Entertainment-Education (Effects)

Entertainment-education (EE) was first defined as a health communication strategy that used media designed to increase individual knowledge, change attitudes, and shift behavior. Early EE programs focused on family planning and other health issues and utilized a long-running narrative format on radio and television. Early EE effects research focused on individual-level data and outcomes, such as knowledge and behavior, to understand if EE worked. Over time, the definition of EE has evolved to reflect a changing global media landscape and new and emerging health priorities. Additionally, EE effects research has progressed to align with contemporary theories of individual and social change and more advanced social science research methodologies. The social ecological model (SEM) posits that multifaceted personal and environmental factors interact to influence an individual's behavior. EE effects research now considers factors across levels of the SEM, including individual-level, interpersonal-level, and community-level outcomes. Four exemplary EE programs illustrate effects across the SEM: (i) Twende na Wakati ( Let's Go with the Times ; a radio program focused on HIV/AIDS from Tanzania; (ii) Kyunki … Jeena Issi Ka Naam Hai ( Because … That's What Life Is ; a television program focused on maternal and child health from India); (iii) Soul City (a multimedia program focused on gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS in South Africa); and (iv) East Los High (a transmedia program focused on teen pregnancy and other topics in the United States). Future EE research will require creative research design and advanced tools for measuring effects across multiple levels of the SEM, across different media platforms, using state-of-the-art tools and mixed methods, for emerging and urgent health crises, and to demonstrate change over time.