A system for evaluating the use of media in CDC's National AIDS Information and Education Program.

The National AIDS Information and Education Program (NAIEP) commissioned the National Academy of Sciences to design a prototypical system of research for use in the evaluation of the agency's media campaign. It consists of four types of evaluation: formative, efficacy, process, and outcome. These types of evaluations are used to answer such questions as the following: What message strategies will work best? Can a campaign under optimal conditions be expected to make a difference? What interventions are actually delivered during the campaign? Has the campaign actually had an impact? How NAIEP has used the system and adapted it during 1 year of research activities is outlined, and examples from a variety of other social marketing programs are described.