title: The use of a closed-circuit hospital television channel to promote health: the reach and appeal of RPAtv to patients and visitors.
abstract: Closed-circuit television has the potential to promote health in hospitals, as a significant number of patients watch large amounts of television (TV) during their stays. This project sought to investigate the potential of a dedicated hospital TV channel to communicate health messages in an entertaining way by assessing the reach and appeal of a closed-circuit hospital TV channel - RPAtv. A cross-sectional survey of 162 inpatients and visitors at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital was conducted. Sixty-four percent of participants were aware of RPAtv, with patients (72%) significantly more likely (P < 0.001) to be aware of RPAtv than visitors (41%). Almost 60% of those who were aware of the channel had viewed it. Of those who had viewed RPAtv, 73.3% rated the programming as "good" or "very good". When asked about programming preferences, 34% suggested that the channel should include health and hospital information. However, 66% said that they would rather watch programming that was entertaining, light-hearted and escapist. The high approval rating of programming by viewers suggests that the channel is improving the experience of patients and visitors during their time in hospital. However, its effectiveness as a vehicle for health promotion could be somewhat limited. Any health education-focused objectives of similar channels need to be realistic about the extent of likely increases in health knowledge.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia. criss@email.cs.nsw.gov.au.
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Orr
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Catsi
authors.forename: Nermeen
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Guirguis
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Balafas
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rissel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006302:Health Services Research; D006747:Hospital Communication Systems / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000193:education* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D009517:New South Wales; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013690:Television / Q000706:statistics & numerical data