Inova Health System “Love Your Heart” Planning

Background

This pitch outlines a strategic communication campaign about women’s heart health issues for Inova Health System, a nonprofit health organization that serves communities in Northern Virginia, including the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, and Falls Church, as well as Fairfax County and Loudoun County. For background, heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States, accounting for 1 in 5 female deaths in 2021 (CDC, 2023, para. 1). Virginia ranks 30th among states for heart disease mortality across all demographics, with an age-adjusted rate of 167.2 deaths per 100,000 as of the most recent statistics in 2021 (National Center for Health Statistics, 2022). Importantly, this rate has steadily increased for several years, from 147.9 in 2018 to 149.1 in 2019, and to 152 in 2020 (National Center for Health Statistics, 2022).

There is some positive news for women in the state: over a three-year average between 2018 and 2020, the mortality rate for women aged 35+ in Virginia has been 228 per 100,000 compared to 366 per 100,000 for men (Virginia Department of Health, n.d.). Inova Health System’s communities also rank among the best in the state on heart disease, with mortality rates for women aged 35+ being 175, 136, 138, 174, and 178 per 100,000 for Loudoun County, Fairfax County, Falls Church, Fairfax City, and Alexandria, respectively; comparted to the statewide rate of 228 per 100,000 (Virginia Department of Health). However, one demographic where the outlook is less positive for Inova Health System’s constituent communities is among Asian Pacific Islander (API) women. Loudoun County, Fairfax City and Alexandria had some of the highest heart disease mortality rates among API women in the state between 2018 and 2020, with 147, 140, and 115 deaths per 100,000 respectively, compared to the statewide rate of 100 per 100,000 (Virginia Department of Health). Hispanic women in Fairfax City and Alexandria also had higher-than-average heart disease mortality rates, with 168 and 134 deaths per 100,000 respectively, compared to a statewide rate of 100 deaths per 100,000 for the same demographic group (Virginia Department of Health).

Strategic Campaign Pitch: “Love Your Heart”

Rationale

Despite the prevalence of heart disease, only 56% of women in the United States recognize that it is their number one killer (CDC, 2023, para. 1). Inova Health Systems prides itself for “award-winning facilities, doctors recognized for contributing to innovative heart and vascular research, and the full spectrum of complex treatments for comprehensive cardiovascular care” (Inova Shar Heart and Vascular, n.d., para. 1), and this strategic communication campaign will bring the organization’s outreach and prevention efforts up to the same level of recognition as the organization’s treatment programs.

Inova Health System’s heart and vascular programs recently received a transformational gift of $75 million from Dwight and Martha Schar to “focus on research, outreach, prevention and early diagnosis” and “promote health equity across the Northern Virginia region” (InovaNewsroom, 2023, para. 1). This incredible gift gives Inova the means and impetus to identify and target outreach towards the communities in Northern Virginia most impacted by heart disease. Despite the region’s strong position in heart health statistics relative to the rest of the state, demographic disparities on this issue suggest that public outreach efforts are necessary in order to achieve health equity.

Audience

Based on the reasons listed in the background, this campaign will target two key demographic audiences: Asian Pacific Islander women and Hispanic women above age 35+. A third cross-cutting demographic to target is women aged 50+, given that heart disease risk goes up as you age (CDC, 2023, Do Age and Sex Affect section, para. 1) and because post-menopausal women “are at a higher risk of coronary artery disease because of hormonal changes” (CDC, 2023, Common Types section, para. 1).

Objectives

The primary goal of the campaign will be to reduce the mortality rate of heart disease among API and Hispanic women – particularly those aged 50+ – in Inova Health System’s constituent communities by raising awareness of the risk factors associated with heart disease and providing information about heart disease prevention. Three actionable items to highlight are to increase exercise to 150 minutes of physical activity per week, to quit smoking, and to manage stress levels (CDC, 2023, How to Reduce section). This campaign will empower the target audience by offering actionable information, connecting it with heart health risk factors, and enabling them to make positive, health-conscious decisions.

Timeline

In recognition of the historic donation, Inova will rename its Heart and Vascular Institute to Schar Heart and Vascular in the fall of 2023 (Inova Schar Heart and Vascular, n.d.). This campaign, which we propose titling “Love Your Heart,” will take place not long after this institutional change, in February 2024. February is the month that we celebrate Valentine’s Day, when the heart becomes a particularly prevalent and recognizable icon in the public consciousness. February has also been recognized as American Heart Month by a joint resolution of congress since 1963 (Biden, 2023, para. 8). These factors will help guide the content and tone of the campaign as well as the timeline for maximum impact.

References

Biden, J.R. (2023, January 31). A proclamation on American heart month, 2023. The White House. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/01/31/a-proclamation-on-american-heart-month-2023/#:~:text=In%20acknowledgement%20of%20the%20importance,as%20%E2%80%9CAmerican%20Heart%20Month.%E2%80%9D

CDC. (2023). Women and heart disease. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/women.htm

National Center for Health Statistics. (2022). Heart disease mortality by state. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/heart_disease_mortality/heart_disease.htm

InovaNewsroom. (2023, May 23). Inova’s heart and vascular programs receive $75 million gift from Dwight and Martha Schar. Inova Newsroom. https://www.inovanewsroom.org/press-release/2023/05/inovas-heart-and-vascular-programs-receive-75-million-gift-from-dwight-and-martha-schar/

Virginia Department of Health. (n.d.). Heart disease death rates. Interactive heart disease map. Retrieved from  https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/heart-disease/interactive-heart-disease-map/