Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Students are healthier than you think
A 4-year project to reduce harm caused by alcohol and to promote health among VCU students

Project Description

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is an urban, public institution with an enrollment of approximately 25,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. VCU students are very diverse. VCU has a large art and theater school as well as a many well-known professional schools such as business, medicine and engineering.

In January 2002 the VCU Office of Health Promotion began a social norms marketing campaign to reduce alcohol abuse and negative consequences related to alcohol abuse by promoting positive health norms.

Project Funding Source

This project is funded primarily through an unrestricted gift from the Anheuser-Busch Foundation.

Project Objective

Primary Objective: To reduce alcohol abuse and negative consequences related to alcohol abuse by promoting positive health norms.

Secondary Objective: Because of the nature of the undergraduate students at VCU, a single focus on the alcohol has been avoided to lessen resistance to the message. Instead, a broader approach to health statistics has been taken and secondary campaigns to address skepticism was created. The secondary campaign acknowledges student skepticism and uses humor to increase the credibility of the campaign. All campaign media has ben created by VCU student designers under project staff supervision, resulting in a trendy, artsy, and urban look.

Baseline Data

VCU's baseline NCHA data indicated that students were actually much healthier than they thought.

(See primary normative messages, which are all based on data gathered from VCU's administration of the National College Health Assessment [NCHA] in spring 2002.)

Process Research

A media habit survey was conducted in February and March 2002. This was an intercept survey conducted with 200 undergraduate VCU students. Questions assessed items such as:

  • Hours/week listening to radio, as well as times of the days and favorite stations.
  • Do you read the Commonwealth Times (the campus paper)? If so, what sections do you read? (Possible choices included: front page, news brief, Spectrum, sports, classified, opinion, advertisements) Do you read other other publications (Richmond Times Dispatch, Punch Line, etc.)?
  • Do you use the VCU website? If so, how often (hours/week)? What is your first choice of the VCU web pages you visit?
  • Do you ride the VCU buses/shuttle? How many times a week? Do you read the posters on the buses? Do you read the posters on campus? If so, in which locations on campus do you most often read the posters? Do you work out at the Fitness Center? If so, How many times/week?
  • Within the last month have you seen health prevention information on campus? If so, in what location? (Possible choices included: residence halls, class, bulletin boards/posters, etc.)
  • Who do you find credible in terms of getting health information (medical professional, parents, peers, family, etc.)
  • What are your favorite promotional items? (Possible choices included: t-shirts, candy, frisbees, pens, etc.)
  • Where do you hang out when you're not in class? (Possible choices included: commons, residence halls, library, etc.)
  • Where do you eat on campus?
  • Do you work as well as going to school? If so, number of hours/week you work?
  • Have you seen any posters related to alcohol and VCU students?

Working under the direction of the Office of Health Promotion staff, the Graduate Ad Center Team drew up a strategic media plan. A number of initial concepts were developed, tested, and revised based on feedback from intercepts, classroom testing, and focus groups conducted during the spring and summer of 2002.

Primary Normative Messages

Focus group data indicated that VCU undergraduate students took great pride in "living in the real world." VCU students felt that there was no "typical" VCU student. Instead, students took pride in the urban, trendy, and real world diversity of the campus. VCU students also tend to be skeptical and they enjoy challenging the status quo.

The VCU social norms marketing intervention consists of three (3) print campaigns, each of which incorporates variations and uses a variety of promotional items. The three campaigns are entitled:

  1. VCU Students Are Healthier Than You Think
  2. Skeptical Bubbles: "Most Students Have 0-4 Drinks When They Go Out."
  3. Urban Legends

Because VCU students tend to have issues with authority, the decision was made to avoid over-focusing on alcohol as a health issue. Instead, the approach has a broader base and lists a variety of facts about health issues important to college students. The lead campaign is called "VCU students are healthier than you think." In this campaign a series of 4 posters simply state a variety of health statistics. Each ad contains the fact that 67% of VCU students have 0-4 drinks when they go out.

1. VCU Students Are Healthier Than You Think:
(Series of 4 posters… 0-4 statistic was on every poster)

Messages include:
  • Most (67%) have 0-4 drinks when they go out.
  • Most (84%) wear seat belts.
  • Most (76% either don't drink or use designated drivers if they do.
  • Most (70%) don't smoke cigarettes.
  • Most (56%) have never even tried marijuana.
  • Most (68%) work in addition to going to school.
  • Most (73% either don't have credit cards or owe less than $500.
  • Most (69%) have had 0-1 sex partners in the past year.
  • Most women (72%) have had their annual Pap smear.

For examples of the posters, see the link provided below.

2. Skeptical Bubble Campaign:
(Series of 6 posters)

The goal of this campaign is to use humor and to acknowledge student skepticism. The campaign gives the message, "Yes, we listened to what you said and we care about what you think." The campaign also provides more information for them to think about and subtly gives reasons why the campaign statistics are credible.

For examples of the posters, see the link provided below.

3. Urban Legends
(Series of 3)

For diversity, a table tent and post card campaign called "Urban Legends" gives the added (and humorous) perspective that 0-4 is no urban legend.

Click on this link to see examples of all three (3) of VCU's social norms marketing print campaigns that were begun in fall 2002. (Note: This is a PDF file.)

Marketing Methods Employed

Posters in residence halls, posters in classrooms, bus ads, table tents, post cards and promotional items (e.g.- tattoos, cups, pencils). There was also a T-shirt incentive for students who knew either the phrase, "VCU students are healthier than you think." or "Most students have 0-4 drinks when they go out."

Evaluation

This is a cross sectional, longitudinal study. NCHA surveys will be collected using the same administrative technique between 2002 and 2005. In February 2002, 810 NCHA surveys were collected in randomly selected, representative classrooms at VCU . Data gathered from these surveys were used to create the media campaign and will serve as baseline data.

Project Results

Pending

Principal Investigators

Linda Hancock, FNP, PhD
Email: [email protected]
Jim Hardiman, MS, LCSW
Email: [email protected]
Office of Health Promotion
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, VA 23284

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www.socialnorm.org