Scottish Government

CHAPTER ONE BACKGROUND, METHOD AND OBJECTIVES

1.1 The Scottish Government has run an annual advertising campaign for the last six years to promote the uptake of the flu vaccination to the target groups of the elderly (those aged 65+) and the 'at risk' (defined as affected by a number of specified medical conditions). Until 2006/07, both audiences were addressed simultaneously by the same campaign, even though the additional message of encouraging the take-up of the pneumococcal vaccination introduced in 2003 applied only to those aged 65+.

1.2 For 2006/07 and 2007/08, the campaign was run in two phases - an initial phase targeting the 65+ group specifically, followed by a second phase addressing the 'at risk' group. The 2007 'at risk' phase involved outdoor posters, posters ³ and leaflets in GP surgeries and pharmacies, as well as pharmacy bags, reverse graffiti and publicity stunts and correspondence from GPs. The Scottish Government commissioned TNS System Three to evaluate the effectiveness of the 'at risk' campaign in communicating the key campaign messages to the 'at risk' target audience.

1.3 Each year, research has been conducted to monitor the impact of the campaign in respect of awareness, communication and effectiveness in promoting uptake of the vaccinations. The research approach has varied over recent years between omnibus with booster of 65+s, omnibus alone and ad hoc focussing on target groups specifically. For the latest campaign (and indeed the campaign in 2006), the requirement was to monitor the campaign among the 'at risk' aged 16-64 only, omitting the 65+ category from the research.

1.4 The main campaign aim is to encourage the two target groups (over 65s and those who are aged under 65 and in an 'at risk' group) to get their free flu jab this winter. The message for the 'at risk' phase of the campaign is 'flu can be serious'.

1.5 The aims of the research are to evaluate the effectiveness of the 'at risk' phase of the Flu 2007 campaign in communicating the key campaign messages to the 'at risk' target audience and to gather information on barriers and triggers to vaccine uptake among the 'at risk' group to help future campaign development.

1.6 In order to meet these aims, the following research objectives were addressed:

• to assess campaign awareness - spontaneous and prompted - across the various media channels among the primary 'at risk' target audience in comparison to the previous wave of research;
• to gather information on which media work best for this target audience;
• to measure the effectiveness of the campaign in terms of knowledge and understanding of key campaign messages;
• to assess triggers and barriers to vaccination uptake among those who have and have not had a flu vaccination.

1.7 A sample of 332 adults aged 16-64 was interviewed in 30 sampling points throughout Scotland over the period 15th to 29th December 2007. The respondents were approached in-street using Computer Aided Personal Interviewing ( CAPI) which enabled the interviewers to display visual stimulus on screen.

1.8 Based on a previous TNS System Three Omnibus survey, an estimated 14% of the population qualified as 'at risk' within the 16-64 age range. At the recruitment stage of the survey, respondents were asked whether they suffered from any of the relevant conditions (with those answering 'yes' continuing the interview) and at the end of the survey they were asked to confirm which specific conditions they suffered from.

1.9 In addition, a sample profile was designed based on previous estimates, and quotas were imposed to ensure that the sample was representative of the 'at risk' population in terms of age, sex and SEG. Results were then weighted ⁴ against the 2006 sample to ensure direct comparability. The sample profile is shown below.

Table 1.1 - Sample profile
Base: All (332)

1.10 A copy of the questionnaire used in the survey is appended.