Measuring the Effectiveness of Mass-Mediated Health Campaigns Through Meta-Analysis

A meta-analytic review was undertaken to examine the effects of mass communication campaigns on changes in behavior, knowledge, and self-efficacy in the general public. A review of the academic literature was undertaken and identified 1,638 articles from 1966 through 2012. Using strict inclusion criteria, we included 63 studies for coding and analyses. Results from these efforts indicated that campaigns produced positive effects in behavior change (r = .05, k = 61) and knowledge (r = .10, k = 26) but failed to produce significant increases in self-efficacy (r = .02, k = 14). Several moderators (e.g., health topic, the theory underlying the campaign) were examined in relation to campaign principles that are prescribed to increase campaign effects. The major findings are reviewed, and the implications for future campaign design are discussed.