The evaluation of materials to provide health-related information as a population strategy in the worksite: The high-risk and population strategy for occupational health promotion (HIPOP-OHP) study.

objectiveTo examine the effectiveness of newly developed materials for providing health-related information to the worksite population, we compared the amount of attention that employees paid to the materials.

methodsStudy subjects were 2,361 employees in six companies participating in an intervention program between 2002 and 2003. Three kinds of media were used as tools for providing health information: [1] Point Of Purchase advertising menus (POP menus) were placed on all tables in company restaurants, [2] posters were put on walls and [3] leaflets were distributed at health-related events. One year or more after the introduction of these media, we compared the amount of attention paid to each type of medium.

resultsAmongst the three types of media, the POP menu drew the most attention, although results were not consistent in all gender and company groups. Every piece of information provided by the POP menus was "always" or "almost always" read by 41% of the men and 51% of the women surveyed. The corresponding rate for posters was 30% in men and 32% in women. For leaflets, only 16% of men and 22% of women read almost all of the leaflets. More attention was paid to the POP menu when the sample was women, older, and ate at the company restaurant at least three times a week.

conclusionThe POP menu may provide health-related information to a broader range of people than posters and leaflets, therefore, it is an effective material for population strategy.