Assessing the effectiveness of CDC’s Rx Awareness media campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of prescription opioids

Background:

Prescription opioids continue to contribute to the opioid overdose epidemic in the United States. More than 46 people die every day from overdoses involving prescription opioids.

Program background:

To address this crisis, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed the Rx Awareness Campaign, an evidence-based, consumer-directed media campaign focused on increasing awareness that prescription opioids can be addictive and dangerous. In September 2017, the campaign launched for 14 weeks in 16 high-burden counties in four states utilizing billboards, radio, and digital media.

Evaluation Methods and Results:

To assess consumer perceptions of the campaign materials and messages, CDC examined the campaign’s impact in both exposed and unexposed individuals using a Retrospective Post Then Pretest survey design. Results from the assessment showed that the campaign was effective in increasing awareness about the dangers of prescription opioids. Individuals who were exposed to the campaign reported being more aware of prescription opioid misuse than those not exposed to the campaign. The majority of exposed respondents also reported that campaign messages were believable, informative, and meaningful to them. An assessment of campaign metrics showed that the campaign resulted in 36 million billboard impressions, 21.8 million radio impressions, and 112 million digital media impressions. The campaign also showed a 138% increase in online searches for “opioid abuse” in the targeted counties, 5.6 million digital video views, and 370,000 CDC Rx Awareness website click-throughs.

Conclusions:

Results suggest that mass media campaigns can be effective in reaching consumers with educational messages, such as communicating the dangers of prescription opioids. Media campaigns may also be beneficial for impacting behavioral intentions as the majority of people exposed to the Rx Awareness campaign reported that they intended to engage with their providers about alternatives to prescription opioids. The assessment also showed that using personal stories was particularly effective and sparked greater interest in learning more about the dangers of prescription opioids.

Implications for research and/or practice: Lessons learned from the assessment will be used to refine campaign messages and expand the campaign in 2019. New testimonial videos featuring personal stories will be used to reach additional at-risk populations.