RHP&EO is the electronic journal of the International Union for Health Promotion and Education

Using Tv Drama As A Strategy For Preventing Traffic Injuries Among Adolescents

Ulrika Torell

Stockholm County Council & Karolinska Institute, Dept. of Public Health Sciences Division of Social Medicine, Safety Promotion Unit, Sundbyberg, Sweden

At present there is a nationwide anti-drinking and driving campaign underway in Sweden, initiated by the National Road Administration. One of the main components of the campaign is a television drama entitled "A Few Beers and a Life-Long Hangover", which is a dramatization of a traffic motor vehicle accident involving four teenagers. The film has been shown on the national broadcasting network and is also disseminated nationwide as health education material in the upper secondary schools.

In the context of prevention and public health, the film could be regarded as an example of society's attempts to reduce the number of traffic injuries among teenagers. It thus provides an opportunity to illustrate how a communicative strategy is given shape and is used in the field of safety promotion by the agency responsible for road and traffic safety in Sweden.

The aim of this study was to analyze the film as a product of a broader behaviour modification methodology. The study focuses on how society's attempts at preventing injuries are articulated in the film. The film has been analyzed using a semiological approach and narrative theory.

The results describe how the injury problem in traffic is depicted or constructed and mediated through film. It also describes the strategies used for regulation and standardization of behaviour as well as strategies used for persuasion. Based on the results, the possibilities and limitations of information and communication strategies as methods for safety promotion will be discussed.

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