April 7-9, 2022 • Hyatt Regency • Lexington, KY
Communication Strategies to Promote Comprehensive Well-being
Communication Strategies to Promote Comprehensive Well-being
Abstract: Process Evaluation of a Communication Campaign to Promote Access to a Treatment for High Risk Outpatients with COVID-19
Background: Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are an effective therapeutic for early, outpatient treatment of high-risk COVID-19 patients. mAbs have been shown to have upwards of 70% effectiveness at preventing progression to hospitalization and death when given early after COVID-19 symptom onset. However, to-date they continue to be an underutilized treatment in part due to lack of public awareness. Our team launched a public communication campaign aimed at raising public awareness of mAb treatments in Colorado. The rapidly evolving media and information context surrounding COVID-19 necessitates diligent process evaluation efforts in response to changing communication needs (Valente, 2002). Further, in order to meet our aim of facilitating equitable access to mAbs, it is critical that our process evaluation efforts assess the effectiveness of campaign dissemination to diverse audiences. Methods: The mAb Colorado communication campaign consists primarily of digital media advertising including Facebook and Instagram ads, Google search ads, and website banner ads which ran continuously from July - October 2021. We also partnered with local radio stations to advertise via their online platforms (i.e., website takeovers and social media ads). Advertisements were programmed to target communities experiencing an outsized burden from COVID-19, including Native Americans, Spanish-speaking Latinx, and residents of rural areas in Colorado. Additionally, a campaign website (www.mAbColorado.org) was created to provide comprehensive patient information about mAb treatments and how to access them. Process evaluation efforts consisted of employing online analytic platforms (i.e., Facebook/Instagram Analytics, Google Analytics) to track digital advertising metrics including reach, impressions, and click-throughs to the campaign website. Google Analytics was also used to track time spent on the website and clicks on a button for finding treatment. Analytics were pulled and evaluated on a bi-weekly basis and adjustments to campaign materials and ad targeting settings were made as needed. Results: To-date digital advertisements have generated over 7.5 million impressions reaching nearly 1 million internet users in Colorado. This has led to more than 23,000 clicks to the website and >50% of website visitors have spent 30 seconds or longer on the website. Social media advertisements received nearly 3,000 reactions (e.g., likes, hearts, angry-face) of which the large majority were positive (e.g., likes and hearts). Additionally, users commented on Facebook advertisements over 600 times, saved the ads over 550 times, and shared the ads nearly 1,600 times—greatly expanding the overall reach of the campaign. Early analytics showed a failure to engage Black and Latinx internet users. Thus, changes were made to campaign visuals and advertisement placements were updated to feature top performing ads for these audiences—resulting in increased engagement. Conclusion: By conducting process evaluation, we were able to make early and effective changes to campaign implementation to improve the fidelity and reach of digital advertisements. Specifically, by tracking the performance of ads across demographic groups, we were able to make changes to message visuals in order to increase engagement with target audience members. Campaign evaluation efforts are ongoing.