Tackling health misinformation together

A bit of background…

The Patient Information Forum (PIF) gives accreditation to organisations producing health information. The award of the PIF TICK is the only independent UK quality mark for patient-friendly, trusted health information. The green tick shows healthcare professionals (HCPs) and the public that it’s information they can trust.  

However, the PIF TICK is not widely known amongst HCPs, who are key to tackling health misinformation, improving patient understanding and outcomes.

Where we came in…

PIF needed help raising awareness of the PIF TICK with HCPs, especially those working in areas with less high-quality patient information, such as frailty, mental health, and chronic pain. As PIF partners, we had a unique opportunity to use our creative and strategic capabilities to deliver a pro-bono campaign to raise the profile of PIF TICK and PIF’s under-utilised resources.  

What we looked at…

Firstly, we got to know our target audience. We created a survey and together with our partners at PIF, distributed to our combined network of HCPs. Alongside a lack of awareness of the PIF TICK, the survey uncovered that 58% of respondents felt they had difficulty sourcing reliable information for their patients. This provided the impetus for an awareness campaign to take shape.

What we did then…

We created the awareness campaign call to action: Be part of the solution to health misinformation. Look for the PIF TICK to provide health and care information you and your patients can trust.

We worked up the campaign design:

• Switching the original PIF colour palette around, giving a brighter, bolder look and feel
• Blending the PIF illustrative style with black and white photography of real-life HCPs, combining both credibility and approachability which is central to the PIF TICK mission
• With brand guidelines developed along with a creative library, PIF have all the assets they need to produce their own social media posts and update the campaign landing page

Here’s what happened next…

The campaign launched in February 2023. It was comprised of targeted social media posts and a campaign landing page highlighting the value of PIF TICK. PIF TICK members and the PIF community helped raise awareness with their own networks. The campaign was featured online by members, including The King's Fund, and was even mentioned in the Mail on Sunday, helping to maximise reach and engagement of the campaign.

In the first month after launching the campaign, PIF TICK had:

• More than 2,000 unique users to the PIF TICK site (almost all of these were new users)
• 1.2k views of the new HCP page
• Nearly 200 views of toolkit (a downloadable resource created for HCPs including guidance on tackling health misinformation to a directory of members)

As a PIF TICK accredited agency, we understand the stringent processes involved to produce content that meets PIF TICK’s criteria. The campaign has already started to open-up PIF TICK to a wider audience and as awareness grows, the green tick will become synonymous with health information everyone can trust.

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