Researching communication approaches to heart disease prevention

Abstract

TO develop an effective coronary heart disease (CHD) prevention initiative, the Health Education Board for Scotland considered it important to understand first the relevant issues when viewed from the consumer perspective. The Advertising Research Unit at the University of Strathclyde was commissioned to carry out the formative research for, and initial monitoring of, the initiative. This paper focuses on the communi cation research aspects of these formative stages and demonstrates the decision-making role a compre hensive research strategy can play in developing ef fective health communication programmes.