Efficacy of child abuse and neglect prevention messages in the Florida Winds of Change campaign.
Public awareness campaigns have been included in universal, communitywide, and programmatic approaches aimed at preventing child abuse and neglect. More evaluation of campaign effects is needed to identify their place on the continuum of evidence-based programs. This article reports on an efficacy study of the Florida Winds of Change campaign using a randomized experimental design. Investigators conducted an online survey of a web-based panel of Florida residents with children 18 years of age or younger living in the home. Six outcomes were measured at baseline and a 30-day follow-up. Three outcomes referred to knowledge of child development, child disciplinary techniques, and community resources for parents. Prevention attitudes or beliefs, motivation, and action were also assessed. Respondents were exposed to three public service announcements and a selection of parent resource material. Logistic regression models revealed that exposure to campaign messages was associated with significant increases in all but one of the campaign outcomes.
Department of Prevention and Community Health, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia 20037, USA. sphwde@gwumc.edu
W Douglas
WD
Evans
Mary Kay
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Falconer
Munziba
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Khan
Christie
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Ferris
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016487:Parenting; D010290:Parents; D011322:Primary Prevention / Q000379:methods*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D040241:Social Marketing; D055815:Young Adult