176292 Use of Interactive and Entertainment Media to Motivate and Help Children to Lead Healthier Lives: Meet the Mighty Timoneers

Wednesday, October 29, 2008: 9:30 AM

Mark Marosits, MHA , Worldways Social Marketing, Greenwood Village, CO
Seth Klukoff , Worldways Social Marketing, Cherry Hill, NJ
Tavanya Giles, MPH, CHES , Center for Children's Health Innovation, Nemours Health and Prevention Services, Newark, DE
This is a highly visual, interactive and digital media session that will be presented in the APHA Film and Interactive Theater. Participants will view the digital cartoon series, experience the interactive Web sites, and see the events and event-based activities that are part of an integrated policy, practice and behavior change campaign in Delaware to challenge childhood obesity . The presenters will review the research on which the media approach was based, along with health promotion and creative strategies. The approach and tools for developing and implementing the media aspects of the campaign will be summarized. Early evaluation results will be presented, and a preview of the campaign's second phase of implementation at the school, day care and community experience level will be provided. Participants will gain a clear understanding of the important role that interactive, experiential and entertainment media play in motivating and helping children and families make healthy choices and will gain practical insight and tools for developing their own initiatives. Participants may expect a lively, richly illustrated presentation with practical tools that they can use to help guide the development and management of their own media campaigns to combat childhood obesity and other children's health issues.

Learning Objectives:
1. List the role of interactive and entertainment media in a comprehensive statewide campaign to improve the ability, opportunity and motivation for Delaware’s children to lead healthier lives. 2. Describe the strategic and creative planning behind “The Mighty Timoneers,” a pirate themed health education through entertainment project comprising interactive Web-based media, a digital cartoon series and printed cartoon activity and lifestyle guides. 3. Discuss and review the media produced and list its role in complementing an integrated policy, practice and behavior change campaign to challenge childhood overweight.

Keywords: Interactive Communication, Child Health Promotion

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: For the past thirty years, I have been engaged in academic, professional and personal pursuits toward advancing public health through policy advocacy and social marketing. This has included developing and managing both statewide and regional social marketing and policy advocacy campaigns on behalf of major foundations; federal, state and local public health organizations and nonprofit regional health systems. I am a highly experienced field practioner with academic background in behavior and psychology and health administration, and have served as the Director of the Graduate Program in Health Care Organization and Systems at the University of Denver, grounding me in the relevant academic connections to field practice. My recently co-published People and Places Framework for Public Health serves as an integrative, social-eocological model of health change in the interest of public health improvement and has great relevance to the work of policy advocacy. PLEASE NOTE: With regard to conflict of interest, I am a co-founder and Principal of Worldways Social Marketing, an agency engaged in providing social marketing consultation. However, my participation in this and other APHA presentations is guided by objectivity, absent of bias and will expressly EXCLUDE any mention or promotion of the agency's services. I value the opportunity to present objectively to my public health peers and deeply respect this privelege.
Any relevant financial relationships? Yes

Name of Organization Clinical/Research Area Type of relationship
Worldways Social Marketing Social marketing Owner and Principal

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Challenges in Obesity Prevention
See more of: Public Health Education and Health Promotion