Category Archives: RxAwareness

28Aug / 2018

Kentucky Takes a Novel Approach to Fight the Opioid Crisis

A pile of prescription medicine bottles.

The opioid overdose epidemic is a public health emergency. The state of Kentucky has the third highest rate of drug overdose in the country. The FindHelpNowKY.org website bridges a gap between Kentucky residents and timely access to substance use treatment facilities and services. It provides near real-time available openings at local area substance use disorder (SUD) facilities.

Tailoring treatment optionsUsing an innovative approach. Kentucky teens will take the lead in advertising FindHelpNowKY.org. Using federal funding, the team is running a challenge for high school students to produce campaign advertisements to promote the website and raise awareness about the risks of drug use. The top student-produced print, broadcast, billboard, and radio ads will be incorporated into the "Don't Let Them Die--Find Help Now KY" campaign.

You can use over 30 different search criteria on the website to find the right SUD treatment facility for your needs. These criteria include accepted insurance, gender identity, facility type (inpatient and outpatient treatment facilities etc.), and co-occurring treatment for mental health disorders. Over 500 SUD treatment facilities appear on the website who update their opening availability daily to facilitate rapid matching of individual treatment need with available treatment. The easy to use design of the FindHelpNowKY.org landing page helps high-priority populations, like adolescents and pregnant women, find treatment options and availability.

Providing FindHelpNowKY.org to Those in Need

FindHelpNowKY.org is running a promotional campaign during the summer of 2018 to:

  1. Raise awareness of the site as a valuable resource to quickly locate SUD treatment facilities with available openings. TV spots, radio ads, billboards, and digital media ads will run to reach primary audiences.
  2. Drive website traffic and use by:
    1. family and friends of individuals with SUDs, and individuals with SUDs (primary audiences); and
    2. health care providers including primary care providers and first responders (secondary audiences). The website is being promoted at physician association meetings, and physician pocket cards with SUD resources, including FindHelpNowKY.org will be distributed
  3. Inform the public about SUD educational information available on FindHelpNowKYorg.

Measuring progress

Kentucky assessed the need for the FindHelpNowKy.org website based on a physician focus group, Office of Drug Control Policy (ODCP) input, and community mental health centers’ feedback. These stakeholders helped identify the need for this website and the need for more timely access to SUD treatment. Metrics to measure success will include website analytics, surveys of SUD treatment providers, and average search time

FindHelpNowKY.org has had over 100,000 page views and over 26,000 unique searches from February 1, 2018- August 7, 2018.. Approximately 40% of website visits originated from social media, google searches, and referrals from other websites. Most users spent an average of 7.5 minutes on the website, suggesting that they were reading and engaged with the content. Visitors also ran 2-3 searches during their visits, indicating that they conducted unique searches based on differing search criteria.

Common searches also included seeking long-term residential or outpatient treatment facilities that accept Medicaid or Medicare. The FindHelpNow domain is being obtained by Kentucky so that interested states can use the FindHelpNow website platform with their respective state facility data in it.

Learn more

  • If you or a loved one requires assistance or information on SUD treatment and prevention topics contact the statewide hotline number 1-833-8KY-HELP
  • Kentucky Drug Overdose Prevention Program (http://www.mc.uky.edu/kiprc/programs/kdopp.html)
  • Don’t Let Them Die, The Governor of Kentucky’s communication campaign that seeks to raise awareness of the dangers of opioid use

We want to hear from you!

Leave a comment below about what your state is doing to combat the opioid overdose epidemic. This was developed by the Kentucky Drug Overdose Prevention Program at the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center, at the University of Kentucky’s College of Public Health as bona fide agent for the Kentucky Department for Public Health. The project was a collaboration between the office of Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin, Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, and Justice and Public Safety Cabinet.

Funding for the website came from the CDC National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. FindHelpNowKY.org was supported by Cooperative Agreement Number, 5 NU17CE002732-03, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Department of Health and Human Services.

