Substance Use Disorder Self-Screener

"Turn To" Check-In and Statewide Media Campaign

An interactive self-screening tool to promote social connection and healthy ways to manage stress, with the goal of preventing substance use disorder among Texans.

women looking at phone

Overview

The Check-In, a component of the statewide "Turn To" campaign, helps users identify potential mental health and substance use challenges and provides customized, evidence-based resources based on users' responses to the self-screening tool. Intended audiences include Texas youth and young adults, parents, and community leaders.

The CHC is funded by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to promote and evaluate the "Turn To" Check-In and its accompanying resources, with the goals:

  • Promoting social connection as a predictor of physical and mental health and substance use
  • Providing Texans with resources to manage trauma, stress, anxiety, and other mental health concerns in healthy ways
  • Decreasing the effect of stigma on Texans' willingness to seek help for substance use disorder and other mental health concerns

Expertise

  • Quantitative research
  • Qualitative research
  • Creative strategy and testing
  • Graphic design
  • Campaign evaluation
  • Interactive survey design

Timeline

year 1

YEAR 1 (2021-2022)

  • Conducted formative research and creative testing to inform the "Turn To" campaign, Check-In, and resources
  • Conducted environmental scan
  • Conducted academic literature reviews
  • Led community leader interviews and focus groups
  • Developed a formative research survey
  • Developed a campaign strategy
  • Tested campaign messages and creative designs
year 2

YEAR 2 (2022-2023)

  • Developed the Check-in tool and resources
  • Created Check-in campaign assets and media plan
  • Launched the Check-in tool in English and Spanish
  • Conducted a campaign evaluation
year 3

YEAR 3 (2023-2024)

  • Conducted qualitative and quantitative evaluations of the Check-in and resources
  • Conducted a campaign evaluation
  • Updated the Check-In, resources, and campaign assets based on research results

Approach

Formative research with Texans revealed key strategic insights:

  • Participants confirmed links between COVID-19, isolation, mental health challenges, and substance use
  • While mental health is discussed more, many Texans identify with "having a tough couple of months" rather than "having a mental illness"
  • Stigmatizing language is common, even among community leaders, when discussing substance use disorder (SUD)
  • Community leaders are crucial mediators and validators of state health information

Formative research and creative testing shaped the campaign's voice and tone to be:

  • Hopeful, trustworthy, supportive, and empowering — balancing the voice of a friend and therapist
  • Compassionate — acknowledging mental health is hard to talk about
  • Destigmatizing — using person-first, non-judgmental language, and focusing on how mental health challenges affect everyone
  • Approachable — replacing unfamiliar or uncomfortable terms (e.g. substance use disorder, depression, or anxiety) with plain, approachable language

Materials

Impact

For this project, success is determined by the number of Check-Ins completed, campaign recall, and various media metrics.

$11.2M

campaign funding

23%

campaign recall among Texans

1,189,423+

ad clicks

69%

campaign viewers who took action

40,387+

check-in completions

Publications

Publications

A reasoned action approach to social connection and mental health

Shi, W., Donovan, E., Quaack, K. R., Mackert, M., Shaffer, A. L., De Luca, D. M., Nolan-Cody, H., & Yang, J. (2023). A reasoned action approach to social connection and mental health: Racial group differences and similarities in attitudes, norms, and intentions. Health Communication, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2023.2259690

Publications

Development and refinement of a communication guide to help young adults in Texas reconnect and reduce loneliness

Donovan, E., Shaffer, A. L., Kaiser, E., Quaack, K. R., Mackert, M., Shi, W., & De Luca, D. M. (2024). Development and refinement of a communication guide to help young adults in Texas reconnect and reduce loneliness. PEC Innovation, 4, 100246. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pecinn.2023.100246


 

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