2019 Evaluation of Los Angeles County's WhyWeRise Mental Health Campaign

Abstract

In May 2018, the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) launched WhyWeRise, a social marketing campaign intended to promote community engagement with mental health issues and create a movement to address barriers to mental health access. The campaign targets youth ages 14-24, with the goal of activating youth to advocate for well-being and access to quality mental health care as civil rights. The campaign also encourages engagement with mental health along a continuum, from self-care to professional treatment services, and aims to increase awareness of how to seek mental health care. WhyWeRise has now been in place for more than a year and is ongoing. The campaign still embodies the same general themes, but in 2019 there was an increased emphasis on confronting challenges to mental health and well-being. The current phase of the campaign notes the importance of feeling that life has purpose or meaning, the centrality of hope to well-being, and the need to obtain social support and provide it to others.In both 2018 and 2019, a central part of the WhyWeRise campaign was the WeRise event that took place in May and early June in downtown

Evaluation of Los Angeles County's COVID-19 Mental Health Campaign

“…Most youth (57 percent) and adults 26 or older (64 percent) perceived a greater-than-zero likelihood of becoming infected with the virus, and substantial percentages (28 percent of youth and 30 percent of adults 26 and over) were very worried about getting sick. Larger percentages of both groups campaign (73 percent) after approximately one year (Collins et al, 2020), and is more than California's statewide Each Mind Matters mental health stigma reduction campaign, which reached 17 percent of California adults in its first year and 38 percent in its second year (Collins et al, 2015). In addition, nearly a third (31 percent) of adults and a third (27 percent) of youth reported multiple forms of exposure (e.g., having seen both a social media post and an outdoor billboard, or heard a radio ad and visited the website), which research shows is more effective than single forms of exposure (Hornik, 2002).…”

“…Recognizing this, LACDMH undertook a social marketing campaign in late March 2020 that sought to address and prevent mental health issues arising from the pandemic by promoting awareness of county mental health resources and services and by communicating messages of resilience, community, hope, and support. Around the globe (Gaebel, Rössler, and Sartorius, 2016), in the State of California (Collins et al, 2015), and in Los Angeles County (Collins et al, 2018), social marketing campaigns have been effective in shifting attitudes related to mental health, increasing social acceptance of those experiencing mental health challenges, and increasing awareness and use of mental health services (Collins et al, 2018;Collins et al, 2020). We know of no social marketing campaign around mental health and the COVID-19 pandemic that has been evaluated to date.…”

Evaluation of Los Angeles County's 2019 "Spark the True You" Mental Health Campaign

“…Social marketing campaigns, such as STTU, can effectively reduce the stigma of mental illness and increase the use of treatment by those in need . They may also increase community support for those affected and provide important connections to resources (Collins et al, 2020). Although the reach of STTU seems to have limited its impact, the use of sporting events in outreach appears to have been one of the more successful aspects of the campaign.…”

Cyber Mission Thread Analysis: A Prototype Framework for Assessing Impact to Missions from Cyber Attacks to Weapon Systems

“…In 2018, LACDMH undertook a campaign to increase community engagement (i.e., interest and activism) around removing barriers to mental health care access, promote awareness of county mental health resources and services, and communicate messages of resilience, community, hope, and support. Around the globe (Gaebel, Rössler, and Sartorius, 2016), in California (Collins, Wong, Roth, et al, 2015), and in Los Angeles County (Collins, Eberhart, Marcellino, et al, 2018), social marketing campaigns have been effective in shifting attitudes related to mental health, increasing social acceptance of those experiencing mental health challenges, and increasing awareness and use of mental health services (Collins, Eberhart, Marcellino, et al, 2018;Collins, Wong, Breslau, et al, 2019;Collins, Eberhart, Seelam, et al, 2020;Collins, Eberhart, Shearer, et al, 2021).…”

“…LACDMH and the California Mental Health Services Authority commissioned the RAND Corporation to conduct an evaluation of the reach and impact of the fall 2020 WhyWeRise campaign and the 2021 WeRise effort. We previously evaluated the 2018 and 2019 WhyWeRise campaigns and Los Angeles County's COVID-19-related mental health campaign (Collins, Eberhart, Marcellino, et al, 2018;Collins, Eberhart, Seelam, et al, 2020;Collins, Eberhart, Shearer, et al, 2021). In this report, we evaluate the effects of the fall 2020 WhyWeRise outdoor ads (e.g., billboards, bus shelters), television and radio outreach, and the online portion of the 2021 WeRise events.…”