Evaluating the reach and impact of Still Six Lives: A national stillbirth public awareness campaign in Australia

Abstract

BackgroundThe Still Six Lives campaign aimed to increase awareness of stillbirth among Australian women and educate people about three modifiable behaviours that pregnant women could take to reduce the risk of stillbirth. The campaign used earned media, digital advertising and social media. AimThe aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of the campaign on Australian women’s awareness of stillbirth, and knowledge of the three modifiable behaviours. MethodsThe study collected process evaluation data about campaign implementation from digital platforms. The impact evaluation comprised of two components: a three-wave community survey of Australian women aged 18–50 years old, and a pre-post cross-sectional maternity service survey of pregnant women. ResultsThe campaign gained significant reach, including 2,974,375 completed video views and 910,000 impressions via social media influencers. The community surveys had 1502 participants at baseline, 1517 mid-campaign and 1598 post-campaign. Participants were slightly more likely to have encountered messages about stillbirth after the campaign (aOR 1.30, 95% CI 1.09–1.55). There were increases in awareness of each behaviour after the campaign: be aware of baby’s movements (aOR 1.26, 95% CI 1.08–1.47), quit smoking (aOR 1.27, 95% CI 1.10–1.47) and going-to-sleep on side (aOR 1.55, 95% CI 1.32–1.82). The antenatal clinic survey had 296 participants at baseline and 178 post-campaign. Post-campaign, there was an increased likelihood that women were aware of side-sleeping (aOR 3.11, 95% CI 1.74–5.56). ConclusionsThe national campaign demonstrated some evidence of change in awareness of three modifiable behaviours that can reduce the risk of stillbirth.