Newspaper content analysis in evaluation of a community-based participatory project to increase physical activity

This study conducted a newspaper content analysis as part of an evaluation of a community-based participatory research project focused on increasing physical activity through policy and environmental changes, which included activities related to media advocacy and media-based community education. Daily papers (May 2003 to December 2005) from both the intervention and comparison counties were reviewed for topics related to physical activity and an active living environment (e.g. safety, policy, urban design, transportation and recreational resources). A total of 2681 articles from 1764 newspapers were analyzed. The intervention county had a greater proportion of articles on the selected topics. Specifically, the intervention county had a greater proportion of articles in topics related to safety, policy and community initiatives, as well as in sidewalks and recreational facilities; both priority areas for the intervention. Prominence of the articles was assessed using a composite index score. Generally, prominence of the topics analyzed was low. Articles in the sidewalks and recreational facilities topic category in the intervention county had higher prominence scores on average than the comparison county. The study demonstrates that media content analysis can be a valuable component in evaluating community-based interventions.