Prepared for Health Canada
For more information on this report, please contact Health Canada at: hc.cpab.por-rop.dgcap.sc@canada.ca.
Ce rapport est aussi disponible en français
I hereby certify as Senior Officer of Ipsos that the deliverables fully comply with the Government of Canada political neutrality requirements outlined in the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada and Procedures for Planning and Contracting Public Opinion Research. Specifically, the deliverables do not include information on electoral voting intentions, political party preferences, standings with the electorate or ratings of the performance of a political party or its leaders.
Mike Colledge
President
Ipsos Public Affairs
This public opinion research report presents the methodology of Pre- and Post-Evaluation of Stigma and Opioid Harm Reduction Advertising Campaign online survey conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of Health Canada. The pre-campaign survey was conducted with a sample of n=2319 Canadians ages 18+ between July 27th and August 17th, 2022, and the post-campaign survey was conducted with a sample of n=2,327 Canadians ages 18+ between April 17th and 30th, 2023.
Cette publication est aussi disponible en français sous le titre : OECP avant et après la campagne publicitaire sur la réduction de la stigmatisation et des méfaits liés aux opioïdes
This publication may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes only. Prior written permission must be obtained from Health Canada. For more information on this report, please contact Health Canada at hc.cpab.por-rop.dgcap.sc@canada.ca or at:
Communications Branch
Health Canada
200 Eglantine Driveway
AL 1915C, Tunney's Pasture
Ottawa, ON K1A 0K9
Catalogue Number: H14-447/2023E-PDF
International Standard Book Number (ISBN): 978-0-660-49593-4
Related publications (registration number: POR 012-22):
The growing number of overdoses and deaths related to the use of opioids is a national public health crisis that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is estimated that 26,690 people in Canada have died from apparent opioid-related overdoses between January 2016 and September 2021. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the years 2020 and 2021 have been the most fatal to date for the opioid overdose crisis with a 95% increase in apparent opioid toxicity deaths occurring (April 2020 to March 2021) from the same time period prior to the pandemic. Since then, deaths have remained high, with 5,368 apparent opioid toxicity deaths having occurred between January and September 2021. This is approximately 20 deaths per day. For a similar timeframe in the years prior to the pandemic, there were between seven (in 2016) and 12 (in 2018) deaths per day.
Responding to the opioid overdose crisis is a 2021 mandate commitment for the Minister of Health, who has been tasked with advancing a comprehensive strategy to address problematic substance use in Canada and support efforts to improve public education to reduce stigma. As part of that commitment, a campaign was launched that focused on reducing the barriers created by stigma such as seeking treatment.
Two separate online surveys were conducted to assess the impact of the campaign. The pre-campaign survey was conducted between July 27th and August 17th, 2022, and the post-campaign was conducted between April 17th and 30th, 2023. Both surveys were conducted in English and French.
The opioid crisis is complex, and it affects all communities, all age groups, and all socioeconomic groups. However, men working in physically demanding jobs are at increased risk from opioid-related harms, as young to middle-aged men account for more than three-quarters of apparent opioid overdose-related deaths. Disproportionate amounts of these men are employed in physically demanding, male-dominated occupations, such as construction. There is an urgent need to address the overrepresentation of this group in the opioid overdose crisis.
In an effort to target and create messaging that resonates with men in physically demanding jobs, a new creative concept with a new visual identity has been developed as part of Health Canada's multi-year marketing campaign to address the growing opioid overdose crisis. The campaign aims to:
The Government's Policy on Communications and Federal Identity requires the evaluation of advertising campaigns exceeding $1 million in media buy using the Advertising Campaign Evaluation Tool (ACET). The ACET was created in 2002 following a Cabinet directive identifying the need for a standard advertising evaluation approach across departments. The main objectives were to bring rigor and consistency to ad campaign evaluation and to develop norms on metrics against which campaigns could be evaluated.
Recent changes to reporting now require both pre- and post-campaign ACET surveys that use an online panel and similar questions.
The objectives of the research are as follows:
The target audience of the research was as follows:
This project involved two (2) waves of surveying – a pre-campaign survey and a post-campaign survey. Both surveys were executed online using a non-probability online panel. This is the standard approach for all Government of Canada advertising evaluation surveys. The initial baseline survey was conducted before the campaign launched and the recall survey was conducted following the completion of the campaign.
Respondents for the survey samples were drawn from a trusted partner panel vendor, Canadian Viewpoint Inc. The pre-campaign survey was conducted with a sample of n=2,319 Canadians ages 18+ and the post-campaign survey was conducted with a sample of n=2,327 Canadians ages 18+. Each phase included around n=2,000 members of the general population, including oversamples of males aged 20 to 59 who work in physically demanding professions, so that the total sample size for this target group is n=500. Interviews were conducted in English and French, with respondents being able to complete the survey in either language of their choice.
For the pre-campaign survey, a pre-test was conducted on July 27th, with n=20 completes (n=11 English / n=9 French), to confirm survey length before fully deploying the questionnaire. No issues with the survey or collected data were flagged. The survey was fully launched and ran between July 27th and August 17th, 2022.
For the post-campaign survey, a pre-test was conducted on April 17th, 2023, with n=155 completes (n=133 English / n=22 French). Again, no issues were flagged. The survey was fully launched and ran between April 18th and 30th, 2023.
For both surveys, quotas were set to ensure representation by region, age, and gender, according to the latest Census information. Sampling targets were obtained through natural fallout. An oversample of males aged 20 to 59 who work in physically demanding professions was conducted per survey, n=500 in the pre-survey and n=502 in the post-survey. The unweighted oversample counts are shown below.
| Target audience | Pre-campaign | Post-campaign |
|---|---|---|
| Males aged 20 to 59 who work in physically demanding professions | 500 (421 wtd) | 502 (414 wtd) |
The sampling methodology utilized email invitations and router technology to invite participants. Each participant received a unique URL link. This link could only be used once, with respondents being allowed to pause during completion and return to complete. On average, the pre-campaign survey was approximately 3 minutes in length (LOI 2:58 min), while the post-campaign ACET was approximately 6 minutes in length (LOI: 6:13 min).