Social Marketing Projects: A Novel Approach to Encourage Increasing Knowledge Around Obesity While Promoting Advocacy

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Educational strategies in regard to obesity should include initiatives that promote advocacy for social change, as well as sensitivity to individuals. Yet advocacy, like empathy, is a difficult concept to assess formally. Methods This resource describes how to establish a project for medical students designed to promote and assess their appreciation of the medical and psychosocial effects of obesity. Included are project descriptions and an evaluative tool that can be adapted to alternate populations or for local context. For the project, students design components of a public service campaign to change societal views on obesity and obese individuals, using whatever choice of medium they prefer (e.g., a jingle, song, poem, skit, or video). At the end of the week, presentations are made to the class and a panel of judges (two faculty members and two third-year medical students). The judges assess students' competency using evaluation criteria that take into consideration the message, presentation, and social-marketing plan. Results Students produced insightful projects that demonstrated sensitivity and an understanding of complex issues surrounding obesity within our society. Discussion Small-group projects framed as social marketing campaigns present an innovative strategy for assessing medical student competency in advocacy. Similar approaches could be adopted by other medical schools to assess advocacy as part of their obesity curricula or could potentially be applied to evaluate advocacy as it relates to the health of other marginalized populations or public health concerns.

Keywords

• Health Equity Research
• Empathy
• Obesity
• Advocacy
• Patient Advocacy
• Group Projects