Empowering self-advocacy for breast health: A successful educational campaign on breast cancer risk and screening recommendations.
Authors: Culbert Matthew , Oladeru Oluwadamilola Temilade , Brooks Eric , Burchianti Teena , Vázquez Valerie , Boucher Hope , Bradley Julie Ann 
Published: June 2023

11041

Background: The purpose was to develop and distribute an educational campaign on breast cancer risk and screening recommendations to empower women, men, and transgender individuals to take charge of their breast health. Identifying individuals at high risk for developing breast cancer through educational campaigns can lead to earlier detection and improved health outcomes. It was hypothesized that the development of a multi-platform educational campaign including televised ads, website, and mobile applications (apps), would result in a broad reach and accessibility of breast cancer risk and screening recommendations. Methods: The campaign ran from 10/1/22 – 12/2/22 and included a variety of mediums, such as televised ads, website, and mobile apps for iOS and Android devices, all of which were available in English and Spanish. An educational video series was developed to raise awareness about the updated guidelines for breast cancer screening from the American College of Radiology (ACR). Videos focused on the importance of screening for women with a high risk of breast cancer and transgender individuals taking hormone therapy. To complement the televised video, case-based teaching illustrations were created for the website and apps. Resources included screening recommendations, local resources for breast cancer screening and foundations for financial assistance. These materials could be accessed at the website https://myriskbreastcancer.com . The website and mobile apps featured a risk calculator developed using the GAIL model from SAS, coded in the Dart programming language to ensure compatibility and all user inputs were stored in a secure Firebase database. To reach a wider audience, responsive social media ads were developed and distributed through targeted Google Ads campaign. Analytics were collected and analyzed using Google Analytics and user inputs from the mobile application to assess the campaign's effectiveness. Results: Televised ads reached a total of 673,920 impressions over 142 educational video sessions. Google display ads had 152,672 impressions and 462 click-throughs with an audience of 49.2% female and 50.8% male. The mobile application was downloaded 2,030 times on iOS and 722 times on Android, and installed in 131 countries. The website saw 930 impressions and 637 users completed the online calculator, with 72 identified as high risk at time of initial data collection on 12/1/22. Conclusions: The educational campaign was successful in reaching > 500,000 impressions within two months of release, sharing knowledge about breast cancer risk and screening recommendations across all gender types. Use of multiple platforms, including television, social media, and mobile apps, allowed for broad reach and accessibility nationally and internationally, including the identification of 72 individuals at high risk for developing breast cancer.