P2.08-015 Promoting Lung Cancer Awareness in Ireland - Balancing Traditional and Digital Platforms: Topic: Other

Abstract

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in Ireland, in both men and women*. Incidence of the disease continues to increase and the majority of Irish lung cancer patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage**. The Irish Cancer Society runs an annual lung cancer awareness campaign promoting awareness of the signs and symptoms and the importance of early detection. A variety of mediums are utilised including production of printed and online information, promotion via online and social media platforms and targeting the media through radio, TV, online advertorials and regional print advertising. In 2016, following previous success online, we replicated an interactive symptom checker developed by the Australian Lung Foundation. The purpose of this online tool was to promote lung cancer awareness and early detection, the public were encouraged to complete the checker and bring their results to their general practitioner (GP). The symptom checker was promoted through various media platforms and this ultimately lead to the success of the project. The campaign goal was 1,720 online health checker completions (25% of benchmarked lung cancer section website visitors). Result: There were 12,185 views of the checker. 3,145 people completed the checker with 2,801 downloading the result for their GPS. A strong call to action to the online checker was valuable as it gave a tangible action to the public. The media played a key role in promoting the campaign message to our targeted audience and contributed to the overall success of the campaign demonstrating the benefit of balancing traditional and digital platforms.