Since 1986, when America's current perception of a drug abuse crisis in the workplace began, many challenges and potential solutions have been identified. As we enter the 1990s, real progress in awareness and action has been made in many public and private American workplaces. However, the most important accomplishment--actual reduction in the number of persons using drugs in the workforce--is considerably more difficult to achieve. Research is being conducted in a number of employment settings to document how this can be done. While the results to date are encouraging, it is also clear that much remains to be done. Evidence from the national research reported in this book shows that many organizations regard their achievements on this front as modest at best, even though they have installed systematic programs aimed at reducing the problems of worker drug abuse.

The organizational change approach required to achieve drug-free workplaces is the main subject of this book. Based upon findings from a three-year national research study, Thomas Backer and Kirk O'Hara examine what has been done to combat drug abuse in the workplace. They place the results of their inquiry within the larger context of organizational change theory. The critical secondary issues of responses to AIDS in the workplace and containing employer health care costs through managed care are also addressed. This book's focus on programmatic responses to workplace drug abuse at the day-to-day implementation level will be welcomed by substance abuse professionals, designers and directors of employee assistance programs, human resources and benefits professionals, and managers concerned about substance abuse in the workplace.

This resource is an excellent overview of six health communication campaigns emphasizing insights gained and recommendations from actual experiences. . . . A total of 17 specialists with an impressive diversity of backgrounds and expertise (i.e., campaign experts, management, scientists, etc.) have contributed to this book--one that is loaded with invaluable lessons and insights for future health communications campaigns. . . . The bottom line: If you or your organization is (or will become involved) in such campaigns, this is a book worth reading. It is of interest and value to scholars, students, and professionals across a diversity of fields ranging from media studies and health education, to community policy and social work. --American Journal of Health Promotion "This is useful for its real-life examples." --Communication Booknotes With the steady rise in drug abuse, AIDS, and heart disease, those who devise health communication campaigns have been forced to become more aggressive and efficient in their agendas to promote health and prevent disease. This unique volume investigates the organizational dimensions of health campaigns, bringing together campaign experts and leading management scientists. How do organizations--universities, television and radio networks, advertising agencies, voluntary groups, advocacy and community organizations, and federal agencies--collaborate to make a campaign successful? How do organizational dynamics or structures influence campaign outcomes? Six case studies of some of the most visible campaigns in the last 20 years detail the history, development, operation, and evolution of health communication campaigns. Each case is followed by a commentary from a management expert. Readers will learn to better inspire, design, implement, and evaluate campaigns in various health areas by considering organizational factors. This extensive and accessible volume will be of interest to scholars, students, and professionals in media studies, public opinion, public health, community policy, health education, policy issues, and social work.

Advances in health care have made extraordinary changes in the life expectancy and level of vitality of the average American. Still, according to the U. S. Surgeon General, a full one-half of all premature deaths are due to lifestyle and, therefore, preventable. This important collection presents a comparative synthesis of what works and what does not in mass media health campaigns. High priority is given to coverage of substance abuse prevention campaigns, but programs on AIDS, smoking, teenage pregnancy, heart disease, Alzheimer's Disease, and vehicle seat belt use are also reviewed. Designing Health Communication Campaigns deepens our understanding of how to design, implement, and evaluate mass media campaigns by highlighting the contributions of media experts who add a human element to the various campaign experiences they describe. This work is indispensable in a fast-evolving field where it serves as both a reference and a concordance for interpreting many other analytic sources. Campaign designers, researchers, communications scholars and graduate students as well as policymakers and program funders will find the book to be valuable in helping make critical decisions about effective mass communication campaigns. "This volume is valuable because it emphasizes actual experiences, and is thus recommended as an adjunct to classic texts in the field. Graduate; faculty; professional." --Choice