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Mass media campaigns: pregnancy and STIs

Health Factors: Sexual Activity
Decision Makers: Community Organizations, Healthcare Organizations, Schools
Evidence Rating: Some Evidence
Population Reach: 20-49% of WI's population
Impact on Disparities: Likely to increase disparities

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Description

Mass media interventions to decrease pregnancy and STIs use television, radio, internet, and print media to disseminate information regarding safe sex behaviors to a large population in order to increase knowledge, improve risk perception, and change behavior.

Expected Beneficial Outcomes

Increased condom use
Increased HIV and STI knowledge
Decreased number of sexual partners

Evidence of Effectiveness

There is some evidence that mass media interventions decrease risky sexual behaviors and increase HIV and STI knowledge (WHO-Bertrand 2006, Noar 2009a, Agha 2012) and HIV testing among adolescents (Cochrane-Vidanapathirana 2005). However, additional evidence is necessary to confirm effects.

Evidence of effectiveness is stronger for some outcomes than others. Mass media interventions have been shown to increase the frequency of HIV testing, but effects on risk behaviors such as condom use and number of sexual partners are less consistent (Cochrane-Vidanapathirana 2005).

Available research suggests that the most effective mass media interventions define target populations, tailor messages to those populations (Keller 2002, WHO-Bertrand 2006, Noar 2009a), coordinate with existing interventions, and use multiple channels to disseminate their message (Keller 2002, WHO-Bertrand 2006).

One study suggests that mass media interventions are cost effective when they reach a large population in areas of low STI prevalence (Cohen 2004a).

Implementation Examples

United States

There are a variety of mass-media interventions addressing sexual and reproductive health issues in the United States. These interventions use media advocacy, public service announcements (PSAs), entertainment-education (E-E), and other media technologies (Keller 2008).

Implementation Resources

AIDSTAR - AIDSTAR-One. Behavioral interventions: Mass media and HIV prevention. USAID. Accessed on June 19, 2012
Webpage: http://www.aidstar-one.com/focus_areas/prevention/pkb/behavioral_interventions/mass_media_and_hiv_prevention

Citations - Evidence

Agha 2012 - Agha S. A quasi-experimental study to assess the impact of four adolescent sexual health interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa. International Family Planning Perspectives. 2012;28(2):67-70,113-18. Accessed on June 20, 2012
Webpage: http://www.jstor.org/pss/3088237
Cochrane-Vidanapathirana 2005* - Vidanapathirana J, Abramson MJ, Forbes A, Fairley C. Mass media interventions for promoting HIV testing. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2005;(3):CD004775. Accessed on June 19, 2012
Webpage: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD004775.pub2/abstract?systemMessage=Wiley+Online+Library+will+be+disrupted+14+Jan+from+10-12+GMT+for+monthly+maintenance
Cohen 2004a - Cohen DA, Wu SY, Farley TA. Comparing the cost-effectiveness of HIV prevention interventions. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. 2004;37(3):1404-14. Accessed on June 19, 2012
Webpage: http://journals.lww.com/jaids/pages/articleviewer.aspx?year=2004&issue=11010&article=00009&type=abstract
Keller 2002* - Keller SN, Brown JD. Media interventions to promote responsible sexual behavior. Journal of Sex Research. 2002;39(1):67-72. Accessed on June 23, 2012
Webpage: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00224490209552123?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%3dpubmed
Noar 2009a - Noar SM, Palmgreen P, Chabot M, Dobransky N, Zimmerman RS. A 10-year systematic review of HIV/AIDS mass communication campaigns: Have we made progress? Journal of Health Communication. 2009;14(1):15-42. Accessed on June 23, 2012
Webpage: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/10810730802592239
WHO-Bertrand 2006 - Bertrand JT, Anhang R. The effectiveness of mass media in changing HIV/AIDS-related behavior among young people in developing countries. WHO Technical Report Series. 2006;938:205-41; discussion 317-41. Accessed on June 23, 2012
Webpage: http://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/documents/trs_938/en/index.html

Citations - Implementation Examples

Keller 2008 - Keller S. 3.0 Using media to address adolescent sexual health: Lessons learned at home. Washington, DC: National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy; 2008. Accessed on July 2, 2012
Webpage: http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/resources/monster/

* Journal subscription may be required for access.

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Decision Makers

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Evidence Rating

Level of effectiveness based on a scan of academic literature and key recommendations of leading organizations.

  • Scientifically Supported Numerous studies or systematic review(s) with positive results
  • Some Evidence Research suggests positive impacts; further study may be warranted
  • Expert Opinion Recommended by credible groups*; research evidence limited
  • Insufficient Evidence Evidence limited or unavailable; further study warranted
  • Mixed Evidence Evidence mixed; further study warranted
  • Evidence of Ineffectiveness Research consistently shows program is detrimental or has no effect

Although many policies and programs are recommended by credible groups, we apply the rating ‘expert opinion’ only when policies are recommended but limited scientific evidence of effectiveness is available.

* The American Heritage Dictionary defines credible as 'capable of being believed; plausible.' and 'worthy of confidence; reliable.' To be considered an 'expert recommendation,' policies and programs must be recommended by one or more organizations that are recognized for their impartial expertise in the area of interest and have limited evidence available.

Potential Population Reach

Portion of Wisconsin's population likely to be reached by a policy or program if implemented statewide, based on its characteristics (e.g., target population(s), geographic limitations, and potential implementers).

<1%   20-49%
1-9%   50-99%
10-19%   100%

Potential Population Reach

Portion of Wisconsin's population likely to be reached by a policy or program if implemented statewide, based on its characteristics (e.g., target population(s), geographic limitations, and potential implementers).

<1%   20-49%
1-9%   50-99%
10-19%   100%

Potential Impact on Health Disparities

Likely impact of a given policy or program on racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, geographic or other disparities in Wisconsin based on its characteristics (e.g., target audience, mode of delivery, etc.) and best available evidence related to disparities.

  • Likely to decrease disparities
  • No impact on disparities likely
  • Likely to increase disparities