141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

284087
Evaluation of a public health media counter-advertising campaign about sugary drinks in los angeles county, 2012

Monday, November 4, 2013

Brenda Robles, MPH , Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
Jonathan Blitstein, PhD , Public Health Policy Research Program, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC
Allie Lieberman, MPH , Community Health Promotion Research, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC
Noel Barragan, MPH , Division of Chronic Diease and Injury Prevention, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
Lauren Gase, MPH , Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
Tony Kuo, MD, MSHS , Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
Introduction: During 2012, the Choose Health LA (CHLA) “Sugar Pack” counter-advertising campaign was broadly launched across multiple public transit channels in Los Angeles County (LAC) to raise public awareness about sugary drinks' contribution to excess calories and obesity. Few studies to date have examined the contributory effects of counter-advertising strategies on reducing sugary drink consumption in the population. In this study, we report on results from an impact evaluation of this public ad campaign.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional street intercept survey to collect socio-demographics, information on sugary drink consumption (e.g., knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, awareness, and behavioral intentions), and level of exposure to the CHLA ad campaign. The survey was administered to a sample of LAC adults targeted by the campaign (n=1,041). We examined the relationships between varying levels of ad exposure (high versus low) and individual-level outcomes including recall, awareness, and intention to change sugary drink consumption behaviors.

Results: The majority of adults surveyed were Latino (41%), between the ages of 25 and 44 years (38%), male (53%). Over half (55%) reported seeing the CHLA ads two or more times within the past two months; among them, respondents reported being very likely/likely to reduce their own (62%) or to encourage their friends and family (72%) to reduce their daily sugary drink consumption.

Conclusions: Findings suggest that hard-hitting ads about obesity prevention topics (i.e., reducing sugary drink consumption) may leave lasting impressions and can complement other approaches in obesity prevention (e.g., changes to the built and food environments).

Learning Areas:
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Chronic disease management and prevention
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Program planning
Public health or related education
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Describe the Choose Health LA ”Sugar-Pack” counter-advertising campaign that focused on increasing public awareness about the adverse effects of excess sugary drink consumption. Discuss how counter-advertising strategies might complement other obesity prevention efforts in the county of Los Angeles and elsewhere in the United States.

Keywords: Evaluation, Media Campaigns

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to present the content of my abstract because I received an MPH in Community Health Sciences, work for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH), and was the Principal Investigator for the Choose Health LA “Sugar Pack” Street Intercept Survey Evaluation.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

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.