Evaluating mass media approaches to health promotion: a review of methods

Broad spectrum approaches to health promotion, using mass media techniques to reach the general population, have potential value in raising the profile of health issues, providing legitimacy to efforts at community level and providing the impetus for other activities. Their cost‐effectiveness, however, is difficult to assess and has been questioned by some. This paper makes the case for a systematic approach to the evaluation of mass media health promotional interventions. Formative evaluation is needed to ensure the optimally effective design of such interventions, followed by process evaluation to identify factors which have enhanced or hindered implementation, followed by outcome evaluation, to assess the extent to which desired effects have been achieved, and adverse effects avoided. An eclectic approach to outcome evaluation is recommended including the use of experimental approaches wherever possible, but also ensuring that non‐experimental methods are rigorous and comprehensive. This review is aimed at practitioners using mass media interventions in health promotion as well as students of health promotion and its evaluation.