Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of paid advertisement (PA) media campaigns and direct mail to Medicare beneficiaries promoting influenza immunizations among persons with diabetes and pneumococcal immunizations (PPV) for those at risk. Methods: PA campaigns were conducted in one media market for influenza (4-week) and another for PPV (6-week) in 1999. The influenza campaign included TV, radio and newsprint media. The PPV campaign included TV and newsprint. Letters promoting PPV were mailed to a random sample of Medicare beneficiaries in the PA and a non-PA comparison market. Pre- and post-campaign telephone surveys were conducted among persons aged >=45 in the PA and non-PA markets. Results: An increase in influenza message awareness was found comparing the baseline to post-campaign for the PA market (17% vs. 37%) while no difference was found in the comparison market (20% vs. 24%). Increases in PPV message awareness were found from baseline to post-campaign for the PA (18% vs. 68%) compared to the non-PA market (18% vs. 22%). The proportion of respondents ever hearing of PPV increased from baseline to post-campaign in the PA (63% vs. 78%) and the non-PA (64% vs. 74%) markets. The proportion of respondents who had recently received a PPV (past 3 months) increased from baseline to post-campaign in both the PA and the non-PA markets (1% vs. 4%). Conclusions: The results suggest that campaigns and direct mail moderately increased message awareness. However, the effect on delivery of PPV immunizations was small and consistent with previous studies of direct-mail interventions without media.
Learning Objectives: (1) describe a health communication campaign promoting influenza immunizations for persons with diabetes and PPV for those at risk at the state level; (2) evaluate the effectiveness of these campaigns on awareness and recent immunization at the state level; and (3) discuss strategies for evaluating a combined health communications and health systems campaign at the state level
Keywords: Immunizations, Diabetes
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: CDC
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.