The clinic waiting room. Environment for health education via television

Parents and children in a clinic waiting room are motivated toward better health and constitute a receptive audience for health education via the familiar medium of television. A videotape cassette covering materials from four areas of child health care was displayed in an out-patient waiting area, using a recorder-player and monitor. Parents were interviewed prior to the introduction of the video program, immediately after the program, and again by telephone two weeks after exposure to the program. Analysis of the interviews revealed increases in knowledge about child health, as well as positive attitudes toward the clinic. The familiarity, availability, and nonthreatening nature of the medium were deemed advantages of this format.