It's up to Us: A Two Year Review of a Stigma Reduction and Suicide Prevention Mass Media Campaign

Background:  It’s Up To Us is a five-year,  $8.4 million mass media campaign with goals to reduce stigma related to mental illness, promote mental wellness, counter negative stereotypes, and prevent suicide in San Diego County.  It is funded through the California Mental Health Services Act and administered by the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency. 

Program background:  To establish a solid evaluation framework for the campaign, the team utilized a comprehensive three pronged research process that included evaluations of other stigma reduction and suicide-prevention media campaigns, baseline awareness and annual follow up studies as well as stakeholder engagement and ongoing input. The data has been translated into a logic model and behavior change messaging for different priority populations.  In addition to mass media, the campaign employs various targeted outreach efforts including a primary care education campaign, workforce education training and using cultural brokers to target small, underserved and at risk populations. 

Evaluation Methods and Results:  The presentation will share findings from the baseline, 6 month and 18 month studies, demonstrating  that since the campaign’s July 2010 launch, the campaign has resulted in significant improvements in community knowledge in recognition of signs/symptoms, awareness of where to get help, as well as a significant reduction in stigma as reported by social distance measures.

Conclusions:  Findings indicate that San Diegans who saw campaign ads scored significantly higher on the Lack of Social Distancing scale and on the Mental Health Knowledge & Access scale, indicating reduced stigma and increased knowledge of mental health resources. Respondents felt that they were more likely to be supportive of someone experiencing mental illness, treat others with mental illness with respect, feel comfortable talking to a friend or family member about their mental illness, and are more likely to make a personal effort to find out about mental illness. 

Implications for research and/or practice:  This 2-year review of the It’s Up to Us campaign will discuss lessons learned, unexpected partners and collaborators as well as evaluation techniques. The presentation examines how the campaign continues to improve upon relevant strategies through ongoing input and evaluation processes, advanced stigma reduction, and increases knowledge of available resources related to suicide prevention. Evidence for effectiveness includes: Of the 83% of San Diegans who recognized the ads: 36% had discussed them with someone else; 84% were more likely to be supportive; 75% more likely to feel comfortable talking to a friend or family member about their mental illness; and there was a 44% increase in people stating they know where to seek help (69% vs. 48%).  A significantly larger number of San Diegans who saw the campaign ads agreed that people with mental illness should be hired just like other people (62% vs. 52%), stated that they would be willing to socialize (76% vs.64%), work closely with (67% vs 59%), and have a person who is experiencing mental illness marry into their family (37% vs. 27%).