If you focus on health, you get more health. If you focus on problems, you get more problems.
Linda Hancock, assistant director of VCU Health Promotions, agrees with that concept, which helped VCU win a national award from the U.S. Department of Education. She created VCU’s “Your Strategy,” the award-winning campaign that introduced an innovative approach in health issues.
“One of seven recognized nationally, it’s pretty cool,” Hancock said. “This recognizes what we’ve done.”
The U.S. Department of Education awarded VCU and six other colleges with grants. Five award winners, including VCU, used a social-norms marketing approach. The other colleges included Gonzaga University at Spokane, Hobart and William Smith Colleges at Geneva, Ohio State University at Columbus and the University of Arizona at Tucson.
Vera Messina, competition manager for the U.S. Department of Education, said the award was founded by Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., in 1999.
“The award is used as a national recognition of a model program. It is far more rigorous than any of the other programs the department funds.
“Last year we had several people turn in applications, but only about 17 of them were eligible. Their eligibility was dependent upon meeting four requirements. They had to describe a two-year working program, be able to evaluate its effectiveness, implement an enhancement to the program and disseminate.”
Messina said there were a number of peer reviews and panel tests used to evaluate the program. The review culminated in a site visit with judges who looked at the quality, the means of evaluation and the overall significance of the program. The result ended with about $75,000 for VCU to help implement newer programs.
“I think what separated VCU’s ‘Your Strategy’ from others,” Hancock said, “is that we’re more creative and we listen to students. We always involve them.”
Lifting a six-pack of beer with a car club attached to one of the bottles, she said students designed most of the items.
“We’ve hired teams from Adcenter and worked with marketing undergrads to develop strategies. The ‘Your Strategy’ campaign comes from a division of the communications program in the art school.”
The campaign supports the premise that mental health has a correlation with physical health. This approach comes from a marketing concept that views people’s assumptions as directly affecting their actions.
In this case, if students think their peers drink more than four drinks, then those students have more than four. In other words, students tend to view their own drinking habits according to what their peers are doing.
VCU’s campaign, Hancock said, focuses on the number of drinks students actually have. She pointed to a bar graph poster where the data showed most students having fewer than four.
“We’re incredibly data-driven,” Hancock said. “We have focus-group testing, pilot testing, market saturation. We get a list of undergraduate classes and conduct a sampling frame. The sampling is usually done three weeks after a break so we can get a feel for an average.”
Hancock has a clear understanding of the data and what it means to alcohol abuse.
“I see addiction as being a part of genetics,” Hancock said, stressing the number of case studies prove a correlation to drinking and to people’s assumptions about their peer’s drinking habits.
“There has been a 43 percent increase in residential housing in the past four years. Residential campuses are more at risk for alcohol abuse than commuter campuses,” Hancock said. “But there has been no increase in percentages of alcohol abuse in the past few years.”
Hancock has also seen a favorable reaction to the program by the students.
Victoria Small, a freshman living in Brandt Hall, said while she may not be a big drinker, she is at a greater risk since she’s away from home.
“I recognize the campaign,” Small said. “I see the posters every day in my hall. They kind of remind you of what you shouldn’t be doing. All-around, it’s a good reaction.”
She said her favorite was the strategy posters but doesn’t believe the percentage posters to be accurate.
“I don’t think it’s true because if you go to a party, you can see for yourself. People drink way more than four drinks.”
Mikhail Gileva, a freshman at Rhoads Hall, said he thinks the campaign is a good idea.
“A lot of people are getting the message and passing it along.”
Gileva said programs that bring people together would make for a more effective strategy.