Page 50 - Healthy Brain Initiative, State and Local Public Health Partnerships to Address Dementia: The 2018-2023 Road Map

SOUTH CAROLINA

Promoting Brain Health

To raise awareness about brain health, the South the messaging, reaching over 31,000 people and
Carolina Department of Health and Environmental 6,500 social media users through these channels.
Control (SC-DHEC) partnered with the Alzheimer’s South Carolinians were encouraged to visit the SC-
Association South Carolina Chapter, the American DHEC brain health webpage and smokers to call the
Heart Association, and Eat Smart Move More South agency’s tobacco quitline.
Carolina on a multi-layered campaign: Take Brain
Health to Heart. The multi-component initiative was As part of the campaign, SC-DHEC offered a monthly
purposefully designed to reach rural and racial/ethnic drawing for a fitness tracker device. To enter the
minority populations that have a higher prevalence drawing—advertised on the SC-DHEC website—
of cardiovascular risk factors that also related to people pledged to engage in seven behaviors that
increased risk of cognitive decline and possibly promote brain health, such as exercising and using
dementia. a seat belt. As another part of this campaign, SC-
DHEC developed various educational materials: a
Campaign elements included a new website (see floor display, brochure, factsheet, and social media
image), health education materials, social media resources. Messages focusing on risk factors for
messages, three radio PSAs, and an online pledge cognitive decline were synced with existing messages
in which people commit to keeping their body, heart, regarding exercise, smoking cessation, hypertension,

and brain healthy. The messaging was designed diabetes, obesity, and traumatic brain injury. •
to mobilize South Carolinians to protect their brain
health by being more active, eating better, and taking
other steps. Benedict College, a historically African
American institution, and the University of South
Carolina Prevention Research Center helped promote
the campaign.

Over the course of a seven-week health-campaign
period, the DHEC-led collaboration had nearly 1,500
PSAs aired on four radio stations, reaching over 2.7
million people from diverse demographic backgrounds.
Print educational materials and social media reinforced

44 Healthy Brain Initiative State and Local Public Health Partnerships to Address Dementia: The 2018–2023 Road Map