Connecting the Dots: Using Digital Media to Measure Behavior Change In Public Health Campaigns

Public health communicators have found it difficult to show that communication interventions results in behavior change at an individual level. In most cases, intermediate outcomes such as click-through-rates and “likes” or retweets” are used to show progress along a continuum, with the assumption that these intermediate outcomes will lead to the desired long term change. Digital media has the power to help change behavior, and it offers robust real-time tracking and data collection tools that can be used to measure this change. This presentation will demonstrate the digital media used in two different public health communication campaigns, how it was selected to match the communication preferences of the distinct target audiences, the measures that were used to evaluate the effort, and the results. In the first campaign, digital media were used to measure changes in intent, which as health communication theory tells us, is a prerequisite for behavior change. In the second, digital media prompted behavior change by connecting the online and offline worlds. For public health practitioners who need to deliver certain project outcomes and justify budgets, these powerful results, i.e. 24% increase in intention to change behavior and over 300 people vaccinated through a social media program, demonstrate a direct correlation between media buys and impacts on key determinants of behavior. Ultimately, the availability of these digital media channels and tools move public health practitioners one step closer to the ultimate goal of measuring a campaign's success in motivating behavior change.