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Developing a Mass Media Campaign to Promote Mammography Awareness in African American Women in the Nation’s Capital

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Abstract

This study developed and examined the reach and impact of a culturally appropriate mass media campaign pilot, designed to increase awareness about the importance of mammography screening and the available community mammography services for low-income African American women ages 40 and above. We conducted formative research using focus groups to inform campaign development, resulting in five emergent themes—good breast health, holistic views of healthiness, cancer fatalism, fear of mammogram machines, and mammogram affordability. The campaign targeted specific low-income African American communities in the District of Columbia via print ads in Metro stations and on buses, print ads in the Washington Informer, and online ads on a local TV network website. Data were collected before, during, and after campaign implementation to assess reach and impact. Reach was measured by number of impressions (number of people exposed to the campaign), while impact was assessed via online ad click-through rates, website use and referrals, and mammography center calls. The campaign was successful in reaching the target audience, with a total combined reach from all media of 9,479,386 impressions. In addition, the mammography center received significant increases in new website visitors (1482 during the campaign, compared to 24 during the preceding period) as well as 97 calls to the dedicated phone line. Further research involving a more long-term investment in terms of funding and campaign run time, coupled with a more robust evaluation, is needed to assess if culturally appropriate mass media campaigns can generate increased mammography screening rates and decrease breast-cancer-related mortality.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by funding from the Susan G. Komen Foundation (#NCR15CAPBCC) awarded to Dr. Lucile L. Adams-Campbell. The authors gratefully acknowledge Harrison Maldonado Associates, Inc., who assisted with the development of the campaign promotional pieces, and the many women from DC communities who participated in the formative focus groups. In addition, the authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest and no financial disclosures to report.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, 1000 New Jersey Ave., SE, Washington, DC, 20003, USA

    Sherrie Flynt Wallington, Bridget Oppong & Lucile L. Adams-Campbell

  2. Capital Breast Care Center at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Washington, DC, USA

    Marquita Iddirisu

Authors
  1. Sherrie Flynt Wallington
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  2. Bridget Oppong
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  3. Marquita Iddirisu
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  4. Lucile L. Adams-Campbell
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Correspondence to Lucile L. Adams-Campbell.

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Wallington, S.F., Oppong, B., Iddirisu, M. et al. Developing a Mass Media Campaign to Promote Mammography Awareness in African American Women in the Nation’s Capital. J Community Health 43, 633–638 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-017-0461-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-017-0461-1

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