Saving Lives through visual health communication: a multidisciplinary team approach

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Communication
• Medical Illustration

Background:

• Saving Lives, a UK public health charity, partnered with Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust in 2011.
• The collaboration aimed to develop a national HIV awareness campaign to educate the public and encourage HIV testing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create and implement a national HIV awareness campaign utilizing local sporting celebrities.
• To assess the campaign's impact on public awareness and testing rates for HIV.

Main Methods:

• A national HIV awareness campaign was developed featuring local sporting celebrities photographed with professional equipment.
• Video footage was captured during photography sessions, and graphical compositions were applied to various media, including posters and public transport.
• Survey research, including questionnaires for 1800 patients at a sexual health clinic, was conducted post-campaign launch.

Main Results:

• The campaign involved photographing and filming 33 sporting stars and visiting numerous sporting institutes.
• Initial data was collected from 1800 patients attending a sexual health clinic for HIV testing in the three months following the campaign's launch.

Conclusions:

• The HIV awareness campaign, initiated in 2011, has become an ongoing, long-term project for Saving Lives.
• The campaign's success has led to continued production of promotional materials to advance the charity's message about HIV testing.