ASSESSMENT TASK 3

Communication Strategy - Youth mental health

VENKATESWARAN CHANDRASEKARAN
ID: S222045466
DATE OF SUBMISSION: 27/05/2022

HEALTH
COMMUNICATION
HEALTH Communication
Contents
Communication Strategy ........................................................................................................................ 3
Objectives ........................................................................................................................................... 3
Mental Health ................................................................................................................................. 3
COVID -19 and Mental health ......................................................................................................... 3
Stakeholder ......................................................................................................................................... 4
Stakeholder analysis ....................................................................................................................... 4
Methods of Stakeholder communication ....................................................................................... 4
Tools .................................................................................................................................................... 5
Metrics ................................................................................................................................................ 6
Risk Management ............................................................................................................................... 7
Potential risks .................................................................................................................................. 7
Risks’ proclivity................................................................................................................................ 7
Risk assessment .............................................................................................................................. 7
Communication Plan ............................................................................................................................... 9
Social Media Strategy............................................................................................................................ 10
Reference .............................................................................................................................................. 11
 Communication Strategy

Objectives
Mental Health
Mental illnesses are the leading cause of years spent disabled in the world. Mental
problems strike up to 80% of people before they are 26. Early start of mental illness is linked
to a higher likelihood of comorbidity and mental illness persisting into middle age. Young
individuals who do not suffer from a mental illness have superior long-term outcomes (Power
et al., 2020).

COVID -19 and Mental health

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a significant public health crisis, prompting
interdisciplinary national collaboration in which physical separation and social isolation are
required to reduce expected morbidity and mortality (WHO, 2021). As a result of the start or
worsening of poor mental health symptoms induced by the social and economic repercussions
of the COVID-19 pandemic, a second public health crisis has emerged, resulting in increased
demand for mental health services (Torous et al., 2020).

The goal is to create a strategy, which will

➢ help to create an awareness among the population about mental health in young
people
➢ advocate people about the supporting service available to tackle mental health
➢ promote people to use the available supporting service
➢ minimise / handle the occurrence of mental health in the population if there is a
similar situation or pandemic in the future

The expected outcome of the strategy after implementation will be,

➢ young people will start using digital health or health information technologies (HIT)
effectively, which they prefer to use along with face-to-face care (Davenport et al.,
2020)
➢ potential to facilitating an appropriate and prompt response for young people with
suicidal (Iorfino et al., 2017) and other negative thoughts
➢ digitizing mental health service delivery such that a higher proportion of treatment is
given through HIT-enabled solutions, would thereby overcome several barriers to
help-seeking and service access (Davenport et al., 2020).
 Stakeholder
Stakeholder analysis
A critical tool for strategic plan is stakeholder analysis, as the stakeholders plays an
important role in the development of policy, its implementation, and consequences. This will
help to specify whose interests can be considered when a decision must be made (Węgrzyn
and Wojewnik-Filipkowska, 2022).

High Department of Health World Health Organisation

Donors / Funding agencies Minister of Health

Health Practitioners Local councils

Keep satisfied Manage closely

(Involve / Consult) (Collaborate / Empower)
Power
Non-health sector ministries Victorian Community
Media Family / carers of persons with
Non-governmental - mental illness / Service user groups
- Organisations Universities

Monitor Keep informed

(Inform) (Inform / Consult)

Low Interest High

Figure 1 Stakeholder analysis

The above figure 1 comprises various groups of stakeholders and each stakeholder were
identified based on the levels of engagement, as follows

➢ Inform – Sharing of knowledge

➢ Consult – Initiating a discussion to seek advice and comments on certain topics
➢ Involve – Working together with stakeholders on a regular basis, with a mutual
emphasis on sharing and learning
➢ Collaborate – Collaboration with stakeholders on the creation and delivery of
collectively agreed-upon projects or work plans
➢ Empower – Supporting the efforts of stakeholders

Methods of Stakeholder communication

Communication is a key component for stakeholder engagement and there are five
principles to direct the actions of stakeholder involvement, purposeful, inclusive, timely,
transparent, and respectful. Among them in order to make the stakeholders inclusive and be
transparent with them the best way is to communicate (Australian Government Department
of Health, 2018).
 Inform Consult Involve Collaborate Empower
Media Social media Newsletter Social media Framework of
release (Instagram) (Instagram) governance

