THE IMPACT OF A MEDIA CAMPAIGN ON PUBLIC ACTION TO HELP MALTREATED CHILDREN IN ADDICTIVE FAMILIES

Developed because of the need to promote public understanding of the l ink between addictions and child maltreatment, a multimedia campaign h elped to increase by 62% the average monthly number of people who call ed a telephone service for information about how to aid abused and neg lected children. The campaign was supported by market research and pro fessional experience that indicated the campaign should focus on easy action a citizen could take, avoid inducing fear or blame, and target third party helpers and younger families-at-risk. Campaign exposure wa s promoted through the support of corporate partners. A random househo ld survey found that 61% of the general population had seen or heard t he campaign slogan. The average monthly calls to the child maltreatmen t information service regarding alcohol and other drug abuse tripled a nd the requests regarding at-risk children almost doubled. An auxiliar y project provided interprofessional education to increase the probabi lity that people seeking help would get it when referrals were made. T he project yielded several lessons for future public awareness campaig ns: focus on helping action rather than the problem; use of client-bas ed market research; a strategic plan to assure necessary exposure; rel iance on public-private-nonprofit sector partnerships; preparation of the service system; promotion of personal ways of helping.