Evaluating the National MRSA Education Initiative

Theoretical Background and research questions/hypothesis:  CDC, with support from the CDC Foundation, developed the National MRSA Education Initiative, a national social marketing campaign to help Americans recognize and prevent MRSA skin infections. The Initiative targets mothers of children 0-18 years old, with focus on African American mothers and mothers with limited income.  Launched in September 2008, the Initiative informs audiences about MRSA skin infection signs and symptoms, treatment guidance, and prevention recommendations.  

Methods:  CDC utilized Porter Novelli’s 2008 and 2009 HealthStyles, a nationally representative survey administered annually, to understand changes in awareness and knowledge of target target audiences.  Questions related to respondents' knowledge of specific MRSA prevention and recognition messages featured in the Initiative.  The survey vehicle oversampled low-income, minority and households with children.  In addition, several process measures were tracked to capture message reach.

Results:  Research conducted eight months post-launch showed several statistically significant results.  Mothers who were aware of the campaign were twice as likely to know the signs of an MRSA skin infection and when to seek treatment as those who were unaware of the campaign (43% aware versus 19% unaware). Eighty percent of moms aware of the campaign knew prevention measures, compared to 67% of moms unaware of the campaign. African American mothers who were aware of the campaign were twice as likely to know the signs of an MRSA skin infection and when to seek treatment (35.2% aware versus 17.5% unaware).  Approximately 81% of African-American mothers aware of the campaign knew MRSA prevention measures, compared to 64% of those unaware of the campaign.  From 2008 to 2009, African American moms showed the most significant increase in MRSA knowledge, with the percentage of those who knew when to seek treatment rising to 25% from 18%. In addition, process measure analysis showed at least 30 million impressions overall, 1.5 million page views of the campaign Web site, and 110 individual materials ordered from CDC-INFO.

Conclusions:  This research shows that the Initiative is likely an effective communications vehicle toward prevention and recognition of community MRSA skin infections in the target populations.

Implications for research and/or practice: The National MRSA Education Initiative demonstrates that significant progress in educating traditionally difficult-to-reach populations can be made with a combination of traditional and emerging communications tactics.