The role of health media campaigns in influencing the preventive behaviors of the Saudi family: A survey study

The results of studies and literature that dealt with the planning and marketing of social campaigns indicate that there are many factors and variables that may prevent many of these campaigns from achieving their objectives and expected effects. In this context, this study sought to know the impact of one of the health media campaigns carried out by the Ministry of Health on the preventive behaviors of the Saudi family, as well as monitoring and characterizing the campaigns presented by the Ministry of Health during the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016 and analyzing them. This study also addressed the relationship between the concepts associated with health media campaigns and tried knowing the extent to which health campaigns can affect behavior in general, through a field study on a sample of the public in Riyadh, amounting to 50 individuals, to determine the extent of the impact of the national campaign to raise awareness of diabetes in the light of Pandora's social knowledge theory and health belief model, using the questionnaire tool. The documents of six campaigns carried out by the Ministry during the mentioned period were also analyzed.
The results of the study reached an important set of indicators at the analytical and field levels. First, with regard to the results of campaign analysis, which dealt with their communication strategies, social media came as the most prominent channel for spreading health campaign messages, followed by publications and means of personal communication such as publications and others, seminars and workshops, radio and television, websites, forums and special events, hotline and festivals, and the lowest percentage of street ads and Internet ads appeared. The digital tools represented in the hashtag and info graphics were the tools for disseminating messages, followed by the image and video advertisements, and the lowest percentage of the voice and SMS advertisements came. The study also showed shortcomings in the evaluation aspect and the failure to use a behavioral theory when designing the campaign.
Secondly, with regard to the results of the field study, the study concluded that the group (16-24) appeared as the least age group in the level of healthy behavior, and social media appeared as the most prominent channels for receiving the health message, especially Twitter, where the media followed by the respondents appeared in the following order: Social media - channels Satellite television - electronic newspapers - print newspapers - radio - and local television are at the end of the list. The campaign achieved a high reach of 86% and exposure of 54.5% as measured by Educating Awareness. The level of knowledge was high and related to exposure. In general, the diabetes awareness efforts played an active role in building public perception about the disease-protective lifestyle, and the legal confidence in change and personal interest to a large extent. The existence of a relationship between the degree of exposure to the campaign and the practice of healthy behavior indicates the success of the National Diabetes Awareness Campaign in influencing the preventive behaviors of the Saudi family. The results indicated the lack of a high degree of satisfaction with the diabetes campaigns carried out by the Ministry, but on the other hand, there is a high appreciation for the Ministry's efforts in raising awareness of this disease.
 In its conclusion, the study presented its recommendations, the most important of which was that campaign organizers adhere to the four specific elements of the media campaign concept, which is that it be a strategic and organized activity designed to obtain specific outputs and results and focus on a large number of individuals with a specific start and end date and build the campaign design on the basis of smart and theoretical goals specific behavior, and to use the mass media more strongly, emphasizing the importance of evaluation of all kinds. The study recommended paying attention to evaluating local health media campaigns to open the door for meta-analysis studies and leadership in the Gulf and Arab countries in this field.