“Check, Test, and Protect Your Child” Lead Poisoning Prevention Campaign

• Course: PH 158: Health Communication
• Artifacts: Three print flyers (“Silent,” “At Home,” and “Family”) and a campaign presentation.
• Presentation

Summary

For PH-158, our group designed a health campaign to prevent childhood lead poisoning. Lead poisoning is hard to notice because it often has no obvious symptoms, so our campaign concept was “Lead poisoning is silent, but prevention isn’t.” The call to action was “Check, test, and protect your child,” and each piece listed a direct phone number as the first step.

We identified parents as the primary audience because they make the health decisions for their children, who are the beneficiaries. We also focused on lower-income families, including people in federally assisted housing, who face higher risk according to the CDC. To reach them, we tailored the campaign to be emotional, simple, action-oriented, and accessible to diverse and low-income communities.

We chose flyers and print posters because they are the easiest way for people to see information, and the phone number gave families a direct way to act. We created three flyers, each with a different goal:

• “Lead poisoning is SILENT” uses a close-up portrait and encourages families to speak up.
• “Lead exposure can happen AT HOME, know where to look” shows that exposure can happen anywhere and carries high risk.
• “Think it can’t happen to your FAMILY, think again!” uses emotional appeal to raise perceived risk and motivate prevention.

Our presentation also covered prevention strategies, the importance of testing and early detection, and available public health resources. We drew on sources from the CDC, WHO, EPA, and Ventura County Public Health.

Goals

• Reduce long-term developmental and health risks in children
• Empower families with knowledge and resources
• Increase community awareness and create safer environments for children