HSE Mental Health

With the growing use of social networking between young adults, The Health Service Executive and the National Office of Suicide Prevention ran a campaign utilising this platform to allow young adults to discuss the sensitive topic of mental health.

Article tools

  • Print

Innovative media strategy

The HSE and the National Office of Suicide Prevention decided to run a campaign to talk to young adults about the area of Mental Health. The aim was to encourage interaction and debate on mental health from this audience. However mental health research showed that young adults are reluctant to discuss mental health issues either with their peers or health professionals.  Mindshare recommended using the social networking site Bebo as the centrepiece of the campaign. Our research showed this was an area where young people were comfortable  communicating and expressing themselves anonymously on a wide range of sensitive topics.

Creative execution

Talking directly about mental illnesses would potentially discourage participation, so we approached the page by discussing a different topic each week to which all young people can relate. Based on an NOSP survey, we selected Peer Pressure, Alcohol and Drugs, Family and Home Life, School, College and Work, Bullying and Loneliness. The page was developed around polls and quizzes to encourage interaction. Helplines and support in the blog section were also provided.

Target audience

The target audience was young adults - both those whose mental health may be vulnerable due to many different reasons, and those who we felt would benefit from a deeper understanding of what mental health is. This audience are very involved in social networking and they feel comfortable discussing many different topics online. We were able to talk to them in their own space, in their own language.

Effectiveness

We had 34,495 visits to the Your Mental Health page on Bebo. 1,654 users joined as friends, we recorded 9,178 votes on polls, 7,641 quizzes were taken. We also received over 400 spontaneous feedback comments. There were also 28 emails requesting further information.

Context

Internet penetration rose to 63% in Dec 08 according to the latest Comreg figures. Of all those accessing the net, only 24% do so at work, compared to 82% at home. Laptop ownership is driving the increasing reliance on mobile broadband devices.

Media : Online Digital

30% of adults in Ireland rely solely on a mobile phone and have no landline, with this figure rising to 45% among 25-34 year olds.

Region : Europe

Mindshare sites:
Close
Login:
Close