The success of a public health program is measured by its reach (number of people who participate in the intervention), impact (percentage of people who change their behavior as a result of the intervention) and cost per person to deliver.

Current public health programs face a dilemma: Mass media (brochures, billboards, radio, television, etc.) reach many people with a low per person cost, but offer little or no proven efficacy¹. Intensive approaches (individual counseling, group-based clinics, etc.) offer higher efficacy, but reach relatively few and have a high per person cost^2,3,4.

Individually tailored health programs, using new interactive technologies, aim to solve this dilemma. They have the reach and low per person cost of mass media, while achieving the higher efficacy of personalized treatments found in more intensive approaches. There are now a number of studies demonstrating both the efficacy and reach of these new media technologies^2,5,6.

Tailored programs are proving to be an effective alternative to counseling because they succeed at making a personal connection with the individual. Like a personal counselor, tailoring technology can make a thorough assessment, combine critical information, develop an effective intervention, and deliver it privately and confidentially to an individual. Tailored health programs can also work with each person over time, continuously strengthening a personal connection, building a relationship, and empowering individuals to take control of their lives and their health.

Organizations are now able to deliver highly effective tailored health programs to many people, and as these programs become available on the Web, they are becoming increasingly affordable.

¹Flay, B.R. (1987). Mass media and smoking cessation: A critical review. American Journal of Public Health, 77, 153-160.
²Strecher, V.J. (1999). Computer-tailored smoking cessation materials: a review and discussion. Patient Education and Counseling, 36, 107-117.
³ Chapman, S. (1985). Stop-smoking clinics: A case for their abandonment. Lancet, 1, 919-920.
⁴ Glynn, T.J., Boyd, G.M., & Grumnan, J.C. (1990). Essential elements of self-help minimal interventions strategies for smoking cessation. Health Education Quarterly, 17, 329-345.
⁵ Robinson TN, Patrick K, Eng TR, Gustafson D. (1998). An evidence-based approach to interactive health communication: a challenge to medicine in the information age. Journal of the American Medical Association; 280:264-9
⁶ Ramelson, H.Z., Friedman, R.H., & Ockene, J.K. (1999). An automated telephone-based smoking cessation education and counseling system. Patient Education and Counseling, 36, 131-144.