The role of health communication campaigns and new media in the context of prevention of health-related risks

Health communication is an important discipline that enables societies to become aware of the risks associated with health and to inform the public about numerous issues that threaten the health of society. When the scope of health communication is examined, it is seen that it benefits from various methods such as campaign management, social marketing, public relations, media advocacy, social mobilization, etc. and it aims to raise awareness of the risks associated with health and to develop social consciousness. This study was planned to examine the role of health communication campaigns in the prevention of health-related risks and to reveal the impact of the new media on health-related issues and the development of awareness and in the point of taking action. In the scope of the study, the questionnaire technique, which is one of the quantitative research methods, was employed and the research was carried out with the participation of 472 people and, it was aimed in line with the research to determine what kind impact health communication campaigns and the new media have on the awareness raising of the target groups towards health-related risks. In addition to the overall objective, the collection of the data needed has been provided through Yeşilay's Green Detector Campaign, a communication campaign focused on preventing health-related risks within the scope of the research and carried out intensively through the new media. The findings obtained from the research revealed that health communication campaigns are effective in creating awareness and raising awareness about health risks, that new media are effective tools for delivering messages related to health communication campaigns to the target audience; that the target audiences use new media when acquiring information about health-related issues and reaching health-related experts or institutions. Although new media are seen as communication mediums that enable the target audiences to be aware of the health-related risks, it has been determined that the target audiences have a neutral view of sharing their illnesses, views on experts or health organizations in the new media, and communicating with people who have the same problems as health through the new media. In addition, it has been revealed that target audiences have a neutral view of the impact of new media in communicating with related institutions about health-related risks, in communicating with other people about health-related risks and using new media to raise awareness in them, taking action on health risks that could be expressed as notifying institutions about health-related risks through new media.