264638 A community-engaged approach to lower obesity and diabetes via a social marketing campaign: The Brooklyn Partnership to Drive Down Diabetes (BP3D)

Monday, October 29, 2012

Kimberly George, MIA , Brooklyn Partnership to Drive Down Diabetes (BP3D), CAMBA, Brooklyn, NY
Calpurnyia Roberts, PhD , Brooklyn Health Disparities Center, Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health, Brooklyn, NY
Stephen Beasley, MFA , Brooklyn Partnership to Drive Down Diabetes (BP3D), CAMBA, Brooklyn, NY
Margaretta Fox , Fox Evaluation, New York, NY
In 2010, the Brooklyn Partnership to Drive Down Diabetes (BP3D), a multi-faceted, public health intervention, was formed to reduce obesity and Type 2 diabetes (T2D) in Central Brooklyn and East New York, Brooklyn, two of the most disenfranchised neighborhoods in New York City (NYC).

In 2011, with the support of community members/leaders, local organizations, and researchers, BP3D conducted formative research to create a community-engaged social marketing campaign that would: 1) address the social determinants influencing obesity and T2D in the targeted communities and 2) increase involvement in BP3D. In preparation for the launch, four preliminary advertisements were drafted. Adult residents across the life-course contributed feedback on the concepts/messages, competing factors, and visual quality of the advertisements through either a community survey (n=258) or a formal focus group (n =7). Additional input was provided by twenty of the BP3D Community Coalition members.

The final advertisements encouraged healthier eating habits and advocated for better food access, and were posted throughout the NYC transit system (e.g. subway cars) as well as Facebook and Twitter on Labor Day in 2011 to correspond with Brooklyn Labor Day Parade, which has 2+ million attendees annually. Preliminary findings suggest an increased involvement in the diabetes, nutrition, and fitness programs offered by BP3D.

We will present the steps taken in successfully implementing the community-engaged social media campaign, the evaluation process, the role of our community partners, and the challenges. The community-approach taken by BP3D may serve informative for other urban settings disproportionately impacted by obesity and T2D.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs

Learning Objectives:
1) Discuss the process of creating a social marketing campaign on a community-level with multiple partners; 2) Name various data collection methods for informing campaigns; and 3) Describe how the results from community-engaged projects can be used to tailor campaigns.

Keywords: Community-Based Partnership, Diabetes

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the principal of a federally funded grant focusing on prevention and management of obesity and diabetes in Brooklyn. I have been the Executive Director of the Greater Brooklyn Health Coalition for 6 years and have directed public health programming on infant mortaily reduction, cardiovascular disease prevention and early detection, building community support among minority populations for particiation in clinical trials, broad-based coalition building, community engagement and strategic planning in public health, and more.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.