Media campaign as a tool for increasing public/political responsibility for health

Transcription

1 Šogorić S, Vukušić-Rukavina T, Andrić A. Media campaign as a tool for increasing public/political responsibility for health Most of the health promoting media campaigns, in Croatia, is aiming to change the life styles of the individuals and increase their personal responsibility for health. They rarely address the other side of the coin - political or public responsibility for health. The idea of healthy cities has been present in Croatia since as early as 1987; however, year 1988 and Zagreb Healthy Cities Conference have been established as point 0, or start-up of the (WHO Regional Office for Europe) Healthy Cities Project. The veteran status within European Healthy Cities Network both entitles and obliges Croatian Healthy Cities Network members to inform broadest public of the results of their twenty-year-long activities. On the occasion of the 20 th anniversary of the Healthy Cities movement in Croatia, with the help of professional PR agency Pragma Communications, Croatian Healthy Cities Network designed a media campaign Joined by health with the intention to raise public awareness of the major public health challenges Croatia is facing. This campaign aims to bring about faster recognition of community health needs, faster implementation of the (higher) quality solutions to the problems identified as heaviest burden to local communities, improve selection and implementation of interventions designed to address identified community needs, set up and boost cooperation between city/county administration and politics and the people and their associations. Bringing closer local, regional, and national decision-makers will boost the importance of local communities in the design of the national health policy, and increase equity. Since September 2007, we have been working on media campaign preparation. Network Assembly decided that campaign will go over 12 months during 2008 and will address 12 different monthly topics. Polycentric media campaigning (campaign

2 centre shifts every month to another part of the country) will add to campaign viability and continuity. Work will be shared among Network member cities and counties that will take turn in coordinating monthly topics. Public will thus be informed of the quality of life in various communities, and possibilities for improvement thereof through the Healthy City and the Healthy County Projects. By the end of 2007 Croatian Healthy Cities Network Support Centre designed joint visual identity for the campaign: billboards, mega posters, banners, stickers, badges and T-shirts with two basic types of apple - one with I love my city inscription, and another with I love my county inscription. On basic posters or T-shirts typeset, with printmaker s help, each city or county may add its logo or circled in red its name. By the beginning of 2008 typesetting for 12 types of posters with 12 monthly topics was developed and network members provided with graphic package and PR toolkit (public and media relations reference book that can be completed with addresses of local media and further developed and adjusted to individual county s or city s needs). The Healthy Cities Network Web pages ( have been modified and expanded. A new, occasional part of web pages was opened, entitled Joined by Health. This part of the web announces events related to monthly topics, provides media clips reporting on members activities, and shows contents of occasional events through presentation of working materials that describe issues and identify solutions. It is, as well, possible to engage in direct web communication with selected expert in monthly topic, which is big news provided by newly-organised web chat. The campaign was officially launched in mid January 2008 with two press conferences, one held in Zagreb for national media representatives and other held in Pula (Istria) on which the first topic, gender equity, coordinated by Istria county was presented. January activities were addressing economic and social position of women in Croatia (employment, salaries and working conditions, work place and family violence) and female health (GI services and family planning, breast cancer and cervical screening, mental health). The objective of these activities was to raise general public awareness of women s rights, abilities and status (especially of deprived or women with disabilities) in contemporary Croatian society. February topic was family health coordinated by the City of Poreč. It is known that most of health promotion programmes/interventions address the needs of specific target populations such as children and youth, women, elderly people or people with disabilities. The aim of February activities was to demonstrate that it is more efficient and effective to address family as a whole. Parenting skills, quality of family life and communication between family members, single parent families were some of the topics addressed in February. The health of the children and youth was addressed in March and coordinated by Šibenik-Knin County and the city of Šibenik. The aim of March activities was to raise awareness of importance of the environment (physical, social, economic and political) that will lead to better health of children and youth in Croatia. Some of the topics opened were: children s rights, assertiveness, growing up and communication, school

