Entertainment–Education: Role of Involvement

Entertainment–education (EE) generally refers to a media program (e.g., TV or radio serial) with the goal of influencing knowledge, attitudes, or behaviors in a particular context. This context is often health-related (e.g., promoting safer sex or family planning), though it need not necessarily be. Evidence suggests that under the right circumstances, EE can be an effective form of persuasion across a variety of health contexts. In many parts of the world, EE programs are developed with specific health-promoting objectives in mind. However, in the United States, prosocial story lines are typically added to otherwise purely entertainment programming. For example, health-related story lines may be included because of the efforts of a particular advocacy group or they may be developed solely by television writers. In either ...