Health Promotion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Health Promotion - Essay Example Campaigns carried out by the mass media helps in exposing a high proportion of the public to health promotion information. Mass media is used as a tool for education on the population on health-related matters (Cook& Frances 2004). Campaigns by the mass media are favorable because they can pass information around, increase awareness and impact a large portion of the population. Interventions by the mass media result in positive health changes on a big scale. These interventions enforce positive health characters in the population. Radio is used by media organizations to broadcast information on health because it can reach many people and still maintain a strong impact. Some media interventions have been classified as cost effective bearing in mind the gains that related to expenditure. Health messages disseminated by the radio are less costly than the television because information on Radio reaches people at their workplaces, in cars and at home. Short educational radio segments are put in between programs when the largest part of the population is tuned in. A research conducted by an American organization found out that the ability people who listen to the radio to recall the broadcast’s details is high even after several months. The findings of the study support the ability of the radio as a mass media tool for disseminating health promotion messages which positively impact listeners. Like other public health campaigns, interventions carried out on the radio must be designed and implemented carefully (Nwaerondu& Thompson 2007). Successful radio interventions use experienced trainers who understand the local community, work together with community leaders, develop programs from existing work that has succeeded in the region, respect accepted and established social structures, use village intermediaries, and encourage uneducated persons to communicate their concerns and ideas