Development and Early Implementation ofThe Bigger Picture, a Youth-Targeted Public Health Literacy Campaign to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract

The prevalence of Type 2 diabetes (DM2) is rapidly rising, especially among minority and low-income youth. There is an unmet need to engage youth in identifying solutions to reverse this trajectory. Social marketing campaigns and entertainment education are effective forms of health communication for engaging populations in health-promoting behaviors. Critical to curbing the epidemic is moving the diabetes conversation away from individual behavior alone and toward a socio-ecologic perspective using a public health literacy framework. We developed an academic-community partnership to develop, implement, and evaluate a DM2 prevention campaign targeting minority and low-income youth. The Bigger Picture uses hard-hitting, youth-generated “spoken-word” messages around key environmental and social drivers of the DM2 epidemic. Campaign goals included promoting health capacity and civic engagement. This paper focuses on the development and implementation of the campaign, including (a) rationale and theoretical underpinnings; (b) steps in campaign creation; (c) testing the campaign messaging; and (d) campaign dissemination and evaluation planning. A youth-created health communication campaign using a public health literacy framework with targeted, relevant, and compelling messaging appears to be a promising vehicle for reaching at-risk youth to increase knowledge of and attitudes about preventing DM2, change social norms, and motivate participation in health promotion initiatives.

Kids SIPsmartER: A Feasibility Study to Reduce Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption Among Middle School Youth in Central Appalachia

“…This study, by Rogers et al, developed a social marketing and advocacy campaign for urban Hispanic and Latino high school students. 51 The campaign resulted in a greater understanding of and actions against the social factors that influence diabetes disparities among Hispanic and Latino teens. 51 Our study incorporated similar public health literacy concepts into a theory-based behavioral intervention and targeted a younger disparate population.…”

“…51 The campaign resulted in a greater understanding of and actions against the social factors that influence diabetes disparities among Hispanic and Latino teens. 51 Our study incorporated similar public health literacy concepts into a theory-based behavioral intervention and targeted a younger disparate population. The improvements in public health literacy based on survey and focus group findings indicate that middle school students can grasp social contributors to SSB consumption, acknowledge the importance of reducing SSBs on a community level, and feel empowered to play a role in this reduction.…”

“…No validated measure exists to assess public health literacy, so an instrument was developed based on one previous study 51 and a validated community connectedness subscale. 52 Table 3 illustrates the number of items and Cronbach αs (range = 0.53–0.89).…”

A Systematic Study of Dysregulated MicroRNA in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

“…It affects roughly 8.3% of the population, with 90% of these patients suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) [1]. T2DM is a complex disease caused by both genetic and environmental factors [2].…”

Social Bots for Online Public Health Interventions

“…This campaign profiled compelling stories of real smokers living with debilitating health effects from smoking and secondhand smoke exposure. Other campaigns found success in increasing awareness about diabetes by featuring stories of Latino youth advocates and using youthgenerated "spoken-word" messages in the campaigns [24], [25]. A majority of national-or local-level health communication interventions are delivered either via community organizations (such as schools), mass media (television, radio), or paid advertisements on the digital media (Facebook, Twitter) that direct audiences to campaign websites.…”