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Using the media during Mental Health Week

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Rob Kay
Affiliation:
Priority Care Team, Ayrshire and Arran Health Boards
Barbara Martin
Affiliation:
Ayrshire and Arran Community Health Care NHS Trust
Doreen Kelly
Affiliation:
Richmond Fellowship Scotland
Cameron Stark*
Affiliation:
Highland Health Board, Beechwood Park, Inverness IV2 3HG
*
Correspondence
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Abstract

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The mass media is an important source of public information on mental health issues. A two-page insert in 11 local Ayrshire newspapers was purchased to coincide with the Mental Health Weeks in 1994 and 1995. Using a quota sampling technique, 379 adults were questioned on their views and recollection of the insert in 1994, and a further 365 in 1995. It had been seen by 27% of 1994 respondents, and by 22% in 1995. Of these, 80% in each sample had read at least part. Local details were best remembered, and information on the nature of mental illness was regarded as the most helpful part of the insert. The newspaper articles provided a way of contacting a substantial proportion of the adult population of the area.

Type
Psychiatry and the Media
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 1997 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

References

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