Strategy
Implement the “Healthy Kitsap Campaign” to counter local misinformation and highlight trusted local voices.
Challenge
The COVID-19 pandemic politicized misinformation in Kitsap County and polarized local perceptions of public health.
Solution
Kitsap County reviewed lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic and misinformation best practices to inform their first immunization campaign following the COVID-19 emergency. They tested messaging and strategies at community events and reviewed data/feedback gathered during the COVID-19 response. Kitsap County found that community members trusted healthcare providers for vaccine information, wanted access to good vaccine information and were open to hearing about other people’s experiences with vaccination, and that community members wanted to feel respected in making their own decisions – they did not want to be told what to do. Kitsap County developed an awareness and trust-building campaign based on those lessons. The Healthy Kitsap campaign:
- Leverages strategic partnerships and amplifies trusted voices. They recruited a diverse group of well-known health professionals, including a pediatrician, primary care nurse, school nurse, tribal public health manager, pharmacist, hospital executive, and fire chief, to serve as immunization advocates.
- Uses messaging focused on prevention, positive outcomes, and community The advocates submitted testimonials focused on why immunization is important to them, their work, and our community.
- Provides streamlined access to vaccination information through a healthykitsap.org landing page.
- Goes beyond social media to place positive messaging throughout our community. Kitsap residents have engaged with the messages through highway billboards, display ads in the commuter ferry terminal, shopping cart ads in local stores, posters distributed to schools, and more.
Outcome
Like all local health jurisdictions, Kitsap has done its best to leverage limited resources to confront the overwhelming and ever-changing challenge of misinformation proliferation. This campaign not only generated thousands of impressions but has created a library of evergreen materials that can be used to continue immunization messaging.
Supplemental Materials