title: A Social Marketing Approach to 1% Milk Use: Resonance Is the Key.
abstract: The U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend low-fat milk consumption, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) programs follow these guidelines to develop health education programs for SNAP recipients. This study evaluated a multilevel media intervention promoting low-fat milk use among Oklahoma SNAP recipients, a population often missed. Behavior change was measured with pre- and postintervention telephone interviews with SNAP recipients ( n = 860). Immediately following the intervention, self-reported purchases of 1% milk, the focus of behavior change, significantly increased to 7.9% from 4.1%-a relative improvement of 92.7%, χ2(1, n = 824) = 5.8, p = .02. Milk nutrition knowledge scores significantly improved as well, t(846) = 2.9, p = .004, and low-fat milk users exhibited more milk nutrition knowledge than high-fat milk users, t(437) = 4.0, p = .000. The intervention, which resonated with the priority audience, was well received ( Mdn = 6, 1, 7). Factors contributing to its success included a gain-based message strategy and clearly articulating the desired behavior. Salient messages personalized the issues and concerns raised by the priority audience-all the vitamins and minerals without the fat. Findings suggest that matching gender and ethnicity mediated the effect among those most resistant to substituting low-fat for high-fat milk.
authors.affiliation: 1 University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
authors.forename: Karla Jaye
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Finnell
authors.affiliation: 1 University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: John
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000072001:Diet, Healthy; D005260:Female; D063105:Food Assistance; D006266:Health Education; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008892:Milk; D018673:Nutrition Policy; D009825:Oklahoma; D011203:Poverty; D036301:Qualitative Research; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D057566:Self Report; D040241:Social Marketing
keywords: behavior change; health education; health promotion; nutrition; outcome evaluation; program planning and evaluation; social marketing health communication