Hey guys! This week we have been talking about public advocacy campaigns. Social media is one way of campaigning, with the amount of people that use social media today something very small can turn into the most popular topic being talked about just over night.
The first video I want to share with you is about the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge where the founder shares his story. Pat Quinn was diagnosed with ALS in 2013 and had came across a video that inspired him to raise awareness and money for this awful disease. There has been thousands of videos of people doing the ice bucket challenge where it raised $115 million towards research to find a cure.
The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is when people take a whole bucket filled with ice cold water and pour it on their heads, nominating three other people to do it as well. This is to raise awareness and has become a viral sensation within 48 hours. Pat Quinn stated ” We were very lucky.” He has a big network and picked up on the challenge and got a hold of it, that is when everyone was talking about and doing the challenge.
A challenge like this one has raised an enormous amount of money for this awful disease. The amount of support people battling this disease have gotten just because of a challenge is very inspiring and should be done more often to raise money for research purposes in finding a cure.
The next topic I would like to talk to you guys about is mental health among college students. There are many college students that suffer with mental health problems that not many people know about. There have been studies done to show that college students and working adults are particularly vulnerable to stress and other mental health problems.
I have found a research study where the aim of their study “was to examine the efficacy of the Internet-based mindfulness training program (iMIND) in comparison with the well-established Internet-based cognitive-behavioral training program (iCBT) in promoting mental health among college students and young working adults.”
Mental health is a big problem in todays society where more people struggle with it than most think. This study was a success as it showed these programs have potential in improving mental health from pre to post assessments. Finding web-based programs that can help improve mental health issues among college students and young working adults can help save many lives. Being stressed or depressed can lead to other problems in the future if not treated or in the act of being treated.
It is stated in the study ” Both iMIND and iCBT were efficacious in improving mental health, psychological distress, life satisfaction, sleep disturbance, and energy levels.” These programs can be life changing too many people in a positive way which is why there should be more advertising or awareness towards these specific programs and their benefits.
I have added the links to both the video and the research study so you guys can go and check them out!
Lgoldmanhealth 