Giving Compass' Take:

· According to a new RAND Corporation study, a recent social marketing campaign to reduce the stigma around mental health issues has shown to have a positive increase on the number of individuals seeking help for their symptoms.

· How can we leverage technology to spread awareness around mental health issues? How can donors support these efforts? 

· Read more about this topic and removing the stigma around mental health in youths.


An unprecedented social marketing campaign in California intended to reduce stigma about mental health issues appears to have encouraged more people to seek care for their symptoms of mental distress, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

Surveying California residents over the two-year period when the campaign was at its height, researchers found that people who recalled seeing or hearing aspects of the campaign and who had mental health needs were more likely to receive treatment than those who did not recall the campaign.

Researchers estimate that if all California adults with probable mental illness had been exposed to the campaign, the number of those seeking treatment could have increased by nearly one-third. The study is published in the June edition of the American Journal of Public Health.

Read the full article about reducing the stigma around mental health issues by Rebecca L. Collins at RAND Corporation.