H571 – Communication Theories Quiz Assignments #2 grades & #3 questions General introduction Christopher – Attributes & Reception-Yielding Swathi - Elaboration Likelihood Model Darcie – Social Marketing Lauralee: Mass media effectiveness (Abroms & Maibach) Tara: Branding (Evans et al., 2008) Alicia Changing policies (Freudenberg et al., 2009) Wrap-up

Some Behavior Change Tools Education o Effective when goals of society align with those of target audience  Benefits are attractive, immediate, obvious, low costs, skills/resources to change are available Law/policy development o Effective when citizens are unlikely to change on their own, and society is unwilling to pay the costs associated with risky/unhealthy behavior Marketing Effective when goals of society and those of the citizens are not entirely consistent, but citizens can be influenced to change

HC is inherently Transdisciplinary Mass and speech communication Health education Marketing Journalism Public relations Psychology Politics and Policy Informatics Epidemiology

Over the past years: How have mass media changed? How has public health changed? –hint: the “new” public health How have health behavior theories changed? –Hint: Ecologies What are some of the effects of all of these changes?

Some Changes in Past 30 Years Broadcast  Narrowcast Rise of the internet – www. Rise of social media Reduction of the role of “Gatekeepers” Rise of ecological models Move from people to places

Importance of Context Advances in technology have changed the communication landscape. An ecological perspective of communication defines reflexive creators and consumers of information rather than just senders and receivers. These creators/consumers are embedded in a system influenced by social structures, history, and politics. In the context of health promotion, communication strategies are used to persuade and affect changes in knowledge, attitudes, norms and self-efficacy, based on the assumption that these underlie behavior choices.

Student Presentations Christopher – Attributes & the Reception-Yielding Model Swathi - Elaboration Likelihood Model Darcie: Social Marketing Lauralee: Mass media effectiveness (Abroms & Maibach) Tara: Branding (Evans et al., 2008) Alicia Changing policies (Freudenberg et al.) Me again – Summary comments

Ecological and Multilevel Tailored messages at the individual level Targeted messages at the group level Social marking at the community level Media advocacy at the policy level Campaigns at the population level

Multiple Health Behavior Theories are Relevant to Health Communication Theory of Reasoned Action Theory of Planned Behavior Health Belief Model Information, Motivation, Behavior Model Protection Motivation Theory Social Cognitive Theory TTI Communication-specific models

Societal-level Theories I Social conflict and change Media as agents of social change and media’s role in social movements/conflicts Media are responsive to other forces in the system Media messages reinforce dominant values – social control Media are “guard dogs,” neither “lap dogs” nor “attack dogs” Media advance the interests of social movements – media advocacy

Societal-level Theories II Knowledge-gap hypothesis –High SES people more responsive to new information Agenda-setting hypothesis –Selective coverage sets public priorities Spiral of silence –Media “framing” can communicate the impression that one view is more acceptable than another, thus silencing the other Cultivation hypothesis –Persistent and sustained exposure cultivates the audiences view of the world (e.g., exposure to smoking or sex or violence in movies)

Implications for Health Promotion Practice A variety of communication strategies and tools can be used in health promotion practice; the key is understanding in which context to apply each one. Key considerations include audience characteristics, what channels they use most, who they trust, and what information they find salient.

Elements of Good/Effective Health Communication Campaigns Goal-oriented attempts to inform, persuade or motivate behavior change Ideally aimed at the individual, network, organizational and community/societal levels Aimed at a relatively large, well-defined audience Provide non-commercial benefits to the individual and/or society Occur during a given time period, which may range from a few weeks to many years Involve an organized set of communication activities

Three Elements of Effective Campaigns Mass Media Interpersonal Communication Community Events This combination has proven to be the most effective in public health campaigns