An Empirical Investigation on the Use of Information Sources for Promoting Healthy Eating

Abstract

This research investigates the information sources consumers used to obtain health related information for healthy eating. The research involves two stages, in-depth interviews with 12 participants and a mail survey of 800. Findings from the in-depth interviews not only supported the information sources identified in the literature but had also revealed the need to include two other information sources (social organisations and societies, and health clubs and gyms) for further investigation. The mail survey indicated that friends and relatives were the most important information source used for obtaining health related information for healthy eating whilst radio was identified as the least influential. The findings highlighted the relative importance of the 15 information sources investigated and also identified the most appropriate sources for which health promoters could effectively spend their limited resources on the advertising and promotional campaigns that were targeted at specific consumer groups. Keywords: Health Information Sources, Promoting Healthy Eating, Healthcare Marketing, Regional Australia