A Tailored Approach to Promoting Engagement in Public Health

PROJECT SUMMARY Successfully reaching and enrolling fully representative target populations in public health interventions is a highly desiredbut notoriously difficultprospectespecially when an initiative is focused on socially charged issues or health conditions that affect vulnerable subgroupsFor exampleHIV AIDS has disproportionately high morbidity among a number of minority marginalized populationsand faces a stigma that further complicates recruitment effortsThe commercial sectoron the other handfaces similar challenges for engaging diverse audiencesbut has achieved highly notable successes in its marketing and advertising effortsBrands and companies have effectively utilized a number of innovative approaches to increase operational efficiencymeasure campaign effectivenessand capture relevant data to pinpoint specific consumer behaviorA comparable approachtailored to meet the idiosyncratic needs of the public health enterprisewould offer significant improvement to its ability to engage with intended audiencesThose proven methodshoweverentail significant capital and dedicated personnel that are not typically available to the majority of public health organizationsThusthere is a pronounced yet unmet need for more scalable toolsets that can improve outreach and engagement of target populationsIn order to address these challengesthis project seeks to increase representative enrollment through customized outreach analyses and informed tailoring of recruitment and engagement strategiesThe proposed web based system will enable researchers to conduct typology stratification of participant groups based on demographicpsychographicand other pertinent characteristicsand will provide a platform for iterative improvement toward encouraging desired enrollee behavior in real timeThis targeted approach holds the promise to enhance participant engagement in public health interventionsand will be tested in the context of facilitating enrollment in an eHealth study targeting HIVmen who have sex with menMSMPROJECT NARRATIVE Outreach campaigns that are tailored to recipient characteristics has proven highly impactful in engaging target populationsWhen executed sufficientlythey can facilitate greater representativeness in public health research studies and programsHoweverthe process of developing and validating targeted campaigns is both timeand resource intensivethe limited availability of funding and manpower within the public health environment necessitates more affordable tools that are highly automated and scalableSuccessful development and dissemination of such toolsas exemplified in the envisioned Strata systemcan meaningfully contribute to greater inclusivenessreduced selection and volunteer biaseshigher generalizabilityand better population health outcomes