In April 2020, we announced the recipients of our Small Grants Program aimed at advancing the clinical, educational, research and/or advocacy missions of our department. We were able to allocate nearly $100,000 to a terrific set of diverse, one-year proposals from faculty, staff and trainees on a wide range of topics. Christine Lee, PhD, and Jennifer Cadigan, PhD, submitted their final report for the “Harm Reduction in the Context of Social Distancing: A Time-Sensitive COVID-19-related Personalized Normative Feedback Program Addressing High-risk Alcohol Use and Encouraging Engagement in Adaptive Coping and Social Behaviors” project.
The goal of their project was to develop and examine the feasibility and acceptability of a time-sensitive, COVID-19-specific personalized normative feedback (PNF) focused on drinking motivations to cope with distress and/or to enhance social connectedness. They also hoped to promote engagement in strategies for stress management and increase engagement in social, alcohol-free activities while practicing social distancing.
Based on their initial work, they created a COVID-19 Check-in Young Adult Emotions and Health tool and recently received a $300,000 contract from WA State Health Care Authority to expand and provide an updated version. Over 1,200 young adults in WA have seen the program so far, and now many more will be able to.
Below is their final report.
Summary of the work completed
In response to the potential implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and substance use, we developed a tool for young adults in Washington State called “Covid-19 Check-in With Yourself: Young Adult Health and Emotions”. The program provided an opportunity for reflection on how young adults are feeling and how they tend to cope. The program offers new strategies for stress management, increasing social support, and addressing alcohol use during the pandemic that may lead to additional risks. Reflections provide perspective around some of their emotions and behaviors, such as alcohol use, and shows how they compare to other young adults during the pandemic. Further, the program provides resources for further information or help.
The Check-in With Yourself is a free, publicly available, anonymous online program designed for young adults in Washington State. The program was designed using evidence-based strategies and tailored personalized normative feedback and stress management skills to this pandemic.
The program, once developed, was promoted on social media to young adults in WA State. One of the goals of this small grant was to assess whether we could reach young adults through social media ads. Between August 2020 and October 2021, 74 paid ads were run on Facebook (n=40), Instagram (n=32), and Twitter (n=2). We also promoted the program through community agencies working with young adults, UW Medicine press release, radio and television news stories, presentations to young adults, and direct emails to colleagues teaching at different colleges.
Between August 2020 and October 2021, 1339 young adults (ages 18-29, mean age 23.6) completed Check-in With Yourself. Of those who completed the program, the majority (80.2%) accessed Check-in With Yourself through social media. Others learned of the program from young adult organizations, friends and families, presentations, the news, and/or searching the internet and accessing through the Check-in With Yourself website.
At the end of the program, there was an opportunity for the young adults to complete a brief survey about their thoughts on the program. In total, 311 young adults completed the post-program survey with 85% indicating they (somewhat, quite a bit or extremely) liked Check-in With Yourself, 88.6% finding the program interesting, 80.3% useful, and 90.3% indicating the program was relevant. 64.9% indicated they would use strategies suggested in the program with 69.8% indicating they would recommend the program to a friend. 87.4% indicated they agree or strongly agree Check-in With Yourself increased their knowledge about how much people actually drink with 87.8% indicating they liked the alcohol information provided in the program.
Below are some demographics of the individuals who completed the program.
- Gender: 50.3% Female, 45.9% Male, 3.8% other
- Race: 80.6% White, 6.9% More than one race, 6.8% Asian, 1.7% American Indian or Alaska Native, 1.6% Black or African American, 1.4% Other, 0.7% Arab, Middle Eastern or North African, 0.3% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander; 9.9% Hispanic or Latino/a.
- Sexual orientation: 68.2% Straight/heterosexual, 31.8% LGBQ+
- Education status: 36.7% Not currently a student, 38.5% 4-year student, 10.4% graduate student, 9.1% 2-year or trade student, 4.3% high school or GED student, 1.0% other certifications
- Employment status: 72.1% working (47.7% full time, 24.4% part time)
Overall, we feel Check-in With Yourself was a success with over 1300 young adults completing it, the majority of which indicated they liked the program and would recommend it to a friend.
What did you learn because of this work?
While our team had used social media to recruit for research projects, it was one tool of many. For this pilot project, creating a social media campaign was one of our goals. As a result, we learned a lot about what types of ads tend to work better and which ads work better with different audiences. We also know for the future we need to continue to work to reach diverse, under-represented communities and underserved populations.
In reviewing the open-ended comments from young adults in the post survey, we learned some young adults are interested in a component on cannabis and others wished it was easier to locate, e.g. on a static page versus primarily found on social media.
What future activities might result from this award?
As a result of this pilot study, we obtained two contracts:
- The Washington State Healthcare Authority (HCA) has contracted with us to update and expand the Check-in With Yourself program for young adults. We will updated the program and develop it on a new platform for easier use and dissemination, update all the norms utilized in the program and develop a new cannabis component, as well as generalize the mental health component for use beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, we will incorporate educational videos and develop a new opt-in system for young adults to receive additional SMS and/or emails with additional content. We will continue to disseminate this updated program with a variety of strategies through March 2023.
- The City of Mercer Island has contracted with us to adapt the Check-in With Yourself program for high school students. This program will utilize the original program content and adapt the language, norms, and resources for adolescents. The City of Mercer Island will disseminate this program to their high school students and make it available for teens in King County.
