From Awareness to Commitment in Public Health Campaigns

The Awareness Myth

By (author) Myleea D. Hill, Marceline Thompson-Hayes

Not available to order

Publication date:

27 June 2017

Length of book:

152 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9781498533300

Attempts to raise awareness on a multitude of health issues may actually be counter-productive and even dangerous to solving contemporary health problems. From Awareness to Commitment in Public Health Campaigns: The Awareness Myth discusses several myths of the benefits of raising awareness. Myleea Hill and Marceline Thompson-Hayes argue that using awareness as an end-point in public health campaigns is misguided and does more harm than good. They offer a model of the current awareness culture that simply leads to an ever-increasing cycle of awareness without behavioral change or sustained participation and support for causes. Then, they demonstrates how three factors (recognition involvement, knowledge-seeking and education, and participation) intersect to create commitment to solving and alleviating health problems through various methods of communication (social media, mass communication, and interpersonal communication).
From Awareness to Commitment in Public Health Campaigns: The Awareness Myth contains well-researched evidence reminding us that awareness does not necessarily translate into action. The use of personal stories to illustrate major points in the book speaks to the reader’s heart and the authors provide scores of examples of effective strategies to break out of “slacktivism” and create effective health campaigns. This book is a solid guide for health communicators and is a must for courses in health communication, campaign development, or strategic communication.