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Background: Teenagers frequently watch music videos and view information provided on social networking sites, such as YouTube. Research done in 2009 showed a total lack of music videos on YouTube about the value of adolescent immunization. The Indiana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (INAAP) received a Healthy People 2010 immunization grant from the AAP to create and produce a music video on pertussis and the need for Tdap vaccine to be disseminated through YouTube, Facebook, a new website, other website links and DVDs.
Setting: Schools, public health clinics, physician offices
Population: Adolescents and their families; immunization educators in a variety of settings
Project Description: Through a partnership with the Media Arts Department of Butler University, a highly entertaining music video was created, focused on pertussis disease and the need for Tdap vaccination. The fast-paced 5-minute music video features five different types of musical styles/performing groups, with the star being the newly created rapper character named Tdap Vac, who is also the central character for the TdapVac website. Focus groups of teens were used during its creation to be sure the health educational messages were appealing and easy to understand. The music video entitled “TdapVac & Friends Visit the Classroom” was posted on YouTube, Facebook, and a new website www.tdapvac.com in the summer of 2010.
Results/Lessons Learned: Page hits from the www.tdapvac.com website were tracked. A total of 70,497 page hits occurred in the 7 month time period from October 2010 through April 2011. From October 2011 through January 2012, a monthly average of 10,007 page hits occurred, demonstrating continued interest. As of February 7, 2012, there have been 1,967 upload views on the YouTube posting. The Facebook posting was not successful.