![[ Visit Client Website ]](images/banner.gif)
Background: Smoking has continuously ranked as the primary cause of preventable disease. The Public Health Service Clinical Practice Guideline for Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence identifies the use of the internet as an effective means of delivering cessation interventions. National survey data reveal that the internet is the most frequently used source of health information and specifically for seeking smoking cessation information. Women in particular are primary consumers of health information on the internet and face unique challenges in the smoking cessation process. Web-assisted tobacco interventions (WATI) provide an accessible interface for smokers needing help in their quit attempt. Previous research shows that use of technologies that reduce barriers to treatment can increase success in smoking cessation.
Program background: Women.smokefree.gov, a WATI developed by the National Cancer Institute, launched May 2009 and was designed to reach and engage women who are quitting or planning to quit smoking. In general, WATIs provide a cost-effective and adaptable platform to improve smoking cessation rates. During the past year the Smokefree Women project (SFW) has added interactive features to the site. The NCI has been exploring the feasibility of integrating components of social media and Web 2.0 within our existing intervention as a strategy to optimize reach and impact and to increase engagement of women as they quit smoking. SFW has established a social media presence on social networking sites like Facebook and MomsLikeMe and on the microblogging platform, Twitter. Other elements of social web interactivity on women.smokefree.gov include the Smokefree e-card shop and Smokefree Monday Pledge. While the current SFW social media strategy allows for interactivity, community building, and information sharing, a larger focus on user-generated content as a method of enhancing audience engagement was absent. To capitalize on Web 2.0 technologies, encourage audience involvement through user-generated content, and celebrate the one-year anniversary of SFW, the “Celebrating Smokefree Voices” YouTubeTM contest was developed. The contest launched Mother’s Day 2010 and winners were announced around Independence Day to complement the contest theme, freedom from smoking. The YouTubeTM contest provided an opportunity to publicize and increase awareness of the campaign, re-emphasize key features and messages, and engage the primary and secondary target audiences. Ultimately, the aim of integrating a YouTubeTM contest within the current campaign was to increase awareness of the intervention and potentially smoking cessation within the primary audience.
Evaluation Methods and Results: This presentation will focus on the details of the SFW social media strategy including the implementation process and results of the YouTubeTM contest. Currently, there are more than 950 fans on the Smokefree Women Facebook page and more than 250 followers of @SmokefreeWomen on Twitter. Web analytics, fan page interactions, and details of the YouTubeTM contest including the number of videos submitted, video content, and winning videos will be presented.
Conclusions: Evaluation data suggests our target audience is being reached and increasingly engaged in the campaign.
Implications for research and/or practice: Utilizing new media to aid smoking cessation and engaging the target audience may improve the reach and impact of WATIs.