Main description:

Attempts to raise awareness on a multitude of health issues may actually be counter-productive and even dangerous to solving contemporary health problems. From Awareness to Commitment in Public Health Campaigns: The Awareness Myth discusses several myths of the benefits of raising awareness. Myleea Hill and Marceline Thompson-Hayes argue that using awareness as an end-point in public health campaigns is misguided and does more harm than good. They offer a model of the current awareness culture that simply leads to an ever-increasing cycle of awareness without behavioral change or sustained participation and support for causes. Then, they demonstrates how three factors (recognition involvement, knowledge-seeking and education, and participation) intersect to create commitment to solving and alleviating health problems through various methods of communication (social media, mass communication, and interpersonal communication).

Contents:

Contents

Foreword
By Susan Jacobson and Lynne M. Webb

Acknowledgments

Unit I
Chapter 1-Overview and Introduction: Awareness is Everywhere
Chapter 2-The Awareness Culture: The Rise of Ribbons and the Fall of Campaign
Chapter 3-Awareness as Events, Observations, and Amusement: An Analysis of Selected Health-Related Websites

Unit II
Chapter 4-The Awareness is Education Myth
Chapter 5-The Awareness is Enough Myth
Chapter 6-The Awareness is Acceptance Myth
Chapter 7-The Awareness is Altruistic Myth
Chapter 8-The Awareness Equals Health Myth

Unit III
Chapter 9-The Awareness Myth Model
Chapter 10-The Development of the Commitment-Communication Model

Bibliography

About the Authors