Health Promotion Campaigns in New Zealand

This assignment delves into the analysis and evaluation of various health promotion campaigns conducted in New Zealand. It explores the purposes of these campaigns, the key performance indicators (KPIs) used to measure their success, and the evaluation metrics employed. The analysis draws upon case studies of specific campaigns, such as those addressing obesity, drug abuse prevention, and mental health stigma, to demonstrate their impact and effectiveness.

Running head: HEALTH PROMOTION
Health promotion forum
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Knowledge base...............................................................................................................................................2
Synthesis and analysis of information..............................................................................................................3
Linkage of research to work environment.......................................................................................................4
Evidence of critical thinking............................................................................................................................5
Use of academic literature................................................................................................................................6
Academic writing skills....................................................................................................................................7
Reflection and learnings...................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................................9

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Discussion forum 1 - Mass media and health promotion
Discussion forum 2 - Drug abuse programme evaluation
Discussion forum 3- Childhood obesity campaign
Knowledge base
1. The role of mass media such as, radio, television, newspapers, posters, billboards, social media and
leaflets is fundamental in communicating a wide range of health messages to a larger audience. It helps in
forming an association between vital health information and the residents of a nation. It was effective in
persuading target audiences and helping them adopt new behaviors that would benefit their health
(Robinson et al., 2014). In New Zealand, these campaigns have updated the public about immunization
campaigns. However, they also resulted in toxicity among children due to over-consumption of foods due
to advertising.
2. Programme evaluation systematically gathers information related to the characteristics, activities and
outcomes of a particular programme to improve its effectiveness in preventing usage of drugs. These
programmes assess the extent of addiction and related physical or mental health concerns. These
programmes generally screen a larger audience for the presence of addictive behaviour. Further, they
redefine the nature of the addiction, determine a diagnosis, and develop specific treatment
recommendations (Sussman et al., 2012). The Ministry of New Zealand has developed several websites
that provides information on training in addiction counselling. The government as further started several
rehabilitation programmes as well to provide a retreat to wellness.
3. Childhood obesity campaigns are designed with the aim of increasing access to safe and effective
therapeutic interventions that help children to manage their weight. These campaigns focus on healthcare
counselling from trained professionals along with a wide array of diet control measures, exercise, and

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surgery (depending on the severity of the disease). These campaigns therefore help in formulating a
comprehensive obesity treatment programme (Puhl, Luedicke & Peterson, 2013). Childhood obesity is
considered as a serious public health challenge and often results in the incidence of diabetes and
cardiovascular diseases among those children at a younger age. These campaigns affect a larger population
and are typically designed to alter physical activity patterns and food habits among the target audience.
Synthesis and analysis of information
1. Radios are still used in places where they are popular in the form of health communication tools. Their
usage is relatively cheaper and the programs can be adjusted to meet the needs of the local population with
respect to their culture, language, and values. Distribution of leaflets and pamphlets created by health
bodies disseminate vital health information. The Internet further increases access to a range of health-
related information and transcend geographical barriers, thereby enhancing the health and wellbeing of the
people living in the country (Syred et al., 2014).
2. Such drug abuse programme evaluations employ both qualitative and quantitative approaches.
Qualitative measures are initially beneficial in exploring the situation of the addiction program. These
methods build a context for collection of quantitative data. They involve the staff in the evaluation process
and encompass routine examination of records, participant observations, analysis of situations, and focus
group interviews (Cacciola et al., 2013). Quantitative methods rely on data collection using several scales,
questionnaires, and tests. The changes in perception, health status and behaviour are measured and
statistically analysed to provide greater evidences. This creates better provisions for funding the
programme.
3. Such campaigns often encompass a physical activity component that includes involvement from teachers
and parents. They work towards improving the physical and mental aspects of children who are obese.
Multiple channels and non-paid forms of media are a part of these campaigns and they change the attitudes
of people and increase knowledge on healthy diet and physical activity (Eatmovelive.govt.nz, 2017).

