Webinar Series: Building Effective Public Health Communications Campaigns on Substance Use Treatment and Overdose Prevention

Join us for a three-part webinar series that explores how to design and deliver effective public health communications campaigns related to addressing substance use disorders and overdose, drawing directly from the experiences of the HEALing Communities Study (HCS), a multi-state, community-driven effort to reduce overdose deaths in 66 communities across Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio. 

The goals of the campaign were to: 1) increase acceptability and demand for evidence-based practices (EBPs) to treat opioid misuse, opioid use disorder (OUD), and opioid overdose death; and 2) decrease stigma toward people who use opioids, OUD, and EBPs, especially the use of medications for OUD. HCS coalitions successfully implemented four main distinct campaigns tailored to local needs, which included campaigns that focused on:

• Obtaining and carrying naloxone

• Decreasing MOUD stigma

• Raising awareness of MOUD treatment

• Staying in MOUD treatment

  
  

Based on lessons learned from the HCS, each session will offer practical guidance, real-world case studies, and actionable tools to help attendees prepare, plan, and sustain communications efforts in their community. Attendees will hear from HCS communications leaders about the implementation of the campaigns in the field and lessons learned along the way.

Register Here

Part 1: Planning a Communication Campaign

Join us on June 5 at 1 p.m. EST for this first session of our three-part webinar series on developing communications campaigns on substance use treatment and overdose prevention. This webinar will delve into the foundational planning process used in the HEALing Communities Study (HCS), including an overview of the communications planning process and the major campaigns that were implemented across sites. 

Presenters will walk participants through the strategic approaches to campaign planning, such as conducting formative research, data analysis, audience segmentation, dissemination planning, and material development. Attendees will also hear from HCS sites about lessons learned from the planning and launch phases across their communities. Register here.

Part 2: Implementing Communications Campaign

In this webinar, presenters will focus on implementing communication campaigns with strategies for tailoring materials for distinct communities and audiences. They will showcase a suite of print and digital materials used by HCS that feature non-stigmatizing imagery and language, along with strategies for tailoring materials to local “faces and places” for cultural relevance and authenticity. Attendees will gain insights into grassroots dissemination strategies across various community settings and best practices for engaging audiences, building trust, and fostering community ownership of campaign messages. Register here.

Part 3: Evaluating and Sustaining Communications Campaigns

This final session in the three-part series will focus on evaluating and sustaining health communications campaigns. Presenters will discuss evaluation approaches used to monitor reach, engagement, behavior change, key metrics to track campaign impact, and long-term strategies for sustaining campaigns. They will also discuss practical costing strategies for scaling campaigns and recommendations for best practices, including staffing, resource alignment, and leveraging partnerships. Register here.