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Impact Data - Mass Media Vasectomy Promotion Campaign

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Impact evaluation of a 15-month mass media vasectomy promotion campaign in three major Brazilian cities: São Paulo, Fortaleza, and Salvador. The campaign consisted of a combination of prime-time television and radio spots, magazine ads, flyer distribution and an electronic billboard along with other public relations activities.

Methodologies
This campaign was evaluated by examining the clinic records and sources of referral (a standard intake question at all clinics, not requiring separate surveys). The evaluators compare monthly mean data from the six-month pre-campaign period, during the six-week campaign period, and the five and one-half months after the campaign. The in-depth analysis of the PRO-PATER clinic uses daily averages rather than monthly means, and examines the impact of the mini-campaign and post mini-campaign periods. This analysis also assesses the distribution of referrals that led clients to the clinic. In order to evaluate vasectomy rates over time and assess the potential long-term impact of media campaigns, the evaluators performed an 11-year longitudinal regressions analysis. A cost-effectiveness assessment was also performed.
Practices
Across the three clinics, calls, visits, and actual vasectomies increased markedly during the campaign, though post-campaign performance varied substantially between them:
  • PRO-VAS (Fortaleza): The mean number of calls and visits per month increased by 133% (from 15 to 35) during the campaign, while in the 6-months afterwards the monthly mean dropped to 12; less than before the campaign. The monthly mean number of vasectomies increased by 108% from 12 at pre-campaign, to 25 during the campaign, and then down to 7 for a total decline of 42%.(Note: the PRO-VAS clinic was disrupted by a labour dispute during the post-campaign period, which partially skewed the findings.)
  • CEPARH (Salvador): The mean number of calls and visits per month increased by 169% (from 39 to 105), while in the 6-months afterwards the monthly mean fell to 85, for a total gain from pre-campaign of 118%. The monthly mean number of vasectomies increased by 59% from 32 at pre-campaign to 51 during the campaign, and then increased further during the post-campaign period to 59, for a total gain of 84%.
  • PRO-PATER (São Paulo): The mean number of calls and visits per month increased by 261% (from 529 to 1,911 during the campaign), while in the 6-months afterwards the monthly mean fell back to 679, for a total gain from pre-campaign of 28%. The monthly mean number of vasectomies increased by 82%, (from 303 at pre-campaign to 550 during the campaign. The mean then dropped off slightly, to 542 for an overall increase of 79% during the post-campaign period.
Access
In the total 15-month campaign period, it is estimated that 4 million people were reached through the combined activities and press coverage.
Other Impacts
Referrals
The source of referrals for the clinic (PRO-PATER only) shifted over the course of the campaign:
  • Pre-Campaign: Friends/relatives = 55%, Other = 25.2%, Magazines/newspapers = 15.3%.
  • Campaign: Television = 57.9%, Friends/relatives = 20.2%, Magazines/newspapers = 10%, Radio = 5%.
  • Post-Campaign: Friends/relatives = 43.3%, Television = 33.8%, Other = 25.2%, Magazines/newspapers = 6.2%.
  • Mini-Campaign: Friends/relatives = 52.7%, Magazines/newspapers = 17.1%, Other = 16.2%, Television = 12.2%.
The electronic billboard in downtown Sao Paulo was a very minor referral source (<1%). The proportion of referrals from the television spot ultimately returned to very low levels after the campaign, and referrals from friends/relatives returned as the dominant source.
Source
D. Lawrence Kincaid; Alice Payne Merritt; Liza Nickerson; Sandra de Castro Buffington; Marcos Paulo P. de Castro; Bernadete Martin de Castro, "Impact of a Mass media Vasectomy Promotion Campaign in Brazil," International Family Planning Perspectives, Vol. 22, No. 4. (Dec., 1996), pp. 169-175. Click here for access to this full article through the JSTOR archive. Access to this archive is available only through affiliation with a participating academic institution.