Formative Evaluation Research

This week we discussed how to conduct, utilize, and apply qualitative techniques to answer questions about our target audience to eventually produce highly tailored, culturally appropriate and effective health marketing campaigns. The first question on the quiz surprised me, "doesn't everyone realize the importance of formative research?", but, they don't! Some might think, well we know that 'x' population has 'y' prevalence of 'z' disease, that's enough, let's tell them to stop their 'bad' behaviors! This is where health promotion comes in!!!

This class has effectively emphasized the importance of knowing the norms, beliefs and cultural context of our targeted communities and how by knowing these facts, and integrating them into health promotion campaigns, we are likely to have a community more receptive to our message and, as such, more likely to alter their behaviors we wish them to alter in order to have the disease outcome we wish to see. This week's class and presentations made this obvious. A great example of this comes from an anthropological study that came out of Haiti. In Haiti there were high birth rates and various organizations (USAID, IMF, WHO) were working to try and lower birth rates by encouraging the use of birth control pills amongst the Haitian poor. There was a billboard in the center of Port-au-Prince (the capitol of Haiti and were millions of the Haitian poor live) that showed a woman and had some slogan along the lines of using birth control. The slogan was in French (the nation's national language). Most of the Haitian poor speak Creole and know not a word of French. Talk about NO market research or audience segmentation!

I am confused about one area. I know I will not be eloquent in describing this but please bear with me. We are choosing what we want to address in our target population (energy drink consumption) but in many of my classes (666 in particular) we discussed how we must go directly to the target audience and, by using epi data and qualitative research, decide what issue should be addressed. I keep thinking, what if undergrads could care less about the risks of energy drinks and totally ignore our campaign no matter how tailored it is? I guess that we would then just focus on stages of change and emphasize knowledge and awareness to get the buy-in... Do any of you ladies have any ideas or information from other classes in regards to this conundrum?

Also in terms of our project, I think we might end up focusing on psychographics characteristics and clarifying myths in regards to energy drinks. Maybe our goal shouldn't be a behavioral change but should be a change in awareness/knowledge/etc. What do you think?

I will be the first to admit that I was totally confused about what the heck is needed for our project tomorrow. I think, collectively, we figured it out. I'll email the details to everyone tonight. Thanks for working together so well to split up the project!

That's me confused (if I were a blond hair boy).