Tailoring Air Quality Communication for Outdoor Workers: Effects on Information Seeking

Background Outdoor air quality has significant health effects for susceptible groups, such as outdoor workers. Identifying motivations for such audiences to seek information about air quality is important to inform evidence-based practices to protect health and well-being. Focus of the Article We examine the effects of an organizationally based social marketing air quality campaign targeted at outdoor workers designed using the EAST (Easy, Attractive, Social, Timely) framework. Key perceptions from the theoretical models of information seeking were analyzed after the conclusion of the campaign. Research Question Does a social marketing campaign designed with the EAST framework increase outdoor air quality risk perceptions, informational subjective norms, and routine and nonroutine information seeking behaviors? Program Design/Approach The “Air Aware” campaign was developed based on insights from employees in the organization where the campaign was implemented and a state-wide survey of outdoor workers in the state of implementation. The campaign was designed using principles from the EAST framework to make information about air quality easy to access, engaging, and relevant to the needs of the audience, for whom exposure to outdoor air is an unavoidable part of their daily life. Importance to the Social Marketing Field By integrating a campaign design informed by the EAST framework with evaluation of theoretically informed information behaviors, this study bridges behavioral insights with communication theory to inform campaign design and evaluation. The innovative theory-practice hybrid approach demonstrates how aligning behavioral nudges of the EAST framework with cognitive and social explanations of information behaviors can inform the design and evaluation of targeted public health campaigns. Methods A pre-/post-test quasi-experimental design (treatment and control group) with outdoor workers for city and county organizations in an area susceptible to poor outdoor air quality in summertime was used to evaluate the campaign. Results The campaign increased select behaviors and perceptions related to information seeking. Recommendations for Practice Practitioners can use insights from this study to design targeted campaigns that leverage behavioral nudges and audience-specific motivations to increase information seeking, an important precursor to other behavioral adoptions, among high-risk groups such as outdoor workers.