Investment in Social Marketing Campaign to Reduce Stigma and Discrimination Associated with Mental Illness Yields Positive Economic Benefits to California

Summary

Published Date: April 14, 2016

​The report examines the potential impact of California Mental Health Services Authority's (CalMHSA) Stigma and Discrimination Reduction (SDR) social marketing campaign on the use of services for mental health challenges among adults in California, and it estimates benefit-cost ratios for CalMHSA’s investments. Authors used data from RAND’s 2014 California Well-Being Survey (CWBS), which is a follow-up survey of adults who participated in the 2013 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) and who reported mild to moderate or serious psychological distress, as measured by the Kessler-6 (K-6) scale. Authors found California could benefit from CalMHSA’s investment in its SDR social marketing campaigns in multiple ways, the most important of which is that more adults will seek treatment for their behavioral health needs, which resulted in affected adults getting a job, regaining productive time, or earning higher wages.