Exam Question With a partner (Kieran & Olly, Alex & Vicky, Martin, Vicky & Keyleigh) Using the issue of reliability evaluate research into two studies of health belief (15)

Methods of health promotion G543

Write down a list of media campaigns related to health promotion Evaluate these and explain reasons why they may work and reasons why they may not.

Describe problems associated with researching the effectiveness of media campaigns

Media Campaigns Cowpe (1989) – chip-pan fires Public information films on television often tell us to do very sensible things like fit smoke alarms. They might well affect our attitudes. But do they affect our behaviour?

It is possible to estimate changes in behaviour by comparing accident rates before and after an advertising campaign. Cowpe (1989) looked at the effectiveness of a series of advertisements about the dangers of chip pan fires. Before the advertisements, people were asked about this hazard and most of them claimed that they always adopted safe practices.

However, the statistics from fire brigades about the frequency of chip pan fires and the descriptions by people of what they should do suggested that their behaviour was not as safe as they thought. A television advertising campaign was developed and broadcast showing dramatic images of exactly how these fires develop, and how people should deal with them. The adverts ended with a simple statement, such as ‘Of course, if you don’t overfill your chip pan in the first place, you won’t have to do any of this’.

By comparing fire brigade statistics for the areas which received the advertisements, and those for the areas which did not, the advertisers found that the advertisements had produced a 12% reduction in chip pan fires. Surveys taken after the series of advertisements showed that people had more accurate knowledge about what they should do in the event of a chip pan fire than before.

The implication from this report is clear. Public information films and health promotion advertisements are most effective if they contain information about what to do rather than what to think or what to be scared of.

Just in case you’re interested, the way to deal with a chip pan fire is to cover it with a wet towel. If you just pour water on it you’ll get the blaze shown in the picture.]

Evaluation Self-efficacy: The studies show that if people know what to do and are confident in their ability to do it, then they can take appropriate safe decisions. Usefulness ? Refer to the health promotion section, particularly self-efficacy (the opposite of learned helplessness)

Pause for thought… List the different extraneous variables that could have influenced the results…

Exam Question With a partner (Kieran & Olly, Alex & Vicky, Martin, Vicky & Keyleigh) Using the issue of reliability evaluate research into two studies of health belief (15)

Legislation On the 1st July 2007 legislation was passed to ban smoking in all enclosed public places and workplaces. On the 1st October 2007 the legal age for buying cigarettes increased to 18. What affect has this legislation had? Is it an effective way to change health behaviour? What other health legislation has been put in place recently? Use the internet to find further examples.

A3 paper, mind map with ‘Bicycle study’ in the middle of your page

Dannenberg Bicycle helmet laws and educational campaigns

Aim A review of the effects of passing a law requiring all children to wear cycle helmets

Methodology Natural experiment Laws passed in Howard County Children under 16 to wear approved safety helmets

Participants Children from 47 schools in Howard County (and two control groups, Montgomery county, who already had a campaign to promote bicycle safety and Baltimore County) Age groups were selected (9-10, 12-13, 14-15) 7322 children were sent questionnaires

Design Independent Naturally falling into one of the three counties

Procedure Questionnaires containing 4 point likert scale Questions included focus on bicycle use, helmet ownership, and use, awareness of law, sources of information about helmets and peer pressure

Findings Response rates between 41 – 53% across the three age groups and counties Changes in wearing cycle helmets: Howard County to 37.5% Montgomery County – 8.4 to 12.6% Baltimore County – 6.7 to 11.1%

Findings Young children increased their usage the most (but was that the child or the parent?). 87% of children (9 – 15) in Howard County were aware of the law 38% had worn helmets on their last ride

Conclusions Large increase in the reported rate of cycle helmet wearing Legislation works No major increase in the other two counties even though one has a campaign. Legislations are more effective than educational campaigns

Validity checked Results correlated with an observational study on helmet wearing. Similar rates of cycle helmet usage observed

Evaluate the study

Fear Arousal Does this method work in health promotion? What do you think? Design a study for fear arousal and its links to communication about health related issues

Study 6 Janis & Feshbach (1953): Effects of Fear Arousing Communications

Aim To study the motivational effect of fear arousal in health promotion communications

Sample: The entire freshman class of a large Connecticut high school (mean age 15) with roughly equal males and females.

Procedure: Participants were divided into four groups. Three of the groups were given a 15-minute illustrated lecture on tooth decay and the importance of oral hygiene. The fourth group acted as a control The three experimental groups were given different forms of the lecture: - Strong fear: emphasising the painful consequences of tooth decay and gum disease. - Moderate fear: the dangers were described in a milder and more factual way. - Minimal fear: the consequences of tooth neglect were rarely mentioned.

Procedure Participants were given a questionnaire one week before the lecture, a second questionnaire immediately after the lecture and a third questionnaire one week after the lecture.

Findings - Strong fear group had higher levels of fear arousal and greater anxiety about tooth decay immediately after the lecture. - All groups gained similar amounts of information about tooth decay, although the strong fear group rated the information more positively than the others, they also found it more ‘disgusting’. - Minimal fear group was most likely to change behaviour (36% change from previous dental hygiene), next likely was the moderate fear group (22%) and lastly the strong fear group (8%).

Conclusions Explain in detail

Evaluate research

Discuss problems of conducting research into the causes of stress (15) Discuss the problems of conducting research into health promotions (15)