| This study explored the elements crucial for designing persuasive health communication campaigns using mass media, and it posed recommendations for improving the methodology of health communication and leadership in the field. Experts from social marketing, public health, and commercial advertising were identified using chain sampling and interviewed to gather opinions, insights, and ideas about how to improve health campaigns. Sample campaign materials were collected in order to illustrate points made during the interviews. Five questions were posed to 30 private and public sector communication professionals from the U.S., Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, and the U.K. Interview data and sample campaign materials were analyzed using a case-study synthesis approach.;Synthesis resulted in the identification of 25 recommendations for making technical improvements to health campaigns, including clarification of the role of mass media in a comprehensive campaign, guidelines for the use of positive and negative affective appeals, and reflections on the relationship between the communicator and the audience. This study concluded that (a) public health students need to receive better training on the effective use of mass media in public health; (b) the ethical dimensions of leadership in health communication need to be established; and (c) empathy with and concern for the audience must be the motivating forces in the development of health communication campaigns. This last conclusion has the greatest implication for transforming health communication from what is now perceived by some as a paternalistic discourse on what people "should" do to an exciting and innovative source of entertainment, information, and respectful dialogue between health authorities and the people they serve. |
