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The True Value & Impact of Preventive Health Campaigns

Effective preventive health campaigns are key to growing volume, and more importantly, delivering better outcomes and creating healthier communities.

Being proactive about keeping patients engaged and on time for physicals, health screenings and follow-up appointments – it’s the key to growing visit volume, and more importantly, delivering better outcomes and creating healthier communities.

Certainly, the last couple of decades have seen incredible progress toward care and reimbursement models that focus on preventing illness as much as treating illness. However, in recent years we’ve seen some rollback. COVID was a major disruptor of course, as it temporarily forced a movement away from seeking healthcare that wasn’t considered essential or immediately necessary. But the problem runs deeper than that. What experts are seeing now is a decrease in uptake of preventive services coupled with an increase in chronic disease prevalence and severity. These trends signal the need for hospitals, medical practice providers and other health leaders to invest in preventive health campaigns.

As frontline healthcare providers, hospitals and primary/specialty care practices have a great opportunity to serve as pillars of strength and community-based health resources. They can inform the public about healthy lifestyles, disease prevention, nutrition, physical activity and mental health prevention options. Through effective preventive health campaigns, hospitals and providers can educate and engage consumers with the goal of reducing disease incidence and lowering healthcare costs while improving overall health outcomes for the communities they serve.

“Chronic barriers include lack of awareness about what preventive services are recommended and myriad social determinants such as cost, not having a primary care provider, living too far from providers, or lacking adequate transportation — just to name a few. To improve access to clinical preventive services at population scales, we must recognize and address the many variables that affect people’s awareness of such services and increase their willingness and ability to seek them.”

Paul Reed, MD, Director, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Jan. 2024

One very important place to start: Focus on engaging a younger audience because cancer and other diseases don’t abide by blanket screening guidelines. A growing body of evidence shows rising numbers of early-onset cancers – so if you only market mammograms and breast cancer risk assessments to women over 45, for example, you bypass many opportunities for early detection when the disease is most easily and effectively treatable. The same is true for other cancer types as well as other disease types – think heart disease, diabetes and so many others known in the industry as “silent killers.”

A quick word of caution, however, about using terms like silent killers: As a strategy-first healthcare marketing firm with extensive experience creating campaigns that capture hearts and minds, we are firm believers that there’s no need to scare people. For many, the fear of a life-changing diagnosis actually keeps them away, while the hope of lifelong health and catching problems early can be a powerful motivator. The best preventive health campaigns center on the positive. They illustrate the joy of staying healthy and/or returning to good health quickly due to early detection. Pfizer’s recent RSV vaccine PSA provides a great example of how marketing can inspire people to avoid the dangers of RSV without ever going negative in the messaging.

Health as an Investment

It’s well-known that preventive measures like health education and proper health screenings will minimize the need for more extensive – and expensive –  treatments. This concept of ‘health as an investment’ is particularly relevant in the face of today’s rising chronic disease rates and the associated economic burden they pose for patients, employers, health plans and care providers alike.

Of course, being proactive about prevention can and should extend beyond the hospital or physician practice walls – and each provides an opportunity for a partnership that expands the reach and effectiveness of your organization’s efforts. For example, school-based programs offer screenings and education to children and teens to address immediate health concerns and foster long-term awareness of preventive health practices. Likewise, pharmacy-based programs expand accessibility as points of care for screenings, vaccinations and general health advice.

Genetic and personalized screenings are also on the rise, offering the potential for tailored preventive healthcare plans based on an individual’s genetic predispositions for cancers, heart attacks and more. This approach can enhance the precision of preventive efforts, allowing for early interventions customized to specific risk factors. The increasing availability and effectiveness of these screenings provide a promising outlook for the future of preventive healthcare, instilling optimism in both healthcare professionals and the public. If you have such programs, be sure to market them in a preventive health campaign.

Measurement and Evaluation

By collecting and analyzing campaign performance, you can refine your strategies and optimize your messaging and tactics for better future results. That said, the true measure of success in preventive health extends far beyond data points like web traffic and social media shares. For instance, increases in screening participation rates, vaccinations, or even reduced incidences of certain chronic conditions are strong indicators of that your preventive measures are working. If you find your campaign isn’t delivering the results you need, start by assessing through these lenses:

  • Tone of voice: A positive, supportive tone helps people feel in control of their health journey, reducing the intimidation often associated with medical interventions.
  • Tailored messaging: In your community, do you find certain subsets of the population have the lowest rates of uptake for clinical prevention services? If so, focus on localized outreach and customizing your communications to match their needs, preferences and unique perspectives.
  • Multimedia marketing mix: Combine digital and social marketing with traditional media (including outdoor advertising) and in-person outreach.

A compelling preventive health campaign has the power to influence perceptions, attitudes and behaviors in ways that lead to better health outcomes. Through positive, targeted messaging with clear recommendations and an even clearer path to receiving convenient, affordable health screenings and regular primary care, healthcare communicators can change the trajectory of health in their local communities and set examples that can have healthy ripple effects across the country.

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