A health department's response to AIDS. Condomania: a public education intervention

Experience gleaned from no smoking campaigns, seatbelt safety crusades, dental hygiene programs and other health promotion efforts, have pointed to the usefulness of social marketing principles in formulating and implementing broad-based behaviour change programs. Using social marketing as a tool of health promotion, the Vancouver Health Department, in cooperation with the Vancouver Women and AIDS Project and the Positive Women's Support Network, implemented a three-year plan for six one-month condom awareness campaigns. Two of these campaigns have been successfully completed; the third is in the planning stage. The purpose of these campaigns is to make condoms a more acceptable feature of everyday sexual activity with 19-30 year-olds; women in particular have been targeted because of the increasing incidence of HIV among this population. The program consists of six major components. They are: design and production of campaign materials; public promotion-advertising; focused community education; volunteer recruitment and training; media relations; and program evaluation.