MODES Advertising Survey Whole-of- Newsletter Targeted

OF organisation information/fact
COMMUNICATION Websites Face-to-face functions sheets

Email Social media Social media

(Instagram) (Instagram)
E-Newsletter
Table 1 Modes of communication based on the level of engagement

Different modes of communication will be used based on the level of engagement Table 1.
Stakeholders at lower levels are ensured that they are informed about procedures and
outcomes, whereas at higher levels there requires inputs, decisions and support.

Tools
Effective communication strategy requires use of appropriate tools. The type of tool
or medium for communication should be choose or selected based on the level of
engagement. Based on the aim whether to (a) inform or educate, (b) gain information and
feedback, (c) work directly, (d) partner and learn, negotiate and make decision, and (e)
delegate decision-making, the appropriate tools can be picked, and which will ensure the
delivery of required standard of communication based on the levels of engagement.

Communication tools

Meetings

Email

Media opportunities

Newsletter

Social Media
(Instagram)
Targeted
information/fact sheets
Website
Table 2 Different types of tools used for communication

The table 2 displays the different types of tools which are used for the communication with
the stakeholders based on their level of engagement. The frequency of the use of
communication tool will again be based on the levels of engagement (i.e., power-interest
grid). Based on the power-interest grid in the stakeholder analysis Figure 1, the stakeholders
can be characterized as
➢ Players (high-power, high-interest) - collaborate and keep fully engaged
➢ Subjects (low-power, high-interest) - insights and ideas for the project
➢ context-setters (high-power, low-interest) - keep them up to date
➢ crowd (low-power, low-interest) - some ongoing communication

This will help in determining the frequency of communication tools required which can vary
by weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, annually, if milestones are reached, or sometimes
based on the requirements (Australian Government Department of Health, 2018).
Metrics
To measure the successful implementation of a communication strategy, appropriate
evaluation standards and metrics are the key. The engagement after the implementation can
be measured at three levels (a) low, (b) medium, and (c) high (Figure 2). This typical indicates
the engagement or involvement of individuals of the audience who are either partners or
participants in the programmes (Neiger et al., 2012).

Program
Low Medium High
Involvement

Figure 2 Evaluation hierarchy for social media engagement

The table 3 displays the (Instagram) metrics for each level of engagement. Metrics play a
critical role in communication strategy, as this helps to know if the goals and objectives were
met and assess the whole plan. Sometimes this paves way to understand if there is something
missing in the strategy or if there is a lack of certain information or if there is anything else
that can be done to get a better outcome.

Low Engagement
Number of likes by the followers
Number of comments made on the posts by the followers
Number of followers start following the account
Medium Engagement
Number of shares made by the followers to other accounts or in their stories
Number of posts saved by the account followers
Number of likes, comment and shares made by non-followers
High Engagement
Number of followers who engages through direct messages
Number of followers who try and become part of the organization
Number of followers who participate in the programs and utilize the services
Table 3 Instagram metrics based on low, medium and high engagement
 Risk Management
Risk management is a structured process that helps in identifying how objectives can
get affected, and how a consequence can give rise to risk. These types of risks usually happen
unexpectedly, and it is best to be prepared for them. This will help to critical review the plan
as all the possible risk outcomes will be thought about from a different perspective. The risk
can arise from both internal and external sources or factors as showed in the table 4.

Potential risks
Internal External

Financial Funding
management

Human Resources Reputation

Information Regulatory
technology environment

Table 4 Risks based on internal and external factors

Risks’ proclivity
Once the expected potential risks are identified then based on the type of risk the
likelihood of the risk can be measured as displayed in the table 5.

Category Qualitative measures

Almost Certain In most cases, the occurrence is predicted to occur.

Likely In most cases, the event will occur.

Possible It is possible that the event will occur at some point in the
future.
Unlikely In most cases, the occurrence is unlikely to occur.

Rare Only under extreme conditions will the event occur.

