2019 Volume 27 Issue 4 Pages 307-318
Objective: Cancer Information & Support Centers (CISCs) collocated within Cancer Designated Hospitals provide support to anyone with cancer-related issues, but their services remain obscure. Although Entertainment Education (E-E) is one of the most effective tools to raise public awareness in a highly information-saturated society, its use is limited in Japan. The objective of this study was to examine whether E-E radio dramas were an effective tool for raising public awareness of CISCs.
Methods: Study participants (N=120) of this non-randomized control study were library users assigned to groups presented with three kinds of CISCs materials: listening to short radio drama A, listening to radio drama B, or reading a brochure about CISCs. The library users were asked about their knowledge of and willingness to use CISCs before and after these interventions. The amount of information contained in the materials was 900 Japanese characters in radio dramas A and B, and 10,000 Japanese characters in the brochure.
Results: About 90% of participants were willing to access CISCs after the intervention, and there were no differences among three intervention groups. Although the brochure group had broad knowledge of CISCs, shorter messages in radio dramas equally impressed the listeners.
Conclusion: Although the amount of verbal information in radio dramas was limited to about 10% of written information in the brochure, radio dramas effectively raised listeners' awareness about CISCs. Radio dramas seemed to be one of the effective tools for disseminating cancer information toward persons with limited access, and this kind of intervention should be more widely employed in Japan.
