More than one third of those interviewed in a survey last January were able to recall the media campaigns launched by the Health Promotion Department during the Christmas festivities, the National Statistics Office said.
When prompted on the four campaigns - drink driving, smoking, breastfeeding and breast care - there was a remarkable increase in respondents' recollection, the NSO, which conducted the survey, said.
The survey, "on the effectiveness of media campaigns on health promotion", was released yesterday during a joint press conference by the department and NSO.
The sample size for the telephone survey, conducted between January 20 and 22, was 500 individuals. The response rate was 59 per cent (295 people).
Despite a small sample size, NSO research unit manager Herald Bonnici said the survey was very representative and the results valid.
Asked if, given the figures, he felt the campaigns were effective, department director Mario Spiteri said he believed the message was getting across, especially when considering that the survey was conducted three weeks after the festive season.
"I find the fact that 34.6 per cent could recollect the campaigns, without prompting, when somebody called them out of the blue and popped the question, very encouraging. I believe the campaigns are effective," Dr Spiteri said.
Of the 34.6 per cent who could remember the campaigns without any prompting, the majority, 27.5 per cent, were aged between 16 and 24; 24.5 per cent were between 35 and 44 and 7.8 per cent were 65 and over.
Drink driving and smoking were the two most effective campaigns, remembered by the largest number of people. Dr Spiteri said it was encouraging to note that of those who could recollect the publicity on drinking and driving, 71.4 per cent were aged between 16 to 24 - the department's target audience.
"It is also heartening to know that in the last Christmas season the police reported a decrease in the number of traffic accidents," he said.
After first asking the respondent to self-recollect the campaigns, the interviewer then used prompting to determine the impact of the campaigns.
When prompted, the number of those who remembered the campaigns on drinking and driving shot up to 76.6 per cent, with the stark advert showing the feet of a dead person in a mortuary being quoted as one of the most effective.
Television was the medium that had the biggest impact on respondents (154 people), followed by billboards or buses (36 people), radio and newspapers.
When pressed on smoking campaigns, 52.2 per cent said they remembered the department's publicity, with television once again being the most powerful vehicle for getting the message across.
The breastfeeding and breast care campaigns did not fare as well - 36.3 per cent and 36.6 per cent respectively, the majority being women, remembered the publicity.
Dr Spiteri said this study was an extremely useful tool for the department's upcoming campaigns and whom to target through which medium.
The survey showed television was the most effective medium for awareness campaigns but Dr Spiteri said the advertising rates were too expensive. "I am making an appeal to all local television stations to help us get our message across by giving us more affordable rates. We are not a commercial entity," he said.