Policy makers frequently turn to media-based public education campaigns as a way to address public health issues of all kinds, from childhood obesity to enrolling seniors in prescription drug plans. In order to help assess the effectiveness of recent efforts, the Kaiser Family Foundation hosted a forum featuring the authors of three major studies evaluating campaigns on smoking, childhood obesity and youth STD and HIV prevention.

The forum featured presentations by:

• Donna Vallone, associate vice president for research, American Legacy Foundation
• Marian Huhman, evaluation team leader, VERB campaign
• Seth Noar, professor, University of Kentucky

The forum was held on Thursday, April 27, 2006, in Washington, D.C.

 Agenda (.pdf)

 Speaker Biographies (.pdf)

Presentations

 "Promoting Physical Activity Among Tweens: Evaluation Results of CDC's VERB Campaign," Marian Huhman (.pdf)

 "Effects of a Televised Two-City Safer Sex Mass Media Campaign Targeting High Sensation Seeking and Impulsive Decision-Making Young Adults," Seth Noar (.pdf)

 "Evaluating the truth® Campaign," Donna Vallone (.pdf)

 Webcast

 An evaluation of the VERB campaign -- Effects of Mass Media Campaign to Increase Physical Activity Among Children: Year-1 Results of the VERB Campaign, Pediatrics, August 2005

 Evaluations of the truth® Campaign -- Getting To Know the Truth: Evaluating the National Tobacco Countermarketing Campaigns, American Journal of Public Health, June 2002 (free access)

 Evidence of a Dose -- Response Relationship Between truth® Antismoking Ads and Youth Smoking Prevalence, American Journal of Public Health, March 2005 (free access)