeals. For example, tactics such as education-entertainment (Sood et al, 2017), humor (Blanc & Brigaud, 2013), opinion leaders (Valente & Pumpuang, 2007), and celebrity appeals (Myrick, 2017) may be more innovative approaches. Keeping these in mind, we offer the below phased approach to creating COVID-19 health communication messages and materials that should have a greater likelihood of successful behavior change while not risking unintended consequences.…”

Entertainment-Education Campaigns and COVID-19: How Three Global Organizations Adapted the Health Communication Strategy for Pandemic Response and Takeaways for the Future

“…Entertainment-education (EE) is "the intentional placement of educational content in entertainment messages" (Singhal & Rogers, 2002, p. 117). Originally designed as a narrative health approach, EE has evolved to include a range of topics, channels, and genres (Sood et al, 2017). EE is traditionally designed over the course of months and years using planned behavior change and prosocial messaging with formative research and input by funders, experts, and community members.…”

Fish Tales: How Narrative Modality, Emotion, and Transportation Influence Support for Sustainable Aquaculture

“…Future research should explore whether such narratives can lead to support for aquaculture in the long run—that is, beyond the constraints of a short online survey. Fourth, we included just a single narrative text and narrative video in this research, but much of the success of narrative persuasion, especially in the context of entertainment education, has historically been linked to other mass media platforms, such as radio, and formats, such as serial dramas (Sood et al, 2017). Thus, future research should consider exploring the utility of audio narrative as well.…”