Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Nov 27;18(1):1300.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-018-6218-7.

The short-term effects of a mass reach physical activity campaign: an evaluation using hierarchy of effects model and intention profiles

T R Berry  1 , R E Rhodes  2 , E M Ori  3 , K McFadden  3 , G Faulkner  4 , A E Latimer-Cheung  5 , N O'Reilly  6 , J C Spence  3 , M S Tremblay  7 , L M Vanderloo  8
Affiliations

The short-term effects of a mass reach physical activity campaign: an evaluation using hierarchy of effects model and intention profiles

T R Berry et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Mass reach physical activity campaigns are designed to deliver physical-activity related messages to a large population across different media including print, television, radio, and websites. Few evaluations have examined the short-term effects of a mass reach campaign on participants who were engaged with the campaign. The current research examined the short-term effects of the ParticipACTION 150 Play List, a mass reach physical activity campaign, on participants who registered with the campaign website.

Methods: Participants (N = 7801) completed a registration questionnaire measuring demographic information, awareness and recall of physical activity and sport advertising, and self-reported number of activities tried or planned to try from the 150 Play List. A follow-up survey was completed by 1298 participants from the original sample. Additional questions assessed experience with the 150 Play List and attitudes towards campaign advertisements.

Results: Approximately 14.5% of participants cited the ParticipACTION 150 Play List and 23.6% mentioned a 'getting active' message when recalling advertisements. Those who named the 150 Play List or getting active reported more activities tried and more activities planned than those who did not. They were also more likely to say they had tried a new activity and planned ongoing participation. It was also found that participants with a disability were more likely to have tried a new activity compared to those not in a minority group. Other correlates of trying new activities at follow-up were younger age, more positive reported experience with the 150 Play List, and more favourable attitudes towards campaign advertisements. Those who did not intend continued participation, or who were unsure at baseline and then decided against continued participation at follow-up, reported they were less sedentary or encouraging others to be active.

Conclusions: This research addresses the gap in evidence regarding the efficacy of mass reach physical activity campaigns by informing whether a year-long campaign like the 150 Play List can be effective in influencing the behavior of those engaged with the campaign. The results reinforce the idea that 'top of mind' awareness should be measured. Investigating intention profiles can help inform campaign impacts and continuation intentions.

Keywords: Evaluation; Hierarchy of effects; Intention profiles; Mass media campaigns; Physical activity; Post-campaign effects.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interest

Several authors on this manuscript are members of ParticipACTION’s Research Advisory Group. LMV is the Knowledge Translation Manager at ParticipACTION. The surveys were administered by ParticipACTION as part of their campaign evaluation, but ParticipACTION was not involved in the data analysis or writing of the present paper.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethics approval was obtained from the University of Alberta Health Research Ethics Board (applications Pro00072571 and Pro00078545). Information on participation was provided online prior to starting the surveys and consent given by starting the surveys. The wording in the information section at the start of the survey, after information to provide informed consent regarding confidentiality, how the data will be used, etc.… was “By doing the survey, you are saying that you read and understood the information above. You understand that completing the survey is your choice and you can stop at any time or not answer any questions. I agree to do the survey”

Consent for publication

Not applicable

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Bauman A, Chau J. The role of media in promoting physical activity. J Phys Act Health. 2009;6(Suppl 2):S196–S210. doi: 10.1123/jpah.6.s2.s196. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Yun L, Ori E, Lee Y, Berry TR, Sivak AA. Systematic review of mass media campaigns to promote physical activity: an update from 2010. J Phys Act Health. 2017;14:552–570. doi: 10.1123/jpah.2016-0616. - DOI - PubMed
    1. ParticipACTION. ParticipACTION 150 Play List. https://www.participaction.com/en-ca/programs/participaction-150-play-list. Accessed 3 May 2018.
    1. Cavill N, Bauman A. Changing the way people think about health-enhancing physical activity: do mass media campaigns have a role? J Sports Sci. 2004;22(8):771–790. doi: 10.1080/02640410410001712467. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Yun L, Berry TR. Examining implicit cognitions in the evaluation of a community-wide physical activity program. Eval Program Plan. 2018;69:10–17. doi: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2018.04.001. - DOI - PubMed