Swap Up Your Meal: A Mass Media Nutrition Education Campaign for Oklahoma Teens

Dana E. Wagner (), Gabrielle Seneres, Elisabeth Jones, Kelli A. Brodersen and Sjonna Whitsitt-Paulson
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Dana E. Wagner: Rescue Agency, PBC, 2437 Morena Blvd, San Diego, CA 92110, USA
Gabrielle Seneres: Rescue Agency, PBC, 2437 Morena Blvd, San Diego, CA 92110, USA
Elisabeth Jones: Rescue Agency, PBC, 2437 Morena Blvd, San Diego, CA 92110, USA
Kelli A. Brodersen: Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, 2800 N. Lincoln, Ste 202, Oklahoma City, OK 73105, USA
Sjonna Whitsitt-Paulson: Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, 2800 N. Lincoln, Ste 202, Oklahoma City, OK 73105, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 16, 1-16

Abstract: To address a statewide need for obesity prevention, the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust launched Swap Up in 2021, a mass media nutrition education effort for teens, ages 13–18. Swap Up utilizes the SAVI messaging approach, an audience-centric message development framework that recognizes barriers to healthy living and offers realistic solutions. Five months into the campaign, an online survey was conducted ( n = 200) to assess short-term program goals related to campaign delivery, engagement, and relevance. A secondary, long-term goal related to documenting and understanding self-reported changes in past month nutrition-related behaviors was also explored. A majority of participants (72%) reported aided awareness of the campaign brand logo/advertisements, and awareness (83%) of at least one main message. Nearly half (44%) of the participants reported at least one engagement with digital media. Main message recognition, perceived relevance, and self-reported nutritional behaviors were consistently highest among those reporting both campaign awareness and digital engagement. Ultimately, Swap Up reached and delivered nutrition education messages to Oklahoma teens within the first year of launch, as intended, and was associated with self-reported changes in recent behavior. This study provides evidence that SAVI offers a promising approach for nutrition education, and underscores why digital and social media engagement strategies are critical for mass media teen behavior change campaigns. Campaign implementation and evaluation are ongoing.

Keywords: obesity prevention; nutrition; nutrition education; mass media public health; public health campaigns; digital and social media public health campaigns (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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