Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #105304

Connie Kohler, DrPH¹, Yoko Kawamura, MPH², and Pamela Plummer, MPH¹. (1) Department of Health Behavior, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health, RPHB 227, 1530 3rd Ave S, Birmingham, AL 35294-0022, (2) Department of Health Behavior, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1530 3rd Avenue South RPHB 227, Birmingham, AL 35294-0022, (205)975-5463, ykawamura@uab.edu

Health disparities among racial groups are a consistent concern in Alabama. African Americans are more likely to be affected by diabetes, hypertension, and stroke, and to face disproportional mortality from these conditions. Chronic diseases can be prevented by healthier lifestyles and the excess mortality can be abridged by better controlling these conditions. BODYLOVE, a public health radio drama based in entertainment-education theory, has been broadcast across Alabama since September 2004. The BODYLOVE project is intended to reach traditionally hard-to-reach populations. The purpose of this paper is to report the progress of this innovate project in changing knowledge, attitudes and behavior regarding chronic disease risk factors.

Methods: Program evaluation is being conducted through a telephone ‘quiz' and a longitudinal panel survey with radio station listeners. To date, 212 individuals completed the short quiz and were invited to participate in baseline and follow-up surveys. About 94% (199) have agreed to participate to date. Participants, including both listeners and non-listeners to the BODYLOVE episodes, are mailed surveys after every twenty episodes aired by their radio station. One-hundred-thirty-nine (68%) baseline surveys and 27 (13.5%) follow-up surveys have been returned so far.

Results: Along with characteristics of the listening audiences, we will report changes in knowledge, attitudes and chronic disease risk factors including physical activity, diet, smoking and stress control. Using regression analysis procedures, level of change in these activities will be examined in terms of level of exposure to the program. The results will be reported along with conclusions about short-terms program effectiveness.

Learning Objectives:

• 1. Describe characteristics of entertainment-education strategies,
• 2. List challenges in assessing a health communication program using mass media,
• 3. Articulate the procedures in conducting effectiveness evaluation of a health communication program using mass media, and
• 4. Discuss potential dynamic effects caused by a community-based health communication program

Keywords: Health Communications, Health Behavior

Related Web page: www.bodylove.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.