Communicating health information to the public: effectiveness of a newsletter

Following a review of health information campaign issues and research on the efficacy of selected communication channels, this paper reports an investigation of a specific medium--a health information newsletter--including whether and how much of it recipients read, its perceived information value, its impact on self-reported actions, its comparative role as a source of health information, and the extent to which results vary with selected characteristics of recipients who responded to a mail survey (n = 887). Results indicate that the newsletter is read and utilized by most recipients and serves for many as a major source of health information. Moreover, there is evidence of direct and indirect newsletter effects on respondents' self-reported health practices. Findings varied significantly with the sex and health professional status of recipients.