You Have Options: Implementing and evaluating a contraceptive choice social marketing campaign

Abstract

Background: Up to two-thirds of pregnancies among young, unmarried women in the United States are unintended, despite increased access to highly effective contraceptive options. Aim: This study implemented and evaluated a social marketing campaign designed to increase access to a full range of contraceptive methods among women aged 18–24 years on a southeastern university campus. Methods: Researchers partnered with Choose Well and Student Health Services to design, implement, and evaluate You Have Options, a 10-week multi-media social marketing campaign. The campaign aimed to raise awareness, increase knowledge, and improve access to contraceptive options, including long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) methods among college women. A pretest-posttest web-based survey design measured campaign awareness and recognition, as well as attitudes, subjective norms, and behavior. Results: Participants demonstrated a significant increase in knowledge about intrauterine devices (IUDs) between pretest ( M = 2.66, SD = 1.30) and posttest ( M = 3.06; SD = 1.96); t(671) = −2.60, p < .01). Analysis revealed that frequent exposure to the campaign prompted participants to engage in discussions about LARC with friends ( p < .05). In addition, 20- to 24-year-olds who reported seeing the campaign messages were more likely to seek out information ( p < .01) and adopt a LARC method ( p = .001) than 18- or 19-year-olds who saw the campaign messages. Conclusion: Findings from the study offer practical recommendations for implementing social marketing campaigns aimed at increasing access to LARC and reducing unintended pregnancy.