Health Campaigns, Methods & Current Initiatives
Current UK Health Campaigns
The specification requires students to know named, current UK health campaigns across a range of themes. Exam questions often ask students to “name a current campaign” or “give an example of a campaign that promotes [specific health behaviour]” — a vague answer like “a healthy eating campaign” will not score marks. The campaigns below are grouped by theme, as they appear in the specification, and reflect initiatives that are active in the 2025–26 academic year. Note that campaign names change: Change4Life (now NHS Better Health) is one such example — students should know both names.
Campaigns by Theme
Alcohol awareness: Dry January (Alcohol Change UK) runs every January and encourages participants to abstain from alcohol for the month. It has grown significantly since its launch in 2013, with millions of participants annually. Research consistently shows short-term improvements in liver function, blood pressure and sleep quality among participants.
Smoking cessation: No Smoking Day is an annual awareness day held each March, raising awareness of the harms of smoking and signposting support services including NHS Stop Smoking services. It has been running since 1984. Stoptober runs each October and encourages smokers to quit for the month of October, with evidence that those who stop for 28 days are five times more likely to quit for good.
Men’s health: Movember takes place every November, targeting men’s health issues including prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men’s mental health. By focusing on a visible and engaging activity (sponsored moustache-growing), it reaches men who might not otherwise engage with health services.
Mental health: Time to Talk Day is held each February and is run jointly by Mind and Rethink Mental Illness. It encourages people to have conversations about mental health to reduce stigma and encourage help-seeking. Five Ways to Well-being was developed by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) for the government and has been widely adopted by NHS and local authority well-being programmes. The five actions are: connect (with people around you), be active, take notice (of the world around you), keep learning, and give (to others).
Physical activity: Cycle to Work Day encourages employees to cycle to work as a healthy and sustainable commuting choice. It is run in partnership with employers and local authorities. This Girl Can (Sport England) uses authentic, diverse imagery to encourage women and girls to be physically active regardless of their fitness level or body shape, specifically addressing the barriers of self-consciousness and fear of judgement.
Community health and safety: Anti-Bullying Week takes place each November, run by the Anti-Bullying Alliance, promoting positive relationships in schools and online. Keeping Warm in Winter campaigns (coordinated by NHS and local councils) target older adults and those with chronic conditions, reducing the health risks of cold homes including respiratory illness and cardiovascular events. Catch It, Bin It, Kill It is a long-running respiratory hygiene campaign reminding people to catch sneezes and coughs in a tissue and dispose of it promptly, reducing the spread of respiratory infections.
Current named campaigns include: Dry January (alcohol); No Smoking Day and Stoptober (smoking); Movember (men’s health); Time to Talk Day and Five Ways to Well-being (mental health); Cycle to Work Day and This Girl Can (physical activity); Anti-Bullying Week (community). Knowing the campaign name, its theme, and one key feature is the minimum required to score marks.
Methods Used to Deliver Health Campaigns
The specification identifies six main methods through which health campaigns reach their audiences. Understanding each method allows students to evaluate how campaigns are delivered and to assess their likely effectiveness for different target groups.
1. Printed materials (leaflets and posters): Traditional and cost-effective. Leaflets in GP surgeries, pharmacies and community centres reach people at moments when they may be thinking about their health. Posters in public spaces (bus stops, schools, workplaces) build repeated exposure to a message. Limitation: can be ignored, may not reach those with low literacy.
2. Websites and online resources: The NHS and campaign organisations maintain websites with in-depth information, self-assessment tools, and signposting to support services. Websites allow people to access information privately, at a time of their choosing. Limitation: depends on internet access and digital literacy, which are not universal.
3. Television advertisements: Reach a mass audience quickly and can use emotional storytelling to change attitudes. NHS campaigns (including anti-smoking and mental health awareness) have used TV advertising effectively. Limitation: expensive to produce; audiences can skip or tune out.
4. Celebrities, soap operas and drama: Storylines in popular soap operas (such as EastEnders and Emmerdale) have addressed topics including domestic abuse, cancer diagnosis, addiction, and dementia, raising awareness among audiences who might not actively seek health information. Celebrity involvement in campaigns (such as sportspeople promoting exercise or mental health advocates speaking publicly) increases reach and relatability. Limitation: entertainment content is not always factually accurate.
5. Social media, internet and pop-ups: Social media platforms allow campaigns to reach specific demographic groups with targeted messaging. Movember and Time to Talk Day both use social media to encourage sharing and peer-to-peer advocacy. Pop-up adverts on websites and apps can target individuals based on search behaviour. Limitation: algorithm-driven platforms may not reach those most in need; misinformation spreads rapidly online.
6. Guest speakers in schools and colleges: A health professional, service user or campaign representative speaking directly to young people can be more impactful than printed materials, because it allows for questions, personal testimony and two-way dialogue. Limitation: resource-intensive; effectiveness depends heavily on the quality of the speaker and session.
The six delivery methods are: printed materials (leaflets, posters); websites; television advertisements; celebrities and soap operas; social media and internet pop-ups; guest speakers in schools and colleges. Each method has different reach, cost, and effectiveness for different target groups.
Reliability and Validity of Health Campaign Information
Not all health information is equally trustworthy. A key skill in health and social care is being able to assess whether information is reliable (consistent, produced by a credible organisation, confirmed by other sources) and valid (accurate, based on sound evidence, and appropriate for the individual).
When evaluating a health campaign, students should consider: who produced the information (is it an NHS body, a recognised charity such as Mind or Cancer Research UK, or a commercial organisation with a financial interest?); what evidence underpins the claims (is it peer-reviewed research, or anecdote?); when it was produced (health guidance changes as new evidence emerges; an older campaign may contain outdated advice); and whether it is appropriate for the target group (a campaign aimed at young men that uses text-heavy leaflets may be less effective than a video on social media).
Compare two sources of information about stopping smoking. Source A is an NHS Better Health Stop Smoking page, citing clinical trials showing the effectiveness of nicotine replacement therapy, updated in 2024 and reviewed by NHS medical advisers. Source B is a blog post by a supplement company recommending a proprietary product to “curb nicotine cravings naturally”, with testimonials but no clinical citations. Source A is more reliable: it is produced by a public health body with no commercial interest, is based on peer-reviewed clinical evidence, and is regularly updated. Source B has lower reliability: the producer has a commercial interest in selling a product, and the evidence is anecdotal rather than clinical. In a care setting, only Source A would be appropriate to share with a service user who wants to stop smoking.