Background: This study examines the efficacy of a multi-modal entertainment-education (EE) intervention on water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) behaviors, beliefs, and self-efficacy in Ethiopia.

Methods: Participants were surveyed from eight woredas, with intervention and control groups matched for accessibility, security, and demographic similarity. A multi-stage sampling strategy identified households with children under five years old. Data were collected using a structured survey administered via Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI), with a 98% response rate (N=750).

Results: Exposure to the intervention’s radio talk show and community engagement components were independently associated with positive WASH outcomes. For behaviors, adding radio exposure explained 9.7% of variance (R2 = .097, P < 0.001), while community exposure further increased the explained variance to 17% (R2 = .17, P < 0.001), rendering radio exposure nonsignificant. Similar improvements were observed for beliefs (radio: (R2 = .063, P < 0.001; community R2 = .111, P < 0.001) and self-efficacy (radio: B = 0.20, P < 0.007; community: B = .024, p < 0.001).

Conclusions: Our findings suggest the value of integrating mass media with community-based interventions to enhance health communication outcomes. Radio effectively disseminates key messages, while community engagement addresses social and cultural barriers, driving sustainable behavior changes. This dual approach demonstrates the transformative potential of EE programs in low-resource settings, offering actionable insights for health communication practice and research. Future studies should explore longitudinal effects and the mechanisms through which community interventions amplify mass media’s impact on behavior at the individual level.

Background:

Mass media plays a critical role in adolescent health education, but message effectiveness depends on language choice, platform, and topic relevance. This study assessed how these factors influence comprehension and recall of health messages delivered through the You Only Live Once (YOLO) interactive TV drama series in Ghana.

Methods:

A mixed-methods approach included surveys, focus groups, and social media analytics. Fifty adolescents aged 15–25 from Accra and Tamale participated. Data collected focused on language preferences (English mixed with local languages), preferred platforms (TV, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook), and recall of key health topics. Social media engagement metrics (2,000–8,000 views per post) were analyzed.

Results:

In Accra, 85% of adolescents engaged with YOLO via TV and social media; in Tamale, this figure was 80%. Seventy-five percent preferred bilingual content, citing better understanding and relatability. Adolescents most frequently recalled sexual and reproductive health (SRH), mental health, and malaria prevention messages. Storytelling and relatable characters enhanced message retention.

Conclusion:

Bilingual, narrative-driven health communication, delivered across multiple digital platforms, increases adolescent engagement and message retention. Future adolescent health interventions should integrate culturally relevant storytelling with digital media strategies for greater impact.

Keywords: Adolescent health, social behavior change, bilingual messaging, media engagement, YOLO TV drama, Ghana

Background:

In Southern Province, Zambia, a novel, holistic intervention was developed to address HIV/AIDS, family planning, and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) among youth (15–24 years) and adults (25–49 years). The intervention, led by Population Media Center’s methodology, aimed to generate awareness, shift attitudes, and influence behaviors through an integrated approach combining mass media and interpersonal communication.

Methods:

A four-episode mini-series (Kasensa Kabuumi – Fountain of Life), broadcast via eight partner radio stations with repeat airings, was supported by extension activities designed to deepen engagement. These included an eight-episode radio talk show to amplify key messages and foster community discussions, as well as a Mini-Series Exhibition Event featuring health education, service provision, and participation from key stakeholders such as the Ministry of Health, NGOs, and local leaders. A pre-post evaluation measured changes in awareness, attitudes, and behaviors among audiences.

Results:

Endline findings indicate positive changes across all three focus areas, with significant differences between exposed and unexposed individuals. Exposure to the intervention was associated with increased awareness, improved attitudes, and positive behavior change, with stronger impacts seen in SGBV-related attitudes and behaviors.

Conclusions:

Findings suggest that a condensed, high-intensity mini-series can effectively drive awareness, attitudinal shifts, and behavior change within a short period. This approach offers a compelling alternative to traditional long-term episodic formats. When combined with complementary activities, such storytelling can enhance engagement on critical social issues and amplify impact. These results underscore the importance of integrated, multi-platform strategies in fostering meaningful and lasting social and behavioral change.

In today’s polarized, fractured information ecosystem, Americans receive health communication from a vast array of messengers and platforms. Whether about COVID-19 or vaccines, people seek and learn health information and news from increasingly diverse digital and traditional sources. Not all sources are equally trusted or trustworthy, however. Most Americans value local news and local journalists, for example. At the same time, among young adults under 30, nearly 4 in 10 get news from social media influencers. In this session, we will set the stage with a presentation of nationally representative data on trends in Americans’ trust in science, as well as their diverse news sources. Then, in a moderated conversation, we will discuss the opportunities and challenges for health communication delivered by these two important information sources: social media influencers and local health journalists. Discussants will bring their perspectives as a Washington, DC-area local health reporter and applied public health researcher leveraging social media influencers to disseminate evidence-based health information.

The experience of navigating and responding to health misinformation since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic emphasizes the importance of continued development of effective, pro-social science communication strategies, particularly as government policy shifts from established scientific consensus, and public information lacks the constructive guidance for individuals to protect themselves and respond to potential illness. Building off the Influence-to-Action Model (I-AM) (Sin, Rutter & Washburn, 2022), this paper furthers this methodology through analyzing the discourse surrounding the current 2025 U.S. measles outbreak. Specifically, we identify which messages or narratives are most salient and what factors within these messages contribute to a lack of trust in public health experts, vaccine hesitancy, and a rise in unproven alternative therapies.

To do this, we will draw on two components: first, our previous work analyzing COVID-19 artifacts in I-AM, and second, a rigorous literature review on recent information salience and health communication research. Our testing entails identifying current discourse themes surrounding the 2025 measles outbreak and extracting relevant artifacts, including factual, false, or misconstrued narratives. Artifacts are analyzed and scored for the presence and strength of included factors, and a cumulative score is calculated to assess the relative impact of the artifact groups, which are then ranked. By determining the most salient narratives and thus furthering our understanding of the most influential factors within health communication, we seek to provide actionable suggestions to enhance the effectiveness of future messaging, particularly for rapidly developing mass-health events and advancing pro-social guidelines for prevention and treatments.