Direct mail in a cardiovascular health campaign: Use and Effectiveness

Public health specialists have concluded that mass media information campaigns can be “moderately successful” in educating the public on certain health issues. The present study examines the effectiveness of a particular mass medium, direct mail, in influencing the perceived importance of three controllable cardiovascular risk factors: cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, and high-fat, high-salt diets. In addition, this study assesses the relative effectiveness of three message strategiespositive, negative and neutral appeals-in educating the public about cardiovascular disease. The results indicate that direct mail can have significant effects on individuals’ awareness and perceptions of salience of cardiovascular disease.