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. 2018 Jun;24(Suppl 1):i52-i59.
doi: 10.1136/injuryprev-2017-042651. Epub 2018 Mar 16.

Social marketing to address attitudes and behaviours related to preventable injuries in British Columbia, Canada

Jennifer Smith  1   2 , Xin Zheng  1 , Kevin Lafreniere  2 , Ian Pike  1   2   3
Affiliations

Social marketing to address attitudes and behaviours related to preventable injuries in British Columbia, Canada

Jennifer Smith et al. Inj Prev. 2018 Jun.

Abstract

Background: Social marketing is a tool used in the domain of public health for prevention and public education. Because injury prevention is a priority public health issue in British Columbia, Canada, a 3-year consultation was undertaken to understand public attitudes towards preventable injuries and mount a province-wide social marketing campaign aimed at adults aged 25-55 years.

Methods: Public response to the campaign was assessed through an online survey administered to a regionally representative sample of adults within the target age group between 1 and 4 times per year on an ongoing basis since campaign launch. A linear regression model was applied to a subset of this data (n=5186 respondents) to test the association between exposure to the Preventable campaign and scores on perceived preventability of injuries as well as conscious forethought applied to injury-related behaviours.

Results: Campaign exposure was significant in both models (preventability: β=0.27, 95% CI 0.20 to 0.35; conscious thought: β=0.24, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.35), as was parental status (preventability: β=0.12, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.21; conscious thought: β=0.18, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.30). Exposure to the more recent campaign slogan was predictive of 0.47 higher score on conscious thought (95% CI 0.27 to 0.66).

Discussion: This study provides some evidence that the Preventable approach is having positive effect on attitudes and behaviours related to preventable injuries in the target population. Future work will seek to compare these data to other jurisdictions as the Preventable social marketing campaign expands to other parts of Canada.

Keywords: behavior change; campaign; public health; social marketing.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: IP is serves as Co-Executive Director for The Community Against Preventable Injuries. KL serves as Executive Director for The Community Against Preventable Injuries.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Sample of survey items to measure attitudes and behaviours related to serious injuries.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Preventability and conscious thought scales.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Preventable messaging at the time and place that injuries are likely to occur.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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