The mission.
Increasing emergency plan use for carers
An emergency plan is needed for when a carer is suddenly and temporarily unable to support their loved one if, for example, they experience sudden illnesses or accidents, unplanned admissions to hospital etc. Carers are encouraged to make a plan and tell emergency contacts, friends, family and HCPs where it can be accessed. Our mission was to make carers aware of, and encourage as many carers as possible to put a plan in place should they be unavailable to perform their caring responsibilities.
The research.
Using carers lived experience
We conducted interviews with real life carers who had experience of emergency planning and also those without. It was important to capture both experiences to gain an insight into the barriers and motivations for putting a plan in place, in order to establish the key drivers of behaviour to encourage more people to undertake the process. The research found that although carers wanted that ‘safety net’ of support should something happen, they weren’t sure where to start and wanted assurance that it was free, safe and reliable.
The campaign.
Using behavioural theory to encourage emergency planning
Using the insights from the target audience, we created the ‘Plan for the Best’ campaign, which included distribution of a ‘plan pack’ containing simple yet reassuring information about the process, and where to go for further information. This was hosted on the Carers First website for carers to order, and it came with tea and biscuits to encourage carers to sit down with the information and fill in the template with the vital information needed. We accompanied this with a 3-month marketing campaign, to raise the profile of the resource to carers in Haringey, utilising social media advertising, print materials and case studies.
The impact.
Through our campaign activity, we created over 350,000 impressions, with 1300 campaign page views and 74 pack requests to create a new emergency plan, increasing the amount of carers with that all important safety net to support their loved one in the event of an emergency.
