TY - JOUR
T1 - Lessons Learned from Developing Tailored Community Communication Campaigns in the HEALing Communities Study
AU - Stein, Michael D.
AU - Krause, Carol
AU - Rodgers, Emma
AU - Silwal, Anita
AU - Helme, Donald
AU - Slater, Michael
AU - Beard, Dacia
AU - Lewis, Nicky
AU - Luster, Jamie
AU - Stephens, Kara
AU - Lefebvre, Craig
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
©, Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - This paper outlines lessons learned from tailoring communication campaigns to increase demand for, and reduce stigma toward, evidence-based practices to reduce opioid overdose deaths in 66 communities participating in the HEALing (Helping to End Addiction Long-termSM) Communities Study (HCS). We present nine lessons gathered about how to engage local communities in both virtual and in-person opioid messaging and distribution between February 2019 and June 2022. The research team created four communication campaigns and did extensive, tailored marketing and promotion to assist communities in implementing evidence-based clinical activities to reduce opioid overdose mortality. Various strategies and venues were used to amplify HCS messages, using free and paid outlets for message distribution, focusing primarily on social media due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Increasing the availability of medications for opioid use disorder and naloxone, as HCS attempted, is not enough; getting people to accept and use them depends on communication efforts. This paper focuses on the process of preparing communities for communication campaign activities, which we hope can help guide other communities preparing for opioid or substance-related campaigns in the future.
AB - This paper outlines lessons learned from tailoring communication campaigns to increase demand for, and reduce stigma toward, evidence-based practices to reduce opioid overdose deaths in 66 communities participating in the HEALing (Helping to End Addiction Long-termSM) Communities Study (HCS). We present nine lessons gathered about how to engage local communities in both virtual and in-person opioid messaging and distribution between February 2019 and June 2022. The research team created four communication campaigns and did extensive, tailored marketing and promotion to assist communities in implementing evidence-based clinical activities to reduce opioid overdose mortality. Various strategies and venues were used to amplify HCS messages, using free and paid outlets for message distribution, focusing primarily on social media due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Increasing the availability of medications for opioid use disorder and naloxone, as HCS attempted, is not enough; getting people to accept and use them depends on communication efforts. This paper focuses on the process of preparing communities for communication campaign activities, which we hope can help guide other communities preparing for opioid or substance-related campaigns in the future.
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U2 - 10.1080/10810730.2023.2262948
DO - 10.1080/10810730.2023.2262948
M3 - Article
C2 - 37752882
AN - SCOPUS:85173121768
SN - 1081-0730
VL - 28
SP - 699
EP - 705
JO - Journal of Health Communication
JF - Journal of Health Communication
IS - 10
ER -