A.D. Medical's Heart Health Awareness Campaign for Women - Sample Writing
Women's
Heart Health is America's leading cause of women's death. Over 60 million women
suffer from it. In 2021, it was responsible for the deaths of 310,661 women—or
about 1 in every five female deaths. Women with high blood pressure are at a
risk for heart disease. More than 56 million women in the U.S. have high blood
pressure or seek medical help to manage it, and only 1 in 4 women have a
diagnosis and their condition under control. Women of color have a 60% higher
chance of higher blood pressure than white women (Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, 2023).
Regionally,
where we are present, Ohio has 14.25%, Pennsylvania has 12.64%, and Virginia has
20.67% of Afro-American residents (Black population by state, 2023). Per CDC, the 2021 heart
disease mortality rate in Ohio and West Virginia is 204.7 and 223, respectively
(National Center of Health Statistics. 2022).
Source: CDC, 2022
The alarming
statistics show that as a community health center, we need to educate and
protect women of color who do not have easy access to medical care to seek the
care they deserve. Moreover, pregnant women with high blood pressure have twice
the risk of developing heart disease later in life. In the U.S. alone, 1 in 8
pregnant women develop high blood pressure (Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 2023).
A.D. Medical Health Center, a lead community health center, and a thought
leader (Cornelissen, 2022) to address this and create more awareness. It flows
from A.D. Medical's
mission statement – “Improve the health and quality of life of the people and
communities we serve, coordinate, and collaborate to provide quality care to
those who need it the most, even if they cannot afford it.”
A.D. Medical has social media posts in February – Heart Awareness
Month and a few posts year-round on heart health. However, the impact of this
disease is expansive that it needs to have a dedicated campaign to generate
awareness at the roots of the community and use our local resources to assist
in this Women's Heart Health Awareness Campaign. A.D. Medical already has an
established page for women's health and needs to focus specifically on heart
health. To involve the gynecology department, the team focused on women's
health. This must be a holistic campaign where talking points are shared with
the providers and medical staff, who directly influence women. Make an
intentional effort to tie it back to the campaign's objectives.
Further,
it involves press releases in the Business Women Magazine, PA (Business Woman,
2020), and other publications that cater to women or pregnant women. WellSpan Health has an ad on the Heart Health
(Heart Health, 2020) page that links to its online brochure. Nevertheless, A.D. Medical can look at a holistic
solution and take it further to assist its community. Engage micro-influencers
seen as local health experts to create videos and use them online. Include quotes
from heart specialists from A.D. Medical
that journalists might pick (Aronson et al., 2006. p. 35). The campaign
deployment needs a proper plan. A.D. Medical
Health has a robust online setup. It's required to provide them with
the direction and goal to increase awareness with multi-channel marketing
techniques to create digital advertisements on Google, YouTube, Facebook, and
Instagram, where most women are present.
The campaign
aims to spread awareness of how to care for women's hearts and educate women
proactively. It will also address the critical need to seek early medical care.
First,
those planning pregnancy, as some factors about reproductive health cause heart
conditions, know how to provide better for themselves. A severe lack of
awareness about the importance of heart care exists. Even women who have given
birth and plan for another pregnancy are still unaware of how to protect
themselves or seek care as they did not get proper medical care in their first
pregnancy.
Secondly, educate
women about blood pressure and how to protect and maintain it with medications.
When women hear repeated reminders to prioritize self-health care on different
channels, only then will others in the support circle help. Otherwise, women in
the age of 30 – 55 years only prioritize their children, husband/partner, and
older parents care and ignore themselves or are not aware they need to provide
for themselves, too. Especially the women of color who might not have proper
insurance or medical plans or are new immigrants reluctant to check if they
need medical support.
Encourage activities
that help unwind, as this age group of 35- 55 years old juggle a lot, other
than what their own body has been through, like pregnancy, breastfeeding,
providing for the children, pre-menopause, and menopause. They also tackle high-stress
levels at work and home; as for this demography, the female generation before
them has either worked partially or not had the chance to work due to societal
disparities. Thus, focus on relaxation and incorporating outdoor activities to
lessen stress.
Thirdly,
their families need to understand that if older women in their families care
for themselves, it is not selfish of them. We could run videos to show a shift
of power at home and how the entire family cares and knows how to protect their
women. Thus, the third public we need to educate is close family members who
care enough for their women and can relay important information even if these
women are busy with children, have hectic job schedules, or have translation
issues in understanding medical care information.
We can
reach the audience and include topics like diet management, weight management,
and lifestyle changes needed to make a healthy choice each time, which are
essential considerations.
We need a
focused campaign to create value in every woman's life and assist with more
services for their needs. Incorporate a feedback process to tweak plans.
Women have
a few reasons not to seek care even if they experience symptoms; more than
one-third of women in the U.S. skip care because of costs and no regular doctor
(Gunja et al., 2018). Specifically for heart-related issues and symptoms, women
feel that they need to power through illness and not neglect family care. If
they managed to visit the care provider, they had a negative experience
(Lichtman et al., 2015).
Research
and A.D. Medical’s reputation
with patients is good. The marketing team can integrate this campaign with the
care providers' efforts, and both share notes on how they could collaborate to
provide a holistic care experience and speak the same language to women so they
feel confident to seek care and get the best they deserve.
The
community will be as healthy and happy as its women.
Reference
Aronson, M., Spetner, D.,
& Ames, C. (2007). The Public Relations Writer's Handbook: The
Digital Age. Wiley. ISBN:
978-0787986315
Black Population by State, January. 2023. World Population Review. https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/black-population-by-state.
Business Woman. 2020. https://www.businesswomanpa.com/
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. (2023, May 15). Women and heart disease. Centers
For Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/women.htm
Cornelissen,
J. (2020). Corporate Communication: A Guide to Theory and Practice, 6th ed.
SAGE Publications, Inc. ISBN: 978-1-52649-198-5
Gunja, Z, M. Tikkanen, R. Seervai, S. Collins, R, S. December 19, 2018. What is the Status of
Women's Health and Health Care in the U.S. Compared to Ten Other Countries. The
Commonwealth Fund. https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2019-11-20/honeywell-
invests-artificial-intelligence-pioneer-daedalean
Heart Health, (2020). Business Women. https://www.businesswomanpa.com/heart-health/
Lichtman, J.H., Leifheit-Limson, E.C., Watanabe, E., Allen, N.B., Garavalia, B., Garavalia,
L.S. et al. (2015). Symptom Recognition and Healthcare Experiences of Young Women
with Acute Myocardial Infarction. Circulation: Cardiovascular and Quality Outcomes; 8(2
National
Center of Health Statistics. February 25, 2022. Center for Disease Control and
Prevention.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/heart_disease_mortality/heart_disease.htm
Disclaimer: created as part of the requirements for a writing assignment and not meant to be published nor to represent the organization(s) listed herein
Comments
Post a Comment