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Social Marketing Campaign: Increasing Awareness of Local Health Services

Defining the Problem The purpose of this project is to build awareness of the health and social services located in Chatham County, which will hopefully encourage the residents to utilize these services as opposed to those outside of the county. Deciding on a Social Marketing Campaign A group of UNC students conducted a needs assessment for Chatham County and found many residents either chose to seek care outside of the county or chose to forgo care altogether. Many residents said it was incredibly difficult, expensive, and time consuming to sustain the care they received. Upon further analysis, the group found that providers and residents alike were widely unaware of the health services located within Chatham County and that these services were stigmatized by the residents who did know of them. As a result, the team decided to implement a social marketing campaign to help increase awareness of the health services located in Chatham County as well as de-stigmatize them. Identifying the Target Audience and Agents of Change

•  Elderly population"•  Low-income population"•  Minority population"

Target Audience"

•  Medical providers"•  Social service organizations"•  Chatham County Health Department"•  Chatham Transit"

Agents of Change"

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Goals and Metrics The overall goal is to get the residents of Chatham County to utilize the health and social services that are located within the Chatham County rather than those outside of the county. Key Metrics

● Measure the change in visits to participating websites before and after the intervention ● Measure the amount of providers and community partners who signup through the

provider tool ● Measure the change in providers’ knowledge of local health services through survey

evaluations. Sample questions are provided below: ○ Do you know where to refer patients with mental health issues? ○ Do you know where to refer patients who need elderly support services? ○ Do you know where to refer patients who need transportation assistance?

Engaging Stakeholders One of the most important aspects of a social marketing campaign is to keep stakeholders and potential partners actively engaged throughout the process. While developing the campaign, the group of UNC students engaged the stakeholders by hosting several focus groups, conducting one-on-one interviews, and facilitating electronic correspondences. Following the implementation of the campaign, the providers and partnering organizations will provide feedback through survey evaluations, which will be used to help improve the intervention. Analyzing Key Behaviors and Environments Related to the Goal Although the social marketing campaign is meant to benefit the residents of Chatham County, they may face some barriers during its implementation. Some of these barriers include overcoming the pre-existing stigma about the quality in-county services, overcome perceived stigma from other residents and peers, difficulty finding or altering transportation, and the costs associated with switching to a local provider. However, by patronizing the health and social services within Chatham County, the residents will spend less money and time commuting to and from their appointments, which will hopefully improve their continuum of care and de-stigmatize the local establishments. Core Components of Campaign The social marketing campaign is composed of two core components: an info-graphic to help providers and residents learn about the local health services as well as a tool for providers and community partners to add themselves to the database. The tool for providers and community partners to add themselves to the database of county health services will be located on the Chatham Health Alliance website.

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Tailoring the Campaign The information is available in both Spanish and English to increase awareness throughout Chatham County’s various communities. Implementation

Evaluation The pilot program will include three provider evaluations (at the start, midway, and following its completion). These evaluations will provide a baseline of the providers’ knowledge of local services and allow the facilitators to track any changes. Feedback There will be sections for providers to voice their opinions, challenges, and concerns about the program within the provider evaluations. These comments will highlight the opportunities for improvement, which will be used to help the program run more efficiently and effectively. Intervention Management The Chatham Health Alliance will appoint a small committee (three to five people) to manage the social marketing campaign. Their primary responsibility is to develop and conduct the provider surveys as well as use this data to evaluate the program’s effectiveness.

Months 1-2"

•  Conduct initial provider survey"

•  Disseminate info-graphic electronically and physically to providers and community partners"

•  Share provider tool"

Months 3-4"

•  Conduct secondary provider survey"

•  Track changes in providers' knowledge"

•  Continue to educate providers and residents about local health services"

Months 5-6"

•  Conduct final provider survey"

•  Track changes in providers' knowledge"

•  Continue to educate providers and residents about local health services"

Following the Pilot Test"

•  Analyze data collected"

•  Evaluate the intervention"

•  Determine if the Chatham Health Alliance wants to continue with the intervention"