Social marketing efforts to promote teen EC access in California: Maximizing MySpace and other media outlets

The August 2006 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decision to make Plan B emergency contraception (EC) available over the counter for consumers age 18 and older highlights the need to minimize barriers to EC access for teens, who still require a prescription to obtain EC. To identify strategies to improve EC access for teens – including increased information and awareness – Pharmacy Access Partnership and the Pacific Institute of Women's Health (PIWH) conducted a series of focus groups with Latina, African American and Asian Pacific Islander youth in California, during which participants identified strategies to better meet teens' EC needs. These recommendations included making EC materials available via teen-targeted media sources, including the Internet and teen-focused magazines, as well as in venues with high teen traffic, such as shopping malls, restaurants and beauty salons.

These recommendations informed a multi-faceted social marketing campaign to increase teens' awareness of EC availability in pharmacies. First, Pharmacy Access Partnership and PIWH piloted a print media campaign in Los Angeles, California, to increase EC information and access among teens. Postcards with essential EC information were distributed first in Los Angeles schools, pharmacies, hair salons and cafes/restaurants, then across the state and nationwide. In addition, Pharmacy Access Partnership used the Internet (e.g. teen blogs, MySpace.com) to promote teen awareness of EC issues. To bolster national EC efforts targeting teens, Pharmacy Access Partnership also used mass media strategies to promote EC during the national Back Up Your Birth Control Day. Lessons learned from this media campaign will be shared.