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Frequent exposure of the target population to the simple messages related to adoption of healthy lifestyle
that can prevent obesity increases the effectiveness of these campaigns.
Linkage of research to work environment
1. Health authorities entrust the mass media with important information to be relayed to the general public
in easily accessible formats that will enhance their health. Radio advertisements, posters, social media and
newsletters can be used to create awareness for cardiovascular diseases among people. These campaigns
can be used to target the rural population where diarrheal dehydration is common. Social media campaigns
and advertisements can also be used to target the adolescent and young population who are exposed to drug
abuse (Neiger et al., 2012). They can effectively demonstrate the ill effects of drugs on health.
2. The evaluation programmes are usually designed with the aim of reaching a target population in the
primary health setting. They should target the middle school-aged adolescents and late elementary school-
aged children, who are occasional drug users. Further, the family members and school authorities to talk to
children about drugs, monitor their activities, get to know their peers and understand their concerns. Such
programs will strengthen the bonding of students to their school and will reduce dropping out rates.
Inclusion of school nurses, leadership and guidance teams will provide an idea about the effectiveness of
the programme and will finally work towards reducing substance abuse disorder among the target
population.
3. Such campaigns can be operated in the community settings where the key stakeholders will be involved
in teaching the children, the benefits of leading a healthy lifestyle. The target audience should be selected
from rural farming communities, suburban schoolyard and urban neighbourhoods in New Zealand (Rajput
et al., 2015). Mass media can be employed as a cost effective technique for promoting physical activity
among children. Advertisements can be used to create awareness among children on the consumption of
low-fat milk, fresh fruit and vegetables. The campaigns assist parents and teachers in encouraging their
children to participate in moderate physical activity for 30 minutes on most days of the week.

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Evidence of critical thinking
1. Mass media campaigns produce positive or negative changes in health behaviours among a large
population. The positive effects include increasing public knowledge on significant health issues, raising
awareness, invoking emotional response to change behaviour, influencing public opinion and setting
agendas for debate (Freeman et al., 2015). However, there are several limitations or challenges faced such
as, pervasive marketing for products with opposing messages, cluttered media environment, lack of
immediate feedback, lack of interaction with the public, missing target audience and misinterpretation of
the messages. Thus, it is difficult to isolate the independent effects of mass media in promoting health and
wellness.
2. Drug abuse programme evaluation has several positive impacts, the most important of which is
abstinence. The harmful effects of the drugs on the different organs of the human body are no longer
manifested on successful abstinence after an evaluation. They help in improving emotional life, build
healthy relationships, and the target audience no longer resort to committing crimes to finance their drugs.
However, the negative effects are associated with the high treatment costs, difficulties in effectiveness
evaluation, lack of guarantee of the objectives meeting the desired goal and the wide array of social and
cultural factors that contribute to an addictive behavior.
3. There has been a dramatic increase in the rates of childhood obesity in New Zealand over the last
decade. This called for a need to illustrate the detrimental effects of this health abnormality on children
(Health.govt.nz, 2017). These campaigns directly impact the child’s quality of life and provide them more
energy for performing physical activities and sports. Adherence to the interventions proposed in these
campaigns make it easier for the children to keep the weight off on a regular basis (Kulkarni, Swinburn &
Utter, 2015). Further, they increase a child’s self-worth and improve their overall wellbeing. The
challenges are making exercises enjoyable and attractive, convincing school authorities and parents of the
long-term benefits of physical activity and changing the attitudes of suppliers and consumers about healthy
food choices.

