Bringing Data to Life: The Power of Storytelling in Evaluation and Health Promotion

Theoretical Background and research questions/hypothesis:  Ladies First, a Vermont Department of Health program helping eligible women get breast, cervical and heart health screenings, sought to better understand the patient navigation experience and the program's impact on member health. The evaluation findings would be used to improve services as well as serve a promotional function by communicating the program's value and recruiting new members. The evaluation questions included: What impact did the program have on member health? What were perceived barriers to service? How was the program perceived by members? How could stories from members compel eligible women to seek a Ladies First membership?

Methods:  In 2015, the Vermont Department of Health contacted Ladies First members who had received patient navigation services in the previous year to participate in an evalution study. Out of 48 eligible members, 19 (40%) participated in individual, in-depth interviews by phone. Qualitative analysis of the interviews used grounded, inductive methods. The results were published using Facebook as the medium. The final campaign, “Real Stories from Ladies First,” featured personal testimonials and professional photography that were promoted through low-cost, targeted paid posts on the program's Facebook page. The target audience for the promoted posts included Vermont women 40 years old or older (primary), Vermont women 21-39 (secondary) with a household income of less than $60,000 and less than a college degree.

Results:  Results showed the Ladies First program and associated promotional campaign were well received. Participating members reported Ladies First improved their access to health care, reduced barriers and created a stronger support system. The evaluation data effectively captured compelling and inspiring testimonials from members to celebrate members' experiences and show the value of the program to others. The campaign metrics were overwhelmingly positive. There was more than a two-fold increase in the number of likes to the program's Facebook page and the number of visitors to the Ladies First website eligibility page and calls to the Member Services number increased three-fold. Of the total number of callers during the campaign, 77 percent were eligible or probably eligible for enrollment and sent an application. The number of active members as a result of the campaign was above average.

Conclusions:  This two-pronged approach, publication of an evaluation and communications campaign, proved to be an effective tool to improve existing services and increase visibility, engagement and enrollment.

Implications for research and/or practice: Program evaluation is often collected for the purpose of reporting progress back to grantors and stakeholders. By including communciations staff in all stages of evaluation planning, development and implementation, the data served multiple functions to advance the program. This approach can be easily scaled to fit programs with varying budgets and capacities.