TMT309: Report on Public Awareness Campaign for Colorectal Cancer

This report explores the critical role of public awareness campaigns in preventing colorectal cancer (CRC), a common and often preventable disease. It details the significance of early detection and treatment, especially among high-risk ethnic and racial groups. The study uses secondary data to analyze the effectiveness of public service announcements (PSAs) in disseminating information about CRC. Various methods of creating impactful PSAs, including videos, emails, and other outreach efforts, are examined. The report also discusses different types of PSAs, such as announcements, documentaries, interviews, and narratives, and their potential to educate the public and improve quality of life. Ultimately, the study emphasizes the importance of continuous improvement in advertising strategies to effectively reach target audiences and promote CRC prevention.

Running head: HEALTHCARE
HEALTHCARE
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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1.0. Introduction
1.1. Project background
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is considered to be one of the most common yet preventable
type of cancer. According to reports this is the third most commonly suspected cancer and is
seen to be the second leading causes of cancer to cause death in the USA. Often the process
of screening of CRC can be underutilised in comparison to the other types of cancer.
According to studies, CRC is responsible for the higher rates of deaths and diseases
especially in cases where there is prevalence of disparity among the ethnic and racial groups,
mainly seen in the among African–Americans and those living in the rurally designated areas
(Siegel, DeSantis and Jemal 2014). Public awareness often plays an important role in the
prevention of the disease along with the treatment and early diagnosis of the disease.
Therefore it is important to spread awareness through public service announcement (PSA)
(Grothey et al 2013). The following study will involve the analysis of the impact of the
awareness campaigns through the use of various methods like creation of videos, sharing
emails and others in order to create awareness about colorectal cancer.
1.2. Project objectives
i. Creating awareness for the purpose of preventing colorectal cancer.
ii. Spreading message across the national level
iii. Improvement in the quality of life
1.3. Project Methodology
Data collection will be conducted through a secondary method for this research which
will help in the assessment of the advertisements that are required for the propagation of
awareness of the colorectal cancer. Secondary data is collected from the existing research like
from various journals and other authentic sources.

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2.0. Literature survey
2.1. Introduction to colorectal cancer
(a) Understanding colorectal cancer
While the healthy cells present in the lining of the colon or the rectum undergoes
some kind of change, there is an occurrence of colorectal cancer. The cells which goes out of
control are responsible for the formation of a mass which is called the tumor. This tumor
which is formed might be benign or cancerous. In case of colorectal cancer, the tumor
becomes malignant, meaning that this might grow and spread to the other parts of the body.
However in case of a benign tumor, there is no such incidence of tumor spread. This process
takes quite some time to develop. Often both the environmental factors along with the genetic
factors are responsible for the occurrence of the change. In cases where the individual already
has an uncommon inherited syndrome, the process takes about some months to years to
develop. The condition of the colorectal cancer mainly develops in either the colon or the
rectum (Shi, Rui, Messaris, and Cappella 2014). Therefore there are two types: the cancer
that develops in the colon is called colon cancer and the cancer that develops on the rectum is
called rectum cancer. According to the studies colon and rectal cancers are a type of tumor
called adenocarcinoma, where the cancer has taken place in the cells that line the inside tissue
of the colon and rectum. In this section the occurrence of adenocarcinoma is covered. There
are also other types of cancer which occur however in low rates in comparison to the above
however these too can begin in the colon or rectum that include the following like small cell
carcinoma, carcinoid tumor, gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) and lymphoma.
(b) Significance of spreading awareness through a public service announcement (PSA)
The public service announcements or PSA represents a form of advertising that is free
or involves certain public relations which help in informing the community that plays a part
in the grabbing the attention of the people or certain organizations. PSAs involve educating

