Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are stressful or traumatic experiences that occur in childhood. Prolonged exposure to trauma such as abuse or neglect, as well as to things like poverty, racism, and community violence, can create toxic stress that, over time, damages a child’s developing brain and body. ACEs represent a public health crisis. In fact, cumulative adversity is a root cause of some of the most harmful, persistent, and expensive health challenges facing California and the nation, including 9 of the 10 leading causes of death in the United States.
First 5 San Mateo County received a grant to increase local awareness about the importance of ACEs and the opportunity to intervene early through ACEs screenings. First 5 contracted with VIVA to support the effort.
VIVA developed a campaign to encourage pediatricians to conduct ACEs screenings during well-child visits, and to encourage families to seek ACEs screenings for their young children. The campaign involved building partnerships with organizations and physicians, and leveraged community doctors who were using ACEs screening tools as trusted messengers. They shared their own experiences through quotes and multilingual videos. Campaign materials were disseminated through a digital ad campaign, a direct mail campaign, and leading early childhood and health organizations in the community. The digital campaign received 29,593 impressions on Facebook and videos were watched in full 19,915 times.
Key activities of this partnership:
- Partnership Development
- Stakeholder Interviews
- Storybanking
- Graphic Design
- Video Editing
- Social media content
- Social media advertising