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Use of academic literature
1. Mass media has been used effectively in increasing awareness for a range of health issues in New
Zealand. The ‘Like Minds, Like Mine’ anti-stigma and discrimination campaign found that social life,
family and friendship were the most common areas where mentally ill people faced discrimination and the
campaign worked towards changing this behaviour (Thornicroft et al., 2014) (Likeminds.org.nz, 2017).
The ‘Don’t know? Don’t drink’ campaign encouraged pregnant women to stop alcohol consumption
(Alcohol.org.nz, 2017). In addition, the ‘Stop Before You Start’ campaign was also started by the Health
Promotion Agency to highlight the harmful health and social impacts of smoking (Stopbeforeyoustart,
2017). Another New Zealand ad identified traditional value among Maori women as key motivators and
used the social media to promote smoking cessation among pregnant women. They were successful in
increasing health awareness among people.
2. An evaluation of opioid substitution treatment (OST) online training for pharmacists was performed in
New Zealand to determine the acceptability and feasibility of the programme for training on drug abuse
(Walters et al., 2012). The evaluation revealed that the online training was an economical and appropriate
method that improved the clinical skills among pharmacists and helped in increasing their clinical skills
with respect to the target group. The impacts of BZP legal high prohibition on prevalence of BZP use and
other drugs were evaluated in New Zealand (Wilkins & Sweetsur, 2013). This evaluation programme
showed that prohibition of the drug and the associated unpleasant side-effects contributed to a decline its
usage and the overall levels of high use showed significant reduction.
3. The Ministry of Health, New Zealand started a public awareness campaign ‘Eat Move Live’ that
highlighted the cultural importance of food and the adverse effects created by overfeeding children. The
Waitemata DHB Wellbeing Schools’ Project and Project Energize were developed by in the country to
reduce childhood obesity. While the former campaign used a three-tier intervention approach, the latter
tried to evaluate the effectiveness of school-based intervention programmes in increasing physical activity
among students (Waikatodhb.health.nz, 2017). Childhood obesity is more prevalent among Māori and

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Pacific children, and among those who live in deprived areas (Kelly & Swinburn, 2015). The APPLE-
project 2 year obesity prevention programme and Prevention of Overweight in Infancy study showed
modest positive outcomes.
Academic writing skills
1. Thus, mass media campaigns have an increased likelihood of reducing unhealthy attitudes among
people, when used in combination with preventive health efforts. It is more effective owing to the fact that
face-to-face communications often require large manpower and human resources. Moreover, they are able
to reach only a small group of people residing in a particular location. On the other hand, mass media
campaigns expand the reach of their audience, which is crucial considering the fact that channels of
communication often require too teach new health skills and empower the people to fight the major factors
that cause mortality (Boles et al., 2014).
2. Thus, programme evaluation helps in answering questions about the effectiveness of the addiction
prevention programmes in meeting the procedural and administrative goals. The evaluation also ascertains
whether the proposed programme adequately generates valuable information related to substance abuse
among the target population. Further, the evaluation helps to formulate a cost-benefit analysis of the
treatment, the long-term effects and creates provisions for funding to improve the mental and physical
health of the target audience.
3. Thus, the higher prevalence of childhood obesity increases the likelihood of getting affected by serious
non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disorders, diabetes and cancer, which may lead to
premature mortality (Lobstein et al., 2015). The primary purpose of childhood obesity prevention
programmes is to involve the major stakeholders and adopt a variety of approaches that will promote
physical activity and healthy food habits, thereby preventing obesity.

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Reflection and learnings
1. Thus, it can be stated that the government should use these campaigns to deliver promotional messages
that will advocate for correct health behavior and will assist people to understand the complexity of several
diseases. The key stakeholders should also be involved to increase the appeal and reliability of these
campaigns to the target audience. Media campaigns need to be sustained and reviewed, and be appealing to
consumers and relatable to their target audience.
2. To conclude, involving the key stakeholders such as, family members, school authorities, teachers, and
local health providers, senior personnel from religious groups, nurses, and members of the Health Board,
notable achievements can be obtained in preventing drug addiction among a large audience. The
programme provides a clear insight of the substance abuse treatment methods, their effectiveness in the
community and the underlying social or cultural customs that may exert an influence on the prevalence of
drug usage. A positive evaluation outcome draws in more funding and creates provisions for future
schemes.
3. To summarise, the campaigns should recognise the risk factors, which include unhealthy diet, sedentary
life style, alcohol and tobacco consumption that increases the likelihood of becoming obese. Adequate
intervention is required from all levels of society, schools and communities to develop a childhood obesity
prevention strategy in New Zealand.

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References
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