Now is Our Time: Description

WellMe’s health promotion campaign, Now is Our Time: Healthy Living for Women 40-55, is a unique combination of public health, media production and outreach. The campaign media tools include a one hour broadcast program, an interactive web module, two outreach videos, one of which addresses the unique needs of African American women, an accompanying outreach booklet and an outreach website. All elements of the campaign were based on extensive research with a nationally recognized board of advisors, health care providers and women 40-55. The research for this campaign was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Nursing Research and followed National Institutes of Health standards and protocols.
The campaign strives to:

• Provide comprehensive understanding of the health concerns during perimenopause
• Increase knowledge about disease risk factors, symptoms and prevention methods specific to women
• Motivate women to adopt healthy lifestyles
• Promote recommended screenings
• Decrease mortality rates and health care expenditures
• Provide decision making skills around Hormone Replacement Therapy
• Provide culturally sensitive information to African American women about the heightened risks they face, especially of CVD, diabetes and hypertension.

Broadcast Television Program

The Now is Our Time campaign will be kicked off with a documentary program on national television. The documentary explores the struggles and triumphs of everyday women between the ages of 40 and 55 who are making positive changes in their lives to achieve health outcomes. The program will promote a comprehensive understanding of perimenopause, especially the relationship of preventive lifestyle changes to vitality and good health as one ages. Actress, Dancer and Choreographer, Debbie Allen, hosts and narrates the program.
Topics covered in this program include:

• Vitality – a concept of all around health and positive health perception
• Perimenopause
• Nutrition, exercise & stress management
• Heart disease, hypertension & stroke
• Breast and other cancers
• Osteoporosis
• Decision making around hormone replacement therapy
• Mental health issues
• Sexuality

Each of these women’s stories is used as a springboard into more direct informational styles such as expert commentary in interviews with health care professionals. With humor and grace, women are best at telling the story of perimenopause. This program allows viewers to see that ordinary women like themselves are able to face and overcome health risks and challenges making real improvements in their quality of life now and for the future.

Interactive Web Module

The Now is Our Time web module is an interactive communication, information and support tool that is designed to help women 40-55 set and achieve health goals and to create supportive communities. It was created through extensive research with both consumers and health care professionals for use within websites promoting women’s health.

Outreach Video/Booklet Packages

The Now is Our Time campaign has two outreach videos with accompanying resource booklets: one for a diverse audience and one for an African American audience. Each video uses a documentary approach that follows the real-life stories of several women with different health concerns. Debbie Allen hosts and narrates these programs.

Now is Our Time: Healthy Living for Women 40-55 (available in English and Spanish):

• An African American woman, age 55, has hypertension and is recommitting to exercise and healthful eating. She discusses her decision about HRT.
• A Latino woman, age 42, does outreach to the Spanish-speaking community about breast cancer screening and makes sure to follow her doctor’s screening recommendations for herself as well.
• A White woman, age 52, is a middle school art teacher who was recently diagnosed with the early stages of osteoporosis.
• In addition, all the physicians and health care experts that appear on camera are women.

Now is Our Time: Healthy Living for Black Women 40-55:

• A divorced woman, age 42, decides to teach women at her salon about prevention and screenings for cancer after losing two customers in their early 40’s to cancer in one year.
• A single woman, age 45, has a sister with diabetes and works with a diabetes educator to maintain screenings and prevent her own on-set on the disease.
• A married woman, age 55, copes with her hypertension with medication and lifestyle modifications. She is gathering information to decide about whether to begin HRT.
• In addition, all the physicians and health care experts that appear on camera are African American women.

The resource booklet fits inside the video sleeve and gives additional information about health issues, recommended screenings and resource contacts for more information.

Outreach Website

As a companion to the broadcast program, WellMe will develop an outreach website. This website will direct viewers to further resources in their area, provide a broad range of information on women’s health issues in the 40-55 age range and provide viewers with discussion guides and action items for making healthy lifestyle changes.

This site also functions as a press and promotion area offering graphics, stills, press releases, station airdates and program information for journalists. It can also function as a central location for outreach materials such as campaign posters, discussion guides, etc. for use by TV stations and outreach partners.