Entertainment Education

Healthstyles Survey

The CDC partners with Hollywood, Health & Society to analyze and report on characteristics of daytime and prime time TV drama viewers, based on data from the national HealthStyles survey developed by Porter Novelli, a social marketing and public relations firm. The following reports summarize findings on these audience characteristics and the effects of TV health content on their knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors.

The HealthStyles survey is one of a pair of linked postal mail surveys sent to a sample of adults 18 and older which is drawn to be nationally representative on seven U.S. Census Bureau demographic characteristics. The first survey, is a consumer survey in which data on general media habits, product use, interests, and lifestyle are collected. The second survey, HealthStyles, focuses on health orientations and practices. This survey has been administered annually since 1995. From 1995 through 2001 it was linked with the DDB Needham LifeStyles consumer survey. Beginning in 2002 it is linked with the Porter Novelli ConsumerStyles survey. HealthStyles is a proprietary database product of Porter Novelli and is licensed by the CDC for audience analysis in health communication planning.

1999 Healthstyles Survey: Soap Opera Viewers and Health Information
Presented to the American Public Health Association (APHA), November 9, 2000

2000 Healthstyles Survey: Prime Time Viewers and Health Information
Presented to the American Public Health Association (APHA), October 21, 2001

2001 Healthstyles Survey: TV Drama Viewers and Health Information
Presented to the American Public Health Association (APHA), November 17, 2003

2002 Healthstyles Survey: Telenovela Viewers and Health Information
Presented to the American Public Health Association (APHA), November 17, 2003

2005 Healthstyles Survey: TV Drama/Comedy Viewers and Health Information [218 KB]