Increasing Education and Awareness of Heart Valve Disease

Highlights

Abt’s goal was to increase awareness of heart valve disease among the public, those at risk, and healthcare professionals.
The Abt team conducted formative research, developed messaging and materials, did partnership outreach, and evaluated campaign outreach and engagement.
The campaign produced 4,000 visits to CDC’s website and 2,200 video views in two weeks and reached nearly 150 million people across the U.S. in the first month alone.

The Challenge

The Cardiovascular Advances in Research and Opportunities Legacy (CAROL) Act allocates investments in research for valvular heart disease. It authorizes a grant program for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and a public awareness campaign for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). To support the work of CDC’s Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (DHDSP), the Abt team was tasked to plan, develop, and implement a communication campaign to increase public education and awareness of heart valve disease.

The Approach

Abt conducted formative research, including:

An environmental scan of heart valve disease education and awareness activities.
In-depth interviews with national organizations actively communicating about heart valve disease.
An analysis of recent media coverage.

Along with its subcontractor, Palladian Partners, Abt developed strategies and plans around message development, outreach activities, partnerships, and evaluation. The team also developed and disseminated materials to reach healthcare consumers and clinicians. Finally, Abt evaluated activities to show the impact of and engagement with materials and outreach activities.

The Results

Abt and Palladian developed over 80 materials for the campaign. In just two weeks of promotion, the campaign produced nearly 4,000 visits to CDC’s campaign website, nearly 150 resource downloads, and more than 2,200 video views. The matte article placement and the radio media tour combined reached nearly 150 million people across the U.S. The highest placement was where there is greatest risk for heart failure and stroke, the Southeastern U.S. Abt reached out to 24 partner organizations, inviting them to serve as campaign partners. More than half agreed to partner and share campaign materials with their audiences. Partner feedback was positive, and the materials were well received.