Evaluating a Minor Storyline on ER About Teen Obesity, Hypertension, and 5 A Day.
This study evaluates the effects of an ER (NBC) storyline about teen obesity, hypertension, and 5 A Day on knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. The storyline depicted an African American teen who presented at the emergency room with burns from a workplace injury. Upon diagnosis, the teen was discovered to have hypertension and counseled to eat more fruits and vegetables and get more exercise. The evaluation was conducted using three separate datasets, one of which provided data on a sample of primetime viewers before and after the storyline aired. Results showed that the storyline affected self-reported behavior change and had modest impacts on knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Interestingly, these effects were stronger for men than for women, possibly due to men's lower knowledge levels at baseline. Issues including identification with characters and the value of even modest effects on large audiences and the implications of our findings for future evaluations of entertainment education (EE) and other health communication programs are discussed.
Valente
Thomas W
TW
Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Alhambra, California 91803, USA. tvalente@usc.edu
Murphy
Sheila
S
Huang
Grace
G
Gusek
Jodi
J
Greene
Jennie
J
Beck
Vicki
V
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004032:Diet; D004324:Drama; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit / Q000502:physiology; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009753:Nutritive Value; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D040241:Social Marketing; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013690:Television; D014481:United States; D014675:Vegetables / Q000502:physiology