Fight the Bite evaluation

Fight the Bite was intensively promoted for the two-year evaluation period by local governments involved in the Contiguous Local Authorities Group (CLAG) scheme within the Kimberley, Pilbara, Gascoyne, Geographe, Leschenault and Peel regions. A small number of local governments in the metropolitan Perth region were also involved.

A telephone survey of 2,500 individuals, spread across twelve different regions throughout the state, was used to evaluate the campaign’s reach and impact. Households were selected at random by postcode using the electronic white pages listing of landline telephone numbers in WA.

Of the 3,425 households contacted between February and May 2017, 2,511 individuals agreed to participate in this survey, whilst 914 declined. This resulted in an overall participation rate of 73.3%.

Individuals who did not agree to provide their age were removed from the survey analysis, leaving a total sample size of 2,456. The proportion of males (1,252) to females (1,204) was reasonably equal. Younger individuals (18 – 34 yrs) were under-represented as they were less likely to use a registered landline than older age groups.

Recall

On average, 8.2% of survey participants across the state were able to recall Fight the Bite. This is likely to underestimate the true campaign reach, as a further 13.6% of individuals recalled other communication material that included indirect media exposure related to the campaign, such as newspaper editorials, radio interviews and nightly news coverage, generated from Departmental and local government efforts. 

Campaign recall was significantly greatest in the Kimberley (27.6%) and Geographe (22.0%) regions, as well as the Pilbara (17.3%) and Gascoyne (17.6%) regions, where the Fight the Bite had been intensively promoted over the evaluation period. 

Awareness change

Of the individuals who recalled Fight the Bite, 43.8% reported an increase in awareness of mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases. Key health messages, Cover Up, Repel and Clean Up, were recalled by 72.6%, 60.2% and 47.8% of the subset of survey participants who recalled the campaign, respectively.

Behaviour change

A total of 27.4% reported improved prevention behaviour and practices, with a further 61.5% reportedly doing everything Fight the Bite recommends. 

Effective campaign advertising mediums

Fight the Bite was most commonly recalled through television, followed by direct local government efforts. The proportion of individuals who recalled the campaign by a variety of delivery methods is shown below.

The results of this evaluation demonstrate that Fight the Bite improved awareness and prevention practices among those individuals who were exposed to the campaign. This is particularly promising, given the modest budget, resources and time period over which the campaign was run prior to evaluation. 

As public education is recognised as playing an important role in integrated mosquito management programs, the future goal will be to increase the campaign reach throughout WA. In order to achieve this, it will be important for key stakeholders in WA to garner the necessary support and resources to integrate Fight the Bite into ongoing communication efforts. 

Future campaign aims include increasing reach through heightened and sustained promotion of Fight the Bite by both the Department and local government, as well as expanded collaboration with a range of stakeholders within the community.

Public educations is an important part of integrated mosquito management. Local government environmental health teams are encouraged to incorporate Fight the Bite into their communication strategies to raise awareness of the health risks associated with mosquitoes and promote good prevention practices. 

Other stakeholders, including Aboriginal environmental health service providers, recreational groups, schools, and occupational health and safety advisers in high risk regions can also play an important role in promoting Fight the Bite. 

Resources can be accessed from the Fight the Bite campaign page or by contacting the medical entomology team.