Author of

• 11001

  +

  P1.24 - Poster Session 1 - Clinical Care (ID 146)

  • Event: WCLC 2013
  • Type: Poster Session
  • Track: Supportive Care
  • Presentations: 1
  • Moderators:
  • Coordinates: 10/28/2013, 09:30 - 16:30, Exhibit Hall, Ground Level

  • 11027

    +

    P1.24-026 - Lung Cancer - You can avoid it, get it, survive it; An evaluation of the Irish Cancer Society's annual lung cancer awareness campaign from 2011 - 2013. (ID 1891)

    09:30 - 09:30  |  Author(s): A. Deegan
    • Abstract

    Background
    Each year almost 2,000 new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed in Ireland (1). It is the biggest cancer killer for Irish men and women (2) and Irish women rate fifth highest in incidence of lung cancer in Europe (3). In 2011 the Irish Cancer Society (the Society) launched a three year advertising and PR campaign to raise awareness of lung cancer in a novel and engaging way. The Society wished to move away from the grim, grey, tobacco led and often frightening messages and imagery normally associated with lung cancer. The campaign directed people to the Society’s National Cancer Helpline.

    Methods
    The Society undertook market research in 2011 and 2013 to evaluate the impact of the campaign. The objective of the quantitative survey was to evaluate public awareness of lung cancer as well as prompted awareness of the campaign. This survey was nationally representative and 1,000 interviews were completed. The helpline database was also used to record the number of lung related enquiries during the campaign.

    Results
    Just under three million adults recall some media attention on the issue of lung cancer in February (2013). This is up considerably on 2011 levels (2.1 million Vs. 2.8 million). Whilst just over six in ten are aware of some media attention in January, this figure rises to seven in ten among smokers. In total 34,342 enquiries about lung cancer were recorded during the two week campaign. This included calls and emails to the National Cancer Helpline (167), walk in enquiries to the daffodil centres in hospital settings (670), unique views of the Society’s lung cancer webpages (2315), direct referrals to the National Smokers Quitline (4), likes/ comments/ shares/views of social media posts (9741) and of a live Q&A via Facebook (21,449). Figure 1

    Conclusion
    During the campaign, the National Cancer Helpline received more preventative and undiagnosed enquiries about lung cancer than any other cancer. The majority of contacts were female and aged 50-59yrs; our target audience. A sharp rise in webpage views was noted and social media interaction exceeded expectations considering the young audience. Using traditional as well as online advertising mediums, PR and social media platforms also worked well to reach a wide audience and campaign evaluations show traction with both young and old. Delinking lung cancer from tobacco and going with an empowering message meant that more people engaged with the campaign and it was deemed a success.