Posted by in communication campaign, drug overdose, injury, Kentucky, opioid, opioid epidemic, opioid overdose, overdose, prescription opioids, Prevention/Vaccination, public health, RxAwareness, unintentional injury

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08Aug / 2018

Preventing Prescription Opioid Overdoses in New York State

A pile of prescription medicine bottles.

Like many states, New York is suffering from the consequences of the opioid overdose epidemic. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of overdoses due to both prescription and illicit drug use in recent years. Overdoses are killing people of all races and ages. The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) is coordinating statewide prevention interventions to save lives and prevent opioid overdoses.

Adapting the RxAwareness Campaign for New York State

Tamera's Rx Awarness story
The Rx Awareness campaign videos tell the real stories of people whose lives have been negatively impacted by prescription opioid use and abuse.

The NYSDOH’s Prescription Drug Overdose Prevention Program is using the CDC RxAwareness Campaign. The campaign ran from February 2018 to June 2018. This is an evidence-driven prescription opioid overdose prevention campaign that tells the real stories of people whose lives have been torn apart by opioid use and abuse.  The campaign aims to:

  • Increase everyone’s awareness that opioids can be addictive and dangerous
  • Increase the number of individuals that choose options other than opioids for safe and effective pain management
  • Decrease the number of individuals who use opioids for non-medical or recreational reasons

NYSDOH is using six 30-second testimonial video ads and five 30-second radio ads featuring people and families affected by prescription opioid abuse and overdose. This campaign includes Facebook ads, popular website display banners, streaming audio, and Google Search ads. Web banner ads and online search ads designed and audience tested by CDC were also used.

Real-time Monitoring Makes a Difference

The beauty of digital marketing is that it allows for real-time monitoring and optimization. The NYSDOH monitored two key metrics from the campaign every week:

  1. Click-through rates (CTR): the ratio of people who clicked on an ad compared to the total number of people who viewed the ad.
  2. Cost-per-click (CPC): the price that is paid for each click on the ad.

Continuously assessing the performance of individual ads allowed NYSDOH to swap out lower performing ads for higher performing ads. For example, mobile placements were showing strong performance, so more of the budget was allocated towards these placements and the budget for lower performing ads was reduced. High performance ads have greater reach, which leads to greater impact and increases the likelihood that the campaign will achieve its goals.

Evaluation Findings Help NY Maximize their Ad Budget

NYSDOH learned several things through real-time monitoring and evaluation:

  • Overall, women are spending nearly twice as long as men on the DOH campaign website, www.health.ny.gov/rxawareness
  • Adults 35 to 54 years old have a stronger click-through rate than the adults who are 35 to 54 years old and parents of teenagers
  • Banners on one weather site currently have the highest click-through rates and have resulted in the longest average time spent on the landing page
  • The click-through rates of online search ads increased consistently from May – June 2018
  • Public commenting on ads help NYSDOH understand how the campaign is being accepted

The NYSDOH continues to evaluate activity in this campaign. NYSDOH will utilize these findings in future campaigns.

Learn more:

This communication campaign was supported by the Cooperative Agreement Number, 5 NU17CE002742-03, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Department of Health and Human Services.

We want to hear from you!

Leave a comment below and share how you are monitoring and evaluating your digital campaigns.

The Communication Research and Evaluation blog series highlights innovative research and evaluation methods used at CDC to improve behavior change campaigns. In the coming months we will look at other examples.

Posted by in communication campaign, drug overdose, injury, New York, opioid, opioid epidemic, opioid overdose, overdose, prescription opioids, Prevention/Vaccination, public health, RxAwareness, unintentional injury

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30Apr / 2018

Raising Awareness to Prevent Prescription Opioid Overdoses

A jumble of orange prescription pill bottles with white labels and lids.

