The effort to better understand the public’s perception and behavior regarding tick bites and tickborne disease is stepping up, according to Health District Director Donna Culbert.

“Newtown, through a proposal/bid process, has contracted with MORE Advertising, and is launching a short survey which will capture the public’s current knowledge and perception of risk about tickborne diseases,” she said in a release.

The survey is available online as well as being available in print “for folks who may not have internet access or prefer to do it manually,” she said.

The plan is to promote the survey through The Newtown Bee, the Newtown municipal website’s News and Announcements section, Park and Recreation networks, and parent, recreation and civic organizations in an attempt to solicit maximum participation and input.

Follow-up work, after the survey is completed and analyzed, will be include key informant interviews, additional information gathering and focus groups adding to information already culled from the survey and interviews, Ms Culbert said.

The survey and data collection is the first step in compiling a “marketing plan” to help target audiences that are either unaware or unmotivated by the localized threat of tickborne illnesses.

Ms Culbert and School District Health Coordinator Judy Blanchard have been promoting tick bite prevention and tickborne disease awareness virtually all of their Newtown careers. 

“Educating people about ticks themselves, the risks of getting bitten and infected, as well as how to reduce the risks is one thing — influencing people’s attitudes and behavior is another,” Ms Culbert said.

She and Ms Blanchard say they are looking forward to learning more through the MORE partnership, about media marketing work related to public health issues.  

“Promoting and protecting health has become more than the data, science and research,” the health director said. “Our work needs to include that, but to also needs to keep up with the times - we need to learn how to sell health and disease prevention in a way that really appeals and motivates people. 

“And we need to move the needle on tick bites and tickborne disease mitigation,” Ms Culbert added.

The Board of Selectmen approved $15,000 during a March 17 meeting to underwrite the campaign, which was requested based on the continually increasing incidents of tickborne disease being reported in town, and the proportion of Lyme or otherwise infected ticks presented to the district for testing by residents.

MORE Advertising is a minority- and women-owned Massachusetts-based cause marketing firm with experience successfully mounting public health and safety programs similar to what Newtown hopes to launch. The company recently worked with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health creating a strategic outreach and education campaign on avoiding and preventing tickborne disease, “Mosquitoes and Ticks: They’re Out In Mass!”

Its staff designed a related community survey to gauge effectiveness for that campaign, an online series of related videos, along with a social, web, and paid media campaign, and a wallet-sized information card that won an award from the National Public Health Information Coalition.

The survey is available online by visiting www.surveymonkey.com/s/ticksurvey. The Health District office, within Newtown Municipal Center at 3 Primrose Street, also has copies available.