Analysis and Critique a Health Campaigns - Essay Sample

Introduction

Health campaigns are meant to persuade a defined public to engage in behaviors that will improve health in the community. Furthermore, public health campaigns are intended to assist the public to refrain from unhealthy behaviors. Such awareness campaigns aim to make individuals conscious of the impact of the diseases and to provide them with adequate information about the epidemics. The purpose of these health campaigns is to sensitize the public on issues and to advocate for assistance from relevant authorities. In 2012, there was a health campaign in the United States of America dubbed Man Therapy. The main of the project was to sensitize the public and curb the rate of suicide among men that are caused due to substance abuse.

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Colorado experienced increased rates of suicide cases as of 2012. The statistics indicate that men aged 24 to 54 years accounted for the most significant number of suicide deaths in Colorado. The high rate of suicide cases among men in Colorado prompted the Colorado Office of Suicide Prevention to collaborate with the Carson J. Spencer Foundation to encourage men to seek for assistance when faced stigma (Man Therapy, 2016). Carson J Spencer Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose aim is to curb the rate of suicide among the working age individuals, a Cactus, a Denver-based advertising agency, and the creation of the Man Therapy Campaign that was considered to be successful in the country (Krisberg, 2012). The purpose of the campaign was to reduce and ease the burden and stigma that discourage men from seeking help when in trouble. Masculinity myths teach men to be strong and avoid opening up when they are faced with emotional changes. Therefore, most men are stressed and die with their depression because they cannot find the courage to open up about their challenges. Additionally, due to increased depression, men engage in substance abuse as a way of healing their conditions (Mocarski & Butler, 2016). Substance abuse only worsens the situation because it is a short-time solution that comes with numerous challenges.

The Man Therapy in Colorado was a partnership campaign between the Colorado Office of Suicide Prevention and the Carson J Spencer Foundation. The initiative featured a fictional character named Rich Mahogany who used humor to attract people to the campaign. Moreover, the targeted behavior changes included providing men and their close relatives a place to learn about men's mental health (Man Therapy, 2016). The program further offered an opportunity to the participants to evaluate their wellness and to consider a wide array of actions formulated to enable them to recover from their conditions. The initiative only targeted men who suffer from depression and substance abuse. The purpose of this audience was motivated by the rising figures of men aged between 24-54 years who were indulging in substance abuse and suicides. The state had recorded high rates of deaths, and the campaign was meant to curb the suicides among men aged 24 to 54 years (Man Therapy, 2016). Furthermore, the campaign advocated against substance abuse because research indicated that men who are depressed resort to drug abuse to ease the depression. Therefore, the initiative was meant to persuade men to limit the rate of substance abuse as a means of fighting depression. Additionally, the campaign aimed to educate men on the importance of opening up and talking about their challenges.

The initiative was centered on the masculinity theory. The stigma of masculinity is the primary reason why men do not see the importance of crying or sharing their problems. The myths surrounding the theory of masculinity has led to an increased rate of substance abuse and drug abuse among men. Moreover, the myths have led to the practice of toxic masculinity. This refers to the stereotypical masculine gender roles and behavior (Wedgwood, 2009). According to the toxic masculinity, men are required to be strong all the time and not to express their emotions publicly. Consequently, when men are faced with hardships in life, they die in silence because they do not represent their feelings. Moreover, they resort to substance abuse to forget their conditions and the emotional challenges that they are subjected to in life. According to the masculinity theory, the society expects a man to be strong. The strength entails not being emotional and dealing with all their issues (Krisberg, 2012). However, men experience a lot in life, and the factors have led to increased stress and depression among men in society. The Men Therapy initiative was the perfect platform for participants and their relatives to learn and understand the men's mental health. The sensitization helps the society fight toxic masculinity and embrace men as human beings who have feelings and are emotional.

The intervention was for the people of Colorado. Therefore, the appropriate social marketing approach for the situation was having a multifaceted approach that was web-based and featured a fictional character named Rich Mahogany. The humor of the fictional character was meant to attract the target audience to the campaign. The social marketing messages during the program were evaluated because they were supposed to be friendly to draw men to the initiative (Wedgwood, 2009). During the social marketing, the four (Ps) were effectively used to enable the success of the program. The four (Ps) included product, price, place, and promotion. The product in this instance was curbing the suicidal behavior and drug abuse among men. The policy was through the Colorado Office of Suicide Prevention because the issue was rampant in the area. Additionally, the services were offered in collaboration between the state agency and the Carson J Spenser Foundation (Man Therapy 2016). Considering the program was a partnership between two entities the social cost of running and implementing the program was relatively cheap. Furthermore, the state had a particular office whose primary duty was to fight against suicidal behaviors in the state. The product distribution channel was well calculated, and the message reached all the required participants in the region. The message was conveyed effectively not to scare away the participants but to attract people. The initiative used humor to attract men and their families. Humor is an active element of communication. People can discuss serious issues through the use of humor, and nobody will feel offended (Krisberg, 2012). Therefore, the promotion strategy was valid because the humor attracted people to the campaign.

Conclusion

The campaign was effectively conducted. Furthermore, the message was able to reach the required audience. The most useful aspect of the initiative is that it campaigned against toxic masculinity in society. Toxic masculinity is the main reason men avoid speaking out about their challenges. Furthermore, the initiative focused on the issue of drug abuse in society. Most of the depressed men resort to substance abuse to ease their pain. Additionally, the campaign was useful because it allowed participants and their close family members to attend the sessions where they were taught about men's mental health (Man Therapy, 2016). The materials used for the campaign were also useful because they portrayed the message and convinced people to join the campaign. If I were to redo the campaign the only aspect of the program that I would change is the use of humor. Humor has a way of affecting people, and they can discourage affected people from joining the initiative because jokes on sensitive matters can be misinterpreted.

References

Krisberg, K. (2012). Colorado launches Man Therapy to break down mental health stigmas.

Mocarski, R., & Butler, S. (2016). A critical, rhetorical analysis of man therapy: the use of humor to frame mental health as masculine. Journal of communication inquiry, 40(2), 128-144.

Man Therapy. Public Health Campaigns That Change Minds - Blog. (2016). Retrieved from https://publichealthonline.gwu.edu/blog/health-communication-campaigns/

Wedgwood, N. (2009). Connell's theory of masculinity-its origins and influences on the study of gender. Journal of gender studies, 18(4), 329-339.