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. 2023 Nov;26(11):2514-2525.
doi: 10.1017/S1368980023001301. Epub 2023 Jul 10.

California's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) Be Better social marketing campaign: mothers' fruit and vegetable consumption and facilitation of children's healthy behaviours

Ingrid M Cordon  1 , Celeste Doerr  2 , Lauren Whetstone  1
Affiliations

California's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) Be Better social marketing campaign: mothers' fruit and vegetable consumption and facilitation of children's healthy behaviours

Ingrid M Cordon et al. Public Health Nutr. 2023 Nov.

Abstract

Objective: Evaluation of California Department of Public Health's three-year social marketing campaign (Be Better) to encourage healthy eating and water consumption among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) California mothers. Andreasen's social marketing framework was used to outline the development and evaluation of the campaign.

Design: Quantitative, pre-post cross-sectional study with three cohorts nested within survey years. Generalised estimating equation modeling was used to obtain population estimates of campaign reach and changes in mothers' fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption and facilitative actions towards their children's health behaviours.

Setting: CalFresh Healthy Living (California's SNAP-Ed).

Participants: Three separate cohorts of SNAP mothers were surveyed (pre, post) between 2016 and 2018 inclusive. A total of 2229 mothers (ages 18-59) self-identified as White, Latina, African American or Asian/Pacific Islander participated.

Results: Approximately 82 percent of surveyed mothers were aware of the campaign as assessed by measures of recall and recognition. Ad awareness was positively associated with mothers' FV consumption (R2 = 0·45), with the proportion of FV on plates and with behaviours that facilitate children's FV consumption and limit unhealthy snacks and sugary drinks (βs ranged from 0·1 to 0·7).

Conclusions: The campaign successfully reached 82 percent of surveyed mothers. Positive associations between California's Be Better campaign and targeted health behaviours were observed, although the associations varied by year and media channel (i.e. television, radio, billboards and digital). Most associations between ad awareness and outcomes were noted in years two and three of the campaign, suggesting that more than 1 year of campaign exposure was necessary for associations to emerge.

Keywords: California; Fruits and vegetables; SNAP-Ed; Social marketing; Water.

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Conflict of interest statement

The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the CDPH or the California Health and Human Services Agency. There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Be Better English-Language Billboard Ad
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Be Better Spanish-Language Billboard Ad
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Be Better evaluation design
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Percent of Ads recognised by campaign year
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Frequency of maternal FV consumed daily by Ad recognition. FV, fruit and vegetable
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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