On Wednesday, March 15, 2023, EMPHNET hosted a webinar titled “Using Aspire Model, Research and Evaluation and Social Media for Advocacy and to Advance Policy” as part of the United Against Tobacco and COVID campaign capacity building webinar series. The 120-minute session featured three presentations by experts from Vital Strategies, namely the Communication Manager, Food Policy Program, Ms. Pallavi Puri, the Research Manager at Global Vital Strategies, Ms. Elizaveta Zeynalova, the Vital Strategies Associate Director, Mr. Ashish Kumar Gupta, and Vital Strategies Senior Content Strategist Ms. Yayne Hailu. The session was moderated by EMPHNET Technical Specialist Dr. Randa Saad.

In the first presentation Ms. Puri presented the “Aspire to Change” communication strategy framework which comprises five steps: Analyze, Strategize, Prepare, Implement, and Review/Evaluate. This model is used to guide public health advocates and communication professionals in the development, execution, and evaluation of a communication strategy to effect change. She emphasized the importance of setting clear objectives and identifying key performance indicators early on, defining target audiences and response options, and ensuring sufficient resources to achieve the objectives. She explained how identification of the primary and secondary target audience for a campaign is based on the campaign objectives. Mr. Puri also highlighted the significance of tracking conversations among both supporters and opponents, as well as monitoring and updating the campaign throughout the implementation stage.

The second presentation was delivered by both Ms. Zeynalova, and Mr. Gupta who spoke about the importance of research and evaluation in strengthening media campaigns for policy change. They emphasized the need to assess the effectiveness of communication efforts, identify unintended consequences, and document lessons for future use. Mr. Gupta explained formative evaluation and the importance of message pretesting. From her end, Ms. Zeynalova shared the experience of the two post-campaign evaluations conducted in Jordan and Palestine, for the United Against Tobacco and COVID campaign, highlighting the importance of disseminating evaluation results during a campaign. She showed how the evaluation illustrated a significant difference in behavior between those who were aware of the campaign and those who were not. Additionally, there was a substantial increase in calls to the cessation clinics in Jordan during the dissemination of the campaign. She stated that the evaluation results informed the current campaign and helped develop a dissemination plan.

The third and final session, led by Ms. Hailu, showcased some of the work on anti-tobacco industry advocacy. She discusses how social media can be used effectively for policy change advocacy, and she also explained the role of social media in policy advocacy, the ways in which social media can be used to gain media attention, get stakeholders to take action, maintain a brand, and raise awareness or funds.

She emphasized that social media opens doors for many voices to enter the conversation and align their interests. However, social media is a tool and not a magic solution for policy change. She recommended having a well thought out strategy by identifying the goals, stakeholders, target audience, and objectives for social media activities in order to achieve the desired change.  She also recommended prioritizing the right social media platforms that the target audience frequents, which could help to create public pressure and influence stakeholders. Finally, she suggested deciding on the main source of information and considering using either paid or organic social media.

The sessions included a Q&A portion led by Dr. Randa and Ms. Rebecca Perl Vital Strategies Vice President, allowing attendees and facilitators to interact with the experts.

The webinar served to highlight the importance of effective communication, research, and social media strategies in advancing public health policies, and it offered valuable insights into best practices for achieving tangible results. Participants left feeling inspired and equipped with the knowledge and tools they need to make a difference in their communities.