THE NORWEGIAN MENTAL-HEALTH CAMPAIGN IN 1992 .1. POPULATION PENETRATION

A fund-raising TV show was broadcast on one Sunday in Autumn 1992 by t he Norwegian Broadcasting Cooperation, one of two TV channels covering the whole country. The 6 h show consisted of information on mental he alth problems and prevention intermingled with entertainment and repor ts of fund-raising activities. Newspapers, radio and TV had covered th e forthcoming TV show extensively. The campaign is evaluated as a nati onwide mass-media-based mental health campaign using a stratified rand om sample of 613 persons. Almost 94% were aware of the campaign, two-t hirds had watched the pre-campaign TV programs and 62% followed the ca mpaign day TV show. Nearly 70% had read about psychiatric disorders in connection with the campaign and 45% had discussed the campaign topic with others. Two-thirds made a financial contribution to the campaign , while 10% expressed some concern. The wide penetration of this campa ign conveying that psychological problems are a normal part of living and that solutions can be found has put mental health issues on the cu ltural agenda, and perhaps contributed to a breakdown of taboos and st igma associated with mental health problems.