Ante La Duda, Pregunta: A Social Marketing Campaign to Improve Contraceptive Access during a Public Health Emergency

Abstract

During the 2016-2017 Zika virus outbreak, preventing unintended pregnancy was recognized as a primary strategy to reduce adverse Zika-related pregnancy and birth outcomes. To increase awareness and uptake of contraceptive services provided through the Zika Contraception Access Network (Z-CAN) in Puerto Rico, a multi-strategy campaign called Ante La Duda, Pregunta (ALDP) was developed. The principal aim was to increase awareness of Z-CAN services, which included same-day access to the full range of reversible contraceptives at no cost to women living in Puerto Rico who choose to delay or avoid pregnancy during the 2016-2017 Zika virus outbreak. Using diverse strategies, ALDP increased exposure to and engagement with the campaign in order to raise awareness of Z-CAN services in Puerto Rico. The ALDP social marketing campaign played an important role in the overall Z-CAN effort. Of all the strategies utilized, Facebook appears to have reached the most people. While the importance of a social marketing campaign communicating to raise awareness and create demand has long been known, through the ALDP campaign efforts, it was shown that an effective campaign, built on formative research, can be developed and implemented rapidly in an emergency response situation without compromising on content, quality, or reach.

Figure 1.

Four storyline characters created for the ALDP campaign. From left to right: Amanda is a 30-year-old business woman who selects the implant; Carla is a 24-year-old wife who uses birth control pill; Isabel represented a 19-year-old college student who gets an IUD; and Cecilia is a 35-year-old wife with two kids and uses the vaginal ring.

Figure 2.

Examples of campaign print materials - a poster and the patient kit.