Make a Kit, Make a Plan, Stay Informed: Using Social Marketing to Change the Population's Emergency Preparedness Behavior

The population's response to a public health emergency can mean the difference between an incident and a tragedy. As the community's health educators, public health agencies promote “productive behaviors” to avoid panic during anxiety-producing situations. The Rhode Island Department of Health used a social marketing approach to identify the public's “wants and needs” in anticipation of an emergency. The formative research included age and race/ethnicity-specific focus groups and in-depth interviews with representatives of agencies serving special populations to determine information needs, preferred formats, trusted sources, and other aspects of emergency preparedness. Program staff used this information to design and bulk mail an initial pre-intervention awareness flyer and, months later, a 32-page informational booklet called “Make a Kit, Make a Plan, Stay Informed.” This “product” provided the population with three key preparedness behaviors out of the extensive range of options. Evaluation of the booklet indicated that an estimated 10% of the population changed their behavior by engaging in one of more of the preparedness activities. The authors conclude that social marketing provides a useful and systematic process for planning and implementing a project aimed at changing public health emergency preparedness behavior.