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Is social marketing an effective tool to reduce health disparities?

Abstract:

The health status of people of color in the United States remains unconscionably low when contrasted with that of the U.S. majority population, largely due to factors that are modifiable. This paper addresses the issue of using social marketing to reduce health disparities, with a focus on improving dietary and physical activity behaviors and the environments that influence these behaviors. We emphasize the need for the social marketer to adopt a mindset that focuses on and values the perceptions and priorities of the target population and to view dietary and physical activity behaviors through a cultural lens. We highlight the importance of using frameworks such as the theory of reasoned action and the socio-ecological model to enhance the focus on salient personal and environmental variables for a given target population, and we discuss implications for social marketers, for example, in implementing segmentation …