Table 5 Likelihood of risk arising (Source for table idea: Australian Government risk management plan template)

Risk assessment
Risk ratings are crucial part of risk management as this gives idea about how critical
the consequence can be, and which will also help to decide on the level of action that has to
be taken in order to eliminate the risk or prevent it from happening again. Based on the
likelihood of the risk and the level of consequence that can arise from the risk, the risk rating
can be measured as displayed in the table 6.
 Consequence
Insignificant Minor Moderate Major Severe
Almost Medium High High Extreme Extreme
Certain
Likely Medium Medium High High Extreme

Possible Low Medium Medium High High

Unlikely Low Low Medium Medium High

Rare Low Low Low Medium Medium

Table 6 Risk rating (Source for table idea: Australian Government risk management plan template)
 Communication Plan
Project information
Project name: Awareness & Promotion of Mental Health in Victoria

Project manager: Venkateswaran Chandrasekaran

Brief description of project: Create awareness for youth mental health and promote use of
services for tackling mental health issues

Stakeholders (anyone who has an interest • Minister of Health

in the project): • All residents of Victorian state
• All councils in Victorian state
• Health organisations
• Media

Basic Communications Plan

Overarching key • Let every individual in Victorina state know about mental health in youth / young
messages (3-4 people
maximum): • Use the service for tackling or fight against mental health
• Prevent and reduce suicide and suicidal thoughts due to mental health
• To get a systems level thinking and aim for intersectionality approach

Stakeholder(s) Communication Person Date to be Date Complete

tool responsible drafted published (Yes/No)
Community Website Manager / 27/05/2022 Yes
communication
team
Community Media release Manager / 03/06/2022 10/06/2022 Yes
communication
team
Community Instagram Communication Weekly
team
Staff Intranet Project officer 28/05/2022
Staff Victorian Communication Fortnightly
newsletter / E- team
newsletter
Health E-mail Project officer / Monthly
organisations Communication
team
 Social Media Strategy
Internet-based programmes that allow users to express their thoughts are known as
social media. Newspapers, magazines, billboards, radio, television, and the Internet are all
examples of mass media communication channels, but social media stands out because it
allows individuals to participate actively in the communication process and stay connected
with others. It has long been established that social media is a tremendously strong form of
social influence, having the capacity to assist people frame their thoughts on matters that
matter to them, or to change attitudes and perceptions regarding events and concerns (Saha
et al., 2019).

Social media platform – Instagram

The reason behind choosing Instagram as the social media platform as among
the other social media platforms such as twitters, facebook, tiktok this has a particular interest
among the population and also among the young people. Unlike twitter where the major
importance is given for tweets or like facebook which has a decline in the users or usage time
in the population, Instagram has gained more users and attracts majority of the population.
This is due to its design and comfort while using which attracts more users and Instagram
allows the user to

➢ upload a picture / like other user pictures / comment on others posts or stories about an idea
➢ write quotes (allows an individual to express his feelings and thoughts)
➢ setup business accounts for promotion of products / services
➢ upload reels (use celebrities for promotion of brands or support a cause)

Time of release

➢ a post will be made and released on every week Friday in the evenings as that is considered
as beginning of a weekend where individuals start using social media for relaxation and as
pass time.
➢ Stories will be made and posted daily to arouse the curiosity and also to convey information
through pictures rather than through words

Tactics used for posts and stories

While uploading the stories and post in the account tactics will be used to attract more
audience / users, who will help in good reach of the information. The tactics that will be used
are
➢ Humour in post and stories
➢ Celebrity to promote and talk about the information
➢ Catchy music in the stories, posts and in reels
➢ Tag line and slogans

The account will be kept active from the day of creation as there might be more circumstances
in future which will affect the mental health and cause issues. Through this account in this
platform a continuous support and prevention action will be made available.
Reference

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Davenport, T.A., Cheng, V.W.S., Iorfino, F., Hamilton, B., Castaldi, E., Burton, A., Scott, E.M.
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Iorfino, F., Davenport, T.A., Ospina-Pinillos, L., Hermens, D.F., Cross, S., Burns, J. and Hickie,
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