Can Provision of Health Information Lead to Healthier, Longer Lives?

As health promoters, we seek ways to direct our patients and the public to those activities that will lead to a healthier and longer life. Many programs have been tried with relatively small groups of individuals, with limited or unsustained success. This study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of providing free, quality, unbiased, frequently updated, untainted, easily accessible information to an entire community (Pueblo, Colorado) of 60,000 households. The study showed that certain groups, namely the better educated, health care workers and females benefitted most from the health information provided them. Whether the population most in need of such information was effectively reached remained unanswered due to lack of feedback from this targeted group. This study provided some valuable insights into the various challenges that one faces in trying to develop a better health-informed, participating population. It also suggests the need to continue to search for an effective way to produce the desired changes in health outcomes.