Initial recall and understanding of a multimedia communication campaign to promote physical activity among tweens: a...

To examine the degree of awareness and understanding of a multimedia communication campaign (WIXX) aimed at promoting physical activity among tweens (9-13years old) during the early phases of campaign implementation.

This study adopted a repeated posttest-only design. Two cross-sectional web-based surveys were conducted in Québec, Canada, among tweens three (T1; N=400) and nine (T2; N=403) months after the launch of the campaign in 2012. The activities of the WIXX campaign included website development, community events and paid advertisements. Recall, recognition and understanding of the campaign were the three outcomes. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine factors associated with the assessed outcomes.

The likelihood of having unaided/aided recall (OR=0.7; 95%CI: 0.5, 0.9) rather than no recall decreased between T1 and T2. A significant sex∗survey period interaction effect was observed for recall (p=.04). Tweens were also less likely to recognize the WIXX advertisements at T2 (OR=0.6; 95%CI: 0.5, 0.9) and a significant school grade∗survey period interaction was observed for recognition (p=.002).

The likelihood of recall and recognition decreased across survey periods. Girls were generally more likely to be aware of the WIXX multimedia campaign. Further efforts are required to maintain and increase awareness of WIXX among tweens.