Social Marketing of Mental Health Treatment: California’s Mental Illness Stigma Reduction Campaign

Abstract

<i>Objectives.</i> To understand the processes involved in effective social marketing of mental health treatment. <i>Methods.</i> California adults experiencing symptoms of probable mental illness were surveyed in 2014 and 2016 during a major stigma reduction campaign (n = 1954). Cross-sectional associations of campaign exposure with stigma, treatment overall, and 2 stages of treatment seeking (perceiving a need for treatment and use conditional on perceiving a need) were examined in covariate-adjusted multivariable regression models. <i>Results.</i> Campaign exposure predicted treatment use overall (odds ratio [OR] = 1.82; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.17, 2.83). Exposure was associated with perceived need for services (OR = 1.64; 95% CI = 1.09, 2.47) but was not significantly associated with treatment use in models conditioned on perceiving a need (OR = 1.52; 95% CI = 0.78, 2.96). Exposure was associated with less stigma, but adjustment for stigma did not affect associations between exposure and either perceived need or treatment use. <i>Conclusions.</i> The California campaign appears to have increased service use by leading more individuals to interpret symptoms of distress as indicating a need for treatment. Social marketing has potential for addressing underuse of mental health services and may benefit from an increased focus on perceived need.