ABSTRACT
In 1999, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) joined forces
with public and private partners to launch WISE EARS!, a national campaign to prevent
noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). The campaign's objectives were to educate the general
public about the risks of NIHL and to motivate individuals and organizations to increase
awareness about preventing NIHL. Central to the effort was the development and distribution
of free educational materials, available both online and through a toll-free information
clearinghouse. The materials included bilingual fact sheets and other publications,
promotional items, multimedia presentations, an activity book for third through sixth
graders, and an in-depth, Web-interactive curriculum for seventh and eighth grade
students. In 2006, NIDCD evaluated WISE EARS! to determine how well the campaign was
meeting its objectives and to make recommendations for the future direction of the
campaign. Based on the evaluation's key findings, NIDCD plans to retool its NIHL campaign
by focusing on children ages 9 to 13 years, forging more mutually beneficial partnerships,
and making use of delivery channels with the highest potential to attract and engage
the target audience.
KEYWORDS
Public health education - program evaluation - target audience - curriculum
REFERENCES
Available at: http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/about/plans/strategic Accessed November 28, 2006
blessinp@mail.nih.gov
