Using Social Media and Mobile Technology to Address the Changing Public Health Landscape and Inspire Action

Background:

After falling for 14 straight years, the national teen birth rate suddenly jumped 3 percent. Teenage pregnancy rates in Iowa were nearly 33 percent for women ages 15–19 in 2006. Experts debated the cause, blaming everything from an over-sexualized culture to abstinence-only education to the negative influence of mass media.

Program background:

The Iowa Department of Human Services and FutureNet took action by partnering with Fleishman-Hillard (FH) to create a statewide teen pregnancy prevention campaign aimed to motivate behavior change and impact teen attitudes and perceptions about critical health issues. Research was a critical first step in developing a strategic, action-oriented public health campaign that resonated with adolescents (age 13-19) in Iowa while increasing pregnancy prevention awareness.

Evaluation Methods and Results:

The (TxT) program encourages open peer-to-peer dialogue about teen pregnancy through text messaging, social networks and online channels, thereby speaking to teens in their own language through vehicles they know and trust. According to one adult advocate, “Not only did (TxT) have an impact on the teens’ attitudes, it caused them to do MORE than think, but to SHOW.” The campaign helps teens be proud of making good choices and promote healthy behavior to others.

• 63 percent of participating team members  believed the campaign positively influenced attitudes, views, and/or behaviors of Iowa teens related to sex and 88 percent indicated teens were interested in (TxT) overall.  
• Via an anonymous hotline, teens submitted hundreds of sexual health-related questions and received instant answers via text from a trained sex educator, enabling teens to receive accurate and timely safe sex education.
• (TxT) formulated an active group of teen peer advocates, drove 17,000 visitors to website.
• Teens from 22 high schools submitted 80 unique texting acronyms to promoting awareness and create reminders to practice safe sex.  

Metrics included:

• Unsolicited and solicited feedback from program participants (e.g. survey)
• Social media engagement 
• Mobile texting
• Sex education hotline calls
• Campaign opt-in
• Advertisements (radio, newspaper and school events)

Conclusions:

Leveraging research findings and principles from proven behavior change models, the Talking Sex Together (TxT) campaign surpassed the traditional “birds and bees” discussion. The (TxT) campaign delivered a message that empowered teens to help one another make good decisions about sex. (TxT) acknowledged teens’ need to feel independent while being part of a community. To enable genuine peer-to-peer dialogue on pregnancy prevention, FH effectively leveraged teens’ heavy utilization of mobile and online mediums stimulate on-going dialogue about an important health issue.

Implications for research and/or practice: 

Efforts to affect health attitudes, perceptions and behavior change work best with the inclusion of relevant theoretical frameworks, audience segmentation, careful message design and appropriate channel selection. Implemented at the state level, the campaign serves as a scalable model for implementing public health program to reach niche audiences with important health information and motivate intended action. Through the lens of the (TxT) program model, the presentation will share key learnings, considerations, and effective strategies to successfully navigate social media and mobile communications in the evolving public health landscape.