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Radon

This week I will be talking about radon and how I would develop a national awareness campaign. I will also be naming some potential collaborators (stakeholders). Personally, I was not familiar with radon initially and have learned that it is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that can cause lung cancer. In fact it is the leading cause for lung cancer. Unfortunately, you can not see or smell radon and testing is the only way to know your level of exposure.

In recent years social media has become one of the most used and successful platforms for outreach. I would heavily rely on this form of advertisement to create awareness of radon. Ideally I would like to set a date as national test your home for radon day. I think this idea would evoke emotion from the nation after being informed of potential risk of exposure to radon.
Social media like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube and many more would be the base of the campaign. Other media outlets like T.V., billboards, and newspapers would be used for the older generation. The first objective of the campaign would be to educate the nation on radon. I think that people may not be doing radon test because they are unaware of what it is and its effects. The creation of “Did you know?” post or articles with statistics of radon and its effects would help the general population understand why it is important to get a radon test.
Some potential collaborators for the radon national campaign would  be the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), American Lung Association, Department of Public Health is each state, social media outlets, and hospitals. I believe that Departments of Public Health is each state would be a beneficial stakeholder to have because keeping the public healthy is their purpose. Social media outlets may benefit from the campaigning and may want to provide additional help to bring awareness. Lastly, the American Lung Association would be a key stakeholder because it is currently working on a National Radon Action Plan with eleven organizations to eliminate avoidable radon-induced lung cancer.
So, my question to you is….have you tested your home for radon?
-Iliana

Comments

  1. Navdeep BrarSeptember 30, 2018 at 4:11 PM

    Hi Iliana,

    You and me had a very similar though process when coming up with a radon national awareness campaign. Like yourself, I believe that social media has become a part of so many people's lives, making it a great platform to reach out to the public. Similarly, I believe education is a key factor in any national awareness campaign. For example, I never knew of the chemical radon until taking this course; but unfortunately not many people have access to this information. So as public health officials, it is our duty to educate the public and provide them with the knowledge, so that they can make better decisions in regards to their health and safety.

    ReplyDelete

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