The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is developing and implementing a $40.8 million statewide opioid overdose prevention and education media program. The program will include media and public awareness campaigns and a robust evaluation to monitor the success of the campaigns in increasing public awareness and supporting behavior change. The campaign has three primary aims and audiences:
- To prevent substance use and raise awareness of fentanyl contamination among youth and young adults (ages 16-21).
- To prevent overdose and overdose death among young adults using a harm reduction lens (ages 20-35)
- To raise awareness among families and communities, empowering them to respond to the overdose epidemic with life-saving solutions and strategies.
CDPH has selected a media agency partner, Duncan Channon, Inc., to support the media campaigns. The anticipated contract period is March 1, 2023 – June 30, 2025. Given the urgency of the overdose crisis, CDPH and Duncan Channon plan to have initial messages launched in May 2023, with the full media campaign launched in Fall 2023. The campaign will engage local communities to amplify core campaign messages; provide communities, families, and mentors with the information they need to support youth; and to lift up local personal success stories.
This project receives funding from Opioid Settlement Funds (OSF) through California’s Opioid Settlements.