3 health, recreation and quality free time, traffic safety, prevention of alcohol consumption, smoking and drug use, etc. In April, when our traditional Health Fair takes place, the topic of healthy urban planning was opened, coordinated by the city of Vinkovci. At the Health Fair TV video clip and documentary film on healthy urban planning were publicly promoted. Documentary film shows one of the largest problems in Croatian urban planning in the last 15 years the absence of green spaces and public social areas in the new neighbourhoods. In order to get maximum profit urban contractors lobbies are just interested in building flats (without parks or children playgrounds) in new urban areas. Our documentary is presenting a story on civil initiative that aim to keep the only green area in this part of the city accessible to public, especially children. 25 seconds short TV clip was prepared to advertise our campaign on national television. It is animated, cheerful and colourful, showing the difference between the city and the healthy city, emphasizing prerequisites that city should have in order to become a healthy city. TV clip is on air daily on Croatian national television since June May topic was personal health, coordinated by the city of Dubrovnik and Dubrovnik- Neretva County. During this month, throughout Croatia, many educational and preventive activities were offered to our citizens - from fitness and recreational activities, healthy nutrition consultations, anti-stress workshops to blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar measurement. May 20 th, as the Croatian Healthy Cities

4 Day, was celebrated in cities across the country with variety of physical and mental health promotion activities. In June, environmental awareness was addressed, coordinated by Krapina-Zagorje County and the city of Zabok. In order to develop ecologically aware society, through campaign, we promoted examples of active partnership between cities and their citizens in water quality monitoring and protection, air and soil quality improvements and preservation of biological diversity. With lot of training and educational activities we were especially targeting youngsters in order to create (among them) a sense of personal ecological responsibility. July topic was promotion of democracy, coordinated by city of Labin, the host of Democracy Schools Youth Councils summer courses. With July activities we want to inform the public on rights and needs of different demographic and social groups (children and youth, women, national minorities etc.), to invite them to respect their rights and to teach them how to use existing, democratic system, i. e. communicate with institutions in order to exercise own rights. Several educational workshops were held with youngsters with the aim to assure development of the next generation of citizens that will be aware of their civil rights and responsibilities and will have interest in politics. August topic is life-long learning, coordinated by the city of Rijeka. This issue is becoming more and more important in Croatia, considering economic transition, competitive European labour market demands, professional development obligations and the fact that the proportion of elderly in total population is rapidly growing. It is a growing pressure to establish adult education institutions. Some of the activities planned for August address educational needs of several target populations as elderly, people with disabilities, and professional groups health and social workers. In September, recreation and physical activity will be in focus, coordinated by Medimurje County. 78% of Croatian adult population spent their free time sedentary. That is why we would like, during September, to engage all age groups in some kind of physical activity. We would especially target adults (prevention of cardiovascular disease), children and youth (prevention of obesity), elderly and people with disabilities (prevention of fragility). October topic is quality of life of elderly people, coordinated by the city of Zagreb, which will be, at the same time, host to the great European Healthy Cities Conference. The most important goal for October topic will be to define actual needs of different groups among elderly, assess existing institutional and non-institutional resources, determine cooperation mechanisms between actors and develop comprehensive policy on elderly population welfare. November topic is quality of life of the people living with disabilities, coordinated by the city of Rijeka, Primorsko-Goranska and Varaždin Counties. Throughout November we will promote positive attitude toward people with physical or mental disability, tolerance and respect for differences and equal opportunities policy (encouragement of education and employment of people with disabilities) by recognizing and addressing every day life problems and challenges this persons are facing.

5 In December, community development, neighbourhood health and volunteering will be addressed. The topics will be coordinated by the city of Split. With December activities we would like to strengthen our communities by fostering the development of volunteering and civil (NGO) sector and work on restoration of the broken social networks. In the spirit of December s holidays, we will engage in a campaign entitled let s give our time. With this campaign we would like encourage our citizens to make a present to the most vulnerable in Croatia, in the form of their time - to volunteer in the civil actions and initiatives. Call centre volunteers will inform citizens about the possibilities so they can choose, based on their interests, knowledge and competencies, to whom and how much time that will donate. In conclusion - based on our work and experience, through the Campaign we want to send the following messages to Croatian public: People should participate in local, regional, and national health-related decision making. Not only does health policy regulate relations in health care system provision - it also creates preconditions for better health of individuals, groups and communities. Cooperation in the Healthy Cities Project of the community, as a whole, is of common interest. Healthy City Project is a process requiring common activities aimed at improving health in community. The difference between what a city is and what it could be is in the domain of the Healthy City Project. Since the Healthy Cities project (and movement) is a development project based on joint efforts of all development systems in a society and on activation of the population itself on creating healthy places - places where the population will be ensured quality of life worthy of human beings, with the campaign we would like to raise personal, social and political responsibility for health and encourage both individuals (city dwellers) and local and county authorities to take action and Join us in health.

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