Date of Award

2005

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Communication

First Advisor

Michael Castro

Second Advisor

Charlene Engleking

Abstract

This thesis will focus on the current state of women's gynecological health in Missouri and the importance of raising the awareness of health issues among a targeted population of women in St. Charles County.

Compared to national averages, women living in Missouri suffer higher infection rates of certain sexually transmitted diseases as well as higher rates of cervical cancer. Since hundreds of thousands of women do not receive annual exan1inations that would detect these conditions, it is clear that a public information campaign is desperately needed. This project attempts to develop such a campaign.

The campaign will focus on St. Charles County, Missouri, the current residence of the author. At this time, there are only two public agencies serving the women of St. Charles County: Planned Parenthood and the St. Charles County Department of Community Health and the Environment.

Planned Parenthood is a national organization, with a sophisticated advertising and marketing department. In contrast, the St. Charles County Department of Community Health and the Environment is a standalone agency that relies solely on governmental funding. Due to current budget mandates, women' s health issues are not a top priority.

The purpose of the present report is two-fold. First. this report will establish that there is an urgent need for women to receive anm1al well-woman exams. Second, this report win propose ways to raise awareness of this need among a targeted female demographic in St. Charles County. This goal will be met by creating a multimedia campaign on behalf of the St. Charles County Department of Community Health and the Environment.

The author will act as a communications professional, augmenting the Department's efforts and utilizing Departmental resources. Once completed, promotional materials will be turned over to the Department for their use. By choosing the local health department as a client, the author will contribute to the well being of women in the community.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Download

Share

COinS