Guidance for evaluating mass communication health initiatives: summary of an expert panel discussion sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In May 2004, 12 experts in evaluating large-scale health communication programs came to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to participate in an electronic focus group discussion. They offered advice on topics ranging from the role of logic models to the best strategies for controlling for self-selection bias in surveys regarding outcomes of exposure to mass media health messages. The experts also highlighted health communication evaluation topics that have received too little scientific attention. Finally, they made strategic policy recommendations. Use of the state-of-the-art evaluation methods that they recommended could improve the communication of factual and persuasive health messages and help to guard the public health of the nation. Their advice may also advance evaluation practice in other substantive areas, especially where it is difficult or impossible to implement randomized designs.