A FRAMEWORK FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGIES, continued

The Importance of Media Advocacy

Media advocacy is the strategic use of mass media to advance the adoption or enforcement of a social or public policy initiative. Media advocacy shifts the focus from defining the problem at the individual level to a policy level and from a short-term focus on program development to a long-term focus on policy development. It also shifts the focus from changing health habits to implementing policy changes. Media advocacy is a significant tool in promoting and supporting effective environmental prevention strategies. Media advocacy can help increase basic awareness of a community’s substance abuse problem, the tools for prevention, the benefits of prevention, and involvement with community mobilization. Messages can be delivered through local television, radio, newspapers, or other outlets. Media advocacy, however, must be implemented carefully to advance and enhance prevention strategies. For a comprehensive description of media advocacy and how it can be used to advance prevention goals, see Wallack et al. (1999) and Wilbur and Stewart (1999).