An article in the latest issue of Preventing Chronic Diseases describes the replication of the Wheeling Walks program. From the abstract:
METHODS: A quasi-experimental design was used to determine whether the results
of a previous communitywide physical activity social marketing campaign
conducted in Wheeling, WVa (population, 31,420) could be replicated in the
larger community of Broome County, New York (population, 200,536)... Promotion activities included paid advertising, media relations, and community
health activities. Impact was determined by preintervention and postintervention
random-digit-dial cohort telephone surveys in intervention and comparison
counties... RESULTS: The paid advertising
included 4835 television and 3245 radio gross rating points and 10 quarter-page
newspaper advertisements. News media relations resulted in 28 television news
stories, 5 radio stories, 10 newspaper stories, and 125 television news
promotions. Exposure to the campaign was reported by 78% of Broome County survey
respondents. Sixteen percent of Broome County participants changed from
nonactive to active walkers; 11% changed from nonactive to active walkers in the
comparison county (adjusted odds ratio, 1.71; 95% confidence interval,
0.99-2.95). Forty-seven percent of Broome County respondents reported any
increase in total weekly walking time, compared with 36% for the comparison
county (adjusted odds ratio, 1.66; 95% confidence interval, 1.14-2.44).
CONCLUSION: The BC Walks campaign replicated the earlier Wheeling Walks
initiative, although increases in walking were smaller in the BC Walks campaign.
Comment: This is one of those examples where the authors label the intervention as a social marketing one. As much as some people practice (and even preach) to the contrary, a series of advertisements and earned media promotions do not constitute a social marketing program. While abstracts are a limiting factor for fully describing programs, authors should keep in mind that in the digital world their abstracts are likely to be the most frequently read part of the article. If you miss putting all 4Ps in the Methods or program description, well...
Unfortunately, in the full report the rest of the intervention is described as: 'Community health activities were designed to provide social networks, to offer social support, and to reinforce the campaign message.' Still looking for those other Ps. And peer reviewed too!
Technorati Tags: Community Intervention, Health Communication, Physical Activity, Social Marketing
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