Julia Anwar-McHenry

Impact evaluation of the Act-Belong-Commit mental health promotion campaign.

Purpose – Act‐Belong‐Commit is a community‐based positive mental health promotion campaign that targets individuals to engage in activities that enhance their mental health while targeting community organisations that provide such activities to promote their activities under the banner of the Act‐Belong‐Commit message. This paper aims to detail key findings from a population impact evaluation of the campaign conducted in 2010.Design/methodology/approach – Computer‐assisted telephone interviews (CATI) were conducted on a randomly selected adult sample (n=1,113) using quotas to obtain equal representation by age and gender. The questionnaire contained items gauging campaign reach, the impact of the campaign on individual beliefs and behaviours, and perceived societal impact of the campaign on mental illness stigma and openness to mental health issues.Findings – The campaign reached 75 per cent of the population. Amongst those exposed to the campaign, 25 per cent reported changing the way they thought about ...

Act-Belong-Commit Lifestyle Medicine for Keeping Mentally Healthy

Lifestyle medicine has generally focused on behaviors related to improving physical health and preventing physical illnesses, with little attention to behaviors related to mental health. This reflects the far greater concern in health systems around the globe for physical health over mental health. The Act-Belong-Commit campaign is the first major attempt to provide a lifestyle framework for promoting mental health that can be applied at a population level, within specific settings, and in the clinic. This article describes the campaign and offers clinicians a guide to implementing the campaign in their practice.

Aeta Magbukún of Mariveles: Traditional Indigenous Forest Resource Use Practices and the Sustainable Economic Development Challenge in Remote Philippine Regions

The Aeta Magbukún of Mariveles are one of the least known and researched Indigenous peoples remaining on the fringe of the bay, and within the remaining forests in Bataan province on Luzon Island in the Philippines. This work describes the unique cultural systems and language of the Aeta Magbukún tribe in Biaan, Mariveles, and both the traditional forest resource use and the evolving new subsistence practices developed to adapt to the encroachment of non-Indigenous peoples onto ancestral lands. The Aetas forest resource use practices are discussed from a sustainable Indigenous development context within unique socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental circumstances in Bataan.

Promoting Mental Health and Wellbeing in Individuals and Communities: The ‘Act-Belong-Commit’ Campaign

The Act-Belong-Commit campaign is an evidence-based social marketing program making extensive use of social franchising to promote the mental health and wellbeing of individuals and communities. The campaign targets individuals with respect to engaging in activities that strengthen and maintain good mental health. At the same time, the campaign targets organisations that offer mentally healthy activities to act as social franchises for the campaign, promoting the messages internally to their staff and/or externally to their clients or local communities. Act-Belong-Commit’s overarching framework allows for implementation at the population level, as well as in specific settings and for targeted groups. The campaign has a mass and targeted media presence and is implemented through partnerships with local governments, schools, workplaces, health services, state government departments, community organizations, and local sporting and recreational clubs.

Attitudinal and behavioural responses to increasing tobacco control regulation among high smoking prevalence groups: A qualitative study: Disadvantaged smokers’ responses to policies

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS Despite substantial reductions in smoking prevalence in many countries, rates remain high among people who are experiencing disadvantage. This study aimed to explore attitudinal and behavioural responses to population-wide tobacco control policies among Australian smokers experiencing disadvantage. DESIGN AND METHODS Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 84 smokers attending community service organisations in the mental health, homelessness, and alcohol and other drug sectors. Interviewees discussed various tobacco control policies (tobacco taxes, smoke-free areas, plain packaging and graphic health warnings). The interview transcriptions were coded and thematically analysed. RESULTS Responses to tobacco taxes were mixed. Some interviewees reported smoking less as a result of price increases, while others reallocated funds from other budget areas. Many perceived smoke-free area policies as effective, although some described strategies they use to circumvent this policy, thereby diminishing its effectiveness. Plain packaging and graphic warnings were perceived as being least effective. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS While tobacco control policies can elicit intended attitudinal and behavioural responses, additional efforts are needed to enhance their effectiveness among smokers experiencing disadvantage. Future efforts to reduce smoking rates should address responses that diminish policy effectiveness among groups exhibiting high smoking prevalence. This could be achieved through strategies that address the specific needs of these groups, such as providing additional cessation support, enforcing existing smoke-free policies in ways that minimise inequitable effects, and addressing self-exempting beliefs.

Increasing brand recall for naming rights sponsorships

Purpose Maximising return on naming rights sponsorships is important for social marketing campaigns with limited funds. Naming rights allow the sponsor’s brand to be aligned with the event name in text and visual promotional materials. For visual displays, either the brand logo or the brand name in words can be aligned with the event name. As the Act–Belong–Commit mental health promotion campaign’s logo encapsulates the brand name, a study was conducted to assess the relative impact on recall of “Act–Belong–Commit” as part of a sponsored event name, when the logo was aligned with the event name versus when the brand name in only words was aligned with the event name. Design/methodology/approach An intercept survey was conducted with n = 112 adult university students. Participants were presented with one of the above two branding alignments for the sponsored event. The image was removed from view, a distracter question asked and participants were asked to recall the name of the event. Findings Recall of the Act–Belong–Commit brand in full as part of the name of the event was significantly and substantially greater for participants exposed to the words only alignment versus the logo alignment: 52 vs 7 per cent (p < 0.000). Practical implications Given these findings, the campaign has adopted the policy of using the words Act–Belong–Commit alongside the event name rather than the logo in future naming rights sponsorships. Originality/value It is recommended that other social marketing brands with similar brand/logo designs undertake research to ensure optimal return on naming rights sponsorships.

Implementing a Mentally Healthy Schools Framework Based on the Population Wide Act-Belong-Commit Mental Health Promotion Campaign: A Process Evaluation.

Purpose Mentally Healthy WA developed and implemented the Mentally Healthy Schools Framework in 2010 in response to demand from schools wanting to promote the community-based Act-Belong-Commit mental health promotion message within a school setting. Schools are an important setting for mental health promotion, therefore, the Framework encourages schools to adopt a whole-of-school approach to mental health promotion based on the World Health Organisation’s Health Promoting Schools framework. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach A process evaluation was conducted consisting of six-monthly activity reports from 13 participating Western Australian schools. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with key school contacts in November 2011 with nine schools who had signed partner agreements prior to July 2011. Findings The schools valued promoting the mentally healthy message and the majority felt the programme was implemented successfully. More intensive implementation was facilitated by a proactive and enthusiastic school “champion” who had influence over other staff, and who did not have too many competing priorities. Factors inhibiting implementation included a lack of effective time management, lack of whole school commitment, and evaluation demands. Originality/value Act-Belong-Commit is a positive, proactive message making it easier for teachers to talk about mental health with their students. For schools reporting implementation success, the Mentally Healthy Schools Framework raised the profile of mental health in the school setting and fostered a sense of belonging among students.