Evaluation of a campaign to improve awareness and attitudes of young people towards mental health issues

• Published in: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology Vol. 48; no. 6; pp. 965 - 973
• Main Authors: Livingston, James D., Tugwell, Andrew, Korf-Uzan, Kimberly, Cianfrone, Michelle, Coniglio, Connie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.06.2013; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Attitude towards mental illness; Attitudes; Awareness; Biological and medical sciences; British Columbia; Cooperative Behavior; Epidemiology; Female; Health aspects; Health education; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Health literacy; Health Promotion - methods; Helping Behavior; Humans; Information Dissemination - methods; Male; Marketing of Health Services; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental disorders; Mental Disorders - psychology; Mental health; Online health care information services; Original Paper; Prevention. Health policy. Planification; Professional hockey; Program Evaluation; Psychiatry; Psychological aspects; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Public service advertising; Social Media; Social networks; Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry; Socialization; Socioeconomic Factors; Stereotyping; Stigma; Surveys and Questionnaires; Teenagers; Young Adult; Young adults; Youth; Canada; North America; America; British Columbia; Anti-stigma campaign; Social distance; Youth; Mental health awareness; Social media; Personal stigma; Human; Social environment; Interindividual distance; Evaluation; Attitude; Health promotion; Stigma; Awareness; Mental health; Mass campaign; Follow up study; Adolescent; Young adult; Mental disorder; Public health
• ISSN: 0933-7954; 1433-9285
• DOI: 10.1007/s00127-012-0617-3

Purpose This study evaluated the effectiveness of the In One Voice campaign for raising mental health awareness and improving attitudes of youth and young adults towards mental health issues. The campaign featured a prominent male sports figure talking about mental health issues and used online social media. Methods A successive independent samples design assessed market penetration and attitudinal changes among the young people. Two samples completed an online questionnaire either immediately before (T1: n  = 403) or 2 months after (T2: n  = 403) the campaign launch. Website analytics determined changes in activity levels of a youth-focused mental health website (mindcheck.ca). Results One-quarter (24.8 %, n  = 100) of the respondents remembered the campaign. The proportion of respondents who were aware of the website increased significantly from 6.0 % at T1 to 15.6 % at T2. Average overall scores on standardized measures of personal stigma and social distance were not significantly different between T1 and T2 respondents. Attitudes towards mental health issues were statistically similar between respondents who were or were not exposed to the campaign. Those who were exposed to the campaign were significantly more likely to talk about and seek information relating to mental health issues. Conclusions The proximal outcomes of the campaign to increase awareness and use of the website were achieved. The distal outcome of the campaign to improve attitudes towards mental health issues was not successfully achieved. The brief social media campaign improved mental health literacy outcomes, but had limited effect on personal stigma and social distance.