Promoting Inclusion and Inspiring Diverse Communities: Celebrating Recovery From Substance Use and/or Mental Health Problems Online

Background:  National Recovery Month (Recovery Month), a Federal campaign sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, educates on how treatment and recovery support services help those with substance use and/or mental health problems live healthy and productive lives. Using digital tactics, Recovery Month created a space where formerly disconnected groups—those in recovery, their loved ones, and service providers—could share their stories and celebrate recovery together. This space promotes the overall Recovery Month message: prevention works, treatment is effective, and people recover.

Program background:  Recovery Month conducted an online conversation audit and found its key audiences—those in recovery, their loved ones, and service providers—were sharing personal experiences and sources of inspiration online, yet they lacked a central online meeting place to bridge them. While prejudices around recovery existed, the recovery community itself embraced these stories and Recovery Month used online tools to both create a central location for conversation, encouragement, and celebration of recovery and drive these groups to the hub through online engagement.

Evaluation Methods and Results:  To bridge these audiences, Recovery Month:

• Conducted research: Recovery Month used qualitative and quantitative research to identify substance use recovery and mental health conversations online.
• Utilized Facebook and developed blogger relationships: Recovery Month methodically expanded its online presence through its Facebook Page and blogger relations. It actively spoke out against recovery misconceptions and encouraged broad audiences to interact and participate in conversations.
• Activated a Twitter following: After developing positive relationships with bloggers that share personal stories and growing Facebook conversation, Recovery Month expanded to Twitter. Recovery Month positively increased responses through sharing inspirational quotes, congratulations, and words of encouragement to Twitter users discussing treatment and recovery. This outreach positioned Recovery Month as a key voice in recovery conversations.
• Continued to identify new opportunities: Recovery Month continues to insert itself into conversations to promote inclusion and encourage conversation around recovery. This year, Recovery Month will expand its core program by conducting Twitter chats and an online PSA contest.

Results: We evaluated our success through online metrics: Recovery Month received 4,612 total interactions on Facebook (likes and comments) since July 2009 and 852 mentions on Twitter since January 2010. The campaign conversed with 192 bloggers, resulting in 55 positive relationships and 31 blog posts since 2009. Our metrics proved Recovery Month successfully created an online space where once disconnected audiences could convene, ultimately building momentum around inclusion and changing perspectives on recovery. In addition, other Recovery Month campaigns, including website hits and views during this time.

Conclusions:  Recovery Month successfully found and bolstered positive online conversation and built a central hub to do so. This program can serve as a model for other organizations seeking effective online approaches to reduce negativity toward a health issue and increase encouraging discussion. 

Implications for research and/or practice:  The achievement of the campaign’s objectives show how to connect these diverse audiences in positive conversation and fill the void of online meeting places for those wishing to discuss a common health issue.