In 2016, 115 Americans died every day from an opioid overdose – that is more than 42,000 drug overdose deaths that involved an opioid including prescription opioids, heroin, and/or illicitly manufactured fentanyl. Prescription opioids (like hydrocodone, oxycodone, and morphine) are prescribed by doctors to treat moderate to severe pain, but have serious risks and side effects.Using prescription opioids can have a number of side effects, even when taken as directed: • Tolerance—meaning you might need to take more of the medication for the same pain relief • Physical dependence—meaning you have symptoms of withdrawal when the medication is stopped • Increased sensitivity to pain • Constipation • Nausea, vomiting, and dry mouth • Sleepiness and dizziness • Confusion • Depression • Low levels of testosterone that can result in lower sex drive, energy, and strength • Itching and sweating

Anyone who takes prescription opioids can become addicted to them. Families across the county are dealing with the health, emotional, and economic effects of the opioid epidemic. The opioid overdose epidemic is a public health emergency and Americans of all races and ages are being killed by opioid overdoses.

Rx Awareness campaign tackles prescription opioids

Rx Awareness is CDC’s latest effort in the fight against the opioid overdose epidemic. Rx Awareness aims to:

  1. Increase Americans’ awareness and knowledge about the risks of prescription opioids, and
  2. Prevent inappropriate use of prescription opioids.

Rx Awareness uses the tagline, “It only takes a little to lose a lot” to educate the public about dangers of prescription opioids, including misuse, abuse, and overdose. The campaign features real-life accounts from people recovering from opioid use disorder and from people who have lost loved ones to prescription opioid overdose.

Public awareness campaigns, like Rx Awareness, are important in the fight against opioids. The more equipped people are with information and resources about the risks of opioids, the more we can support those affected by this epidemic. The cornerstone of Rx Awareness is a series of testimonial videos, and the campaign also includes radio advertisements, digital advertisements, billboards, posters, newspaper advertisements, and a website.

States are on the frontlines of the opioid overdose epidemic

CDC created the Rx Awareness campaign for states, coalitions, and communities to implement across the country. When the campaign was launched in 2017 it included an implementation guide to support CDC-funded states to use the campaign materials. State and local health departments and community organizations can take part in the Rx Awareness campaign and use the tested campaign materials and resources to launch local campaigns, support local prevention activities, and raise awareness about the risks of prescription opioids.

States are critical in preventing opioid overdoses. Through the Overdose Prevention in States (OPIS) effort, CDC is working with 45 states and Washington D.C. to provide scientific expertise, enhanced surveillance activities, and support resources to prevent risks of opioid use disorder, overdose, and death. The resources and information from this effort help combat prescription and illicit opioid abuse and overdose and is the heart of the CDC’s work on this epidemic.

Everyone can help stop opioid overdoses

The best ways to prevent opioid overdose are to: (1) improve opioid prescribing practices, (2) reduce exposure to opioids, (3) prevent misuse, and (4) treat opioid use disorder. Anyone can take action to help end the opioid overdose epidemic. You have a role in preventing opioid-related overdoses.

You can take steps to reduce your risk for prescription opioid misuse and help prevent opioid overdose deaths in your community:

  • Learn more about prescription opioids so you can help those at risk for opioid use disorder and overdose in your community.
  • Practice responsible use if you are prescribed opioids for pain and work with your doctor to ensure you are getting the safest, most effective pain management possible.
  • Help those struggling with addiction find the right care and treatment. Anyone who takes prescription opioids can become addicted and help is available if you or someone you know is battling opioid use disorder.
  • Spread the word and increase awareness in your community about the risk and dangers of prescription opioids. By sharing campaign materials you can broaden the reach of the message that, “It only takes a little to lose a lot.”
  • Know the signs and symptoms of an opioid overdose to help prevent opioid overdose death. If you suspect someone is overdosing, it is important that you don’t leave the person alone and that you call 911.

Learn more

We want to hear from you!

Comment below if you have you noticed the Rx Awareness campaign in your community.

Posted by in communication campaign, drug overdose, injury, opioid, opioid epidemic, opioid overdose, overdose, prescription opioids, Prevention/Vaccination, public health, RxAwareness, unintentional injury

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