Enhancing Health Promotion in Vietnamese American Communities: A Digital Media Campaign on COVID-19 Vaccination and Clinical Trial Participation

Background:

Effective health communication practices are crucial for promoting public health, particularly among diverse populations and those with limited English proficiency. Texas has the second-largest population of Vietnamese Americans in the United States, a group with a high rate of limited English proficiency. This project aimed to assess the impact of a digital media campaign on COVID-19 vaccinations and clinical trial participation among the Vietnamese American community in Texas.

Program background:

Community-based organizations and academic researchers developed a digital media campaign utilizing twelve static, four video, and four audio advertisements in English and Vietnamese directed at Vietnamese Americans in Texas. These ads directed users to the vietcovid.org website developed by a Vietnamese American non-profit organization known as “PIVOT” (The Progressive Vietnamese American Organization) and provided evidence-based information in both languages.

Evaluation Methods and Results:

The campaign's static ads were displayed on desktop and mobile websites from February 15, 2022, through March 16, 2022, while video and audio ads ran on connected TV, radio, and YouTube from May 26, 2022 through June 30, 2022. The ads were specifically targeted to people geographically located in Texas. Outcomes measured included reach, average views per person, number of ads displayed, number of ad clicks, and website analytics such as bounce rates, website session duration, page views, and pages per session. The static ads reached an estimated 800,000 English speakers and 670,000 Vietnamese speakers, while the video and audio ads reached 105,000 people.

Conclusions:

Online outreach campaigns have the potential to enhance community-based health promotion practices. Analyzing metrics can help inform and improve future public health communication targeting specific populations.

Implications for research and/or practice:

This study demonstrates the value of culturally tailored digital media campaigns for promoting health information among linguistically diverse populations. Public health practitioners and researchers can use these findings to inform the development and evaluation of culturally and linguistically appropriate health communication strategies. Further research can explore the scalability and transferability of such campaigns to other historically marginalized populations and health issues. The insights from this project can help strengthen health promotion efforts.