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the public along with raising awareness, publicizing the business followed by the generation
of a good public relations.
3.0 Application
(a)Public service advertisement
These public service announcements generally involve short written pieces that
generally describe a program which might be a public event like the events conducted by the
non-profit groups which most of the time release such PSAs. Often certain health
departments use these PSA in order to notify the common people about a free immunization
clinics taking place. Generally these public service announcements are submitted to the
television stations or the radio stations, where they are shown or read out in the air. These
PSAs are also published in the newspapers as well as the community calendars which are
often posted online or printed in the press (Shi et al. 2014)
(b)Making PSA effective
There are several approaches for making a PSA effective for the given situation. It
needs to be decided so as to which is the most impactful way in order to make a meaningful
get across the public in an effective manner. Getting this message across the common people
makes the audience to pay attention to the cause. The PSA makes it more clear and easy to
comprehend. This message is generally supported by the facts that are available related to the
concerned issue. This helps the audience to sympathize with those individuals who are
affected by the issue.
(c) General components of the PSA
i. Video footage- Some of the video footage can be found on the internet which can be
put to use for making the storyboard and the scenes.

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ii. Images or photos- It is possible for one to find creative photos which can be put to use
in the PSA which is being planned.
iii. Music- Some of the creative music can also be found that can be implemented in the
video.
iv. Narrations- One can record a voiceover using the podcasting mics or the audio
recording booths.
v. Text- The use of the text in the PSA provides the viewer additional information for the
viewer that the announcer does not have time to say, or it can be a part of your style and
tone. The PSA should not be made too wordy, though, otherwise the audience will not
have time to read it (Dal Bó et al 2013).
(d) Types of the PSA
i. Announcement – while one is thinking about PSA, the one thing that comes to
mind immediately is the announcements. The most common elements of the PSA
are the following like a series of videos and images with a narrator or narrators
delivering information to the audience either on-screen or through a voiceover.
However often it is seen that text alone can be just as powerful and effective.
ii. Documentary or interviews – Through this method, it is possible to incorporate
the interviews into the PSA. This method of documents and interviews is effective
because the interviews provide either expert testimony or stories from people who
have personal experience with your topic to support the argument that you are
making. However it is seen that the the interviews can be accompanied by a
voiceover, or other times your interview(s) alone can be very effective.
iii. Narrative - This style uses either a montage (a collection of several short clips), or
a scene, or a re-enactment or footage consisting of true events in order to illustrate

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the point that one is trying to make. This style can allow your PSA not only to be
more creative, but also subtle, yet powerful (Bagstad et al 2013).
4.0 Conclusion
From this study it can be concluded that the advertisements play a very important role
for the spreading information. The various methods of advertisements which are indentified
are the narrative, document or interviews and the announcements. This form of
advertisements can essentially help in spreading awareness about colorectal cancer. However,
much more improvement is needed in the aspect of advertisement so that the message can be
transferred to the targeted audience. The problems can be mitigated through the
implementation of various tools and applications such as creating more visual advertisements
by using effective software.

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References
Siegel, Rebecca, Carol DeSantis, and Ahmedin Jemal. "Colorectal cancer statistics,
2014." CA: a cancer journal for clinicians 64, no. 2 (2014): 104-117.
Grothey, Axel, Eric Van Cutsem, Alberto Sobrero, Salvatore Siena, Alfredo Falcone, Marc
Ychou, Yves Humblet et al. "Regorafenib monotherapy for previously treated metastatic
colorectal cancer (CORRECT): an international, multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled,
phase 3 trial." The Lancet381, no. 9863 (2013): 303-312.
Shi, Rui, Paul Messaris, and Joseph N. Cappella. "Effects of online comments on smokers'
perception of antismoking public service announcements." Journal of Computer-Mediated
Communication 19, no. 4 (2014): 975-990.
Shi, Rui, Paul Messaris, and Joseph N. Cappella. "Effects of online comments on smokers'
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Dal Bó, Ernesto, Frederico Finan, and Martín A. Rossi. "Strengthening state capabilities: The
role of financial incentives in the call to public service." The Quarterly Journal of
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Bagstad, Kenneth J., Darius J. Semmens, Sissel Waage, and Robert Winthrop. "A
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valuation." Ecosystem services 5 (2013): 27-39.