We were determined that the campaign would be co-produced with the target audience, ensuring we were in the places they were, talking to them in a way that was not patronising or alarming.
We partnered with the Greater Manchester Older People’s Network to develop and run the campaign. The Network invited a group of people (aged 55 to 82) from across Greater Manchester, including representatives from our ethic minority and LGBTQ+ communities, to take part in an initial focus group. That first meeting lasted around 90 minutes and was held online. Clearly, it was a very sensitive issue to discuss, so, alongside our mental health partners, we made sure that safeguarding and wellbeing were a priority. We did not specifically request participants with lived experience, but some did share stories or anecdotes about neighbours or friends.
We had an experienced cartoonist/ graphic minute taker (Tom Bailey) join us at that meeting to capture the conversations in an accessible way. Once our discussion was over, he shared the cartoons with all of us. This form of communication was very well received and helped us to shape campaign messaging in our second group session.
Also in that second session, we shared some mocked up posters and social media posts. Some were based on the cartoons from the original session, others came from suggestions from a creative agency. The group were unanimous that the cartoon-style posters and images were the most effective for their cohort. Cartoons also enabled us to ensure the images of older people were diverse and age positive.
We had a limited budget for the campaign, £10,000 in total, which had to include printing, staff resources, etc. It was important to make that budget go a long way, so we were guided by our older people’s group to target our activity most effectively. Posters and social media posts were circulated in communities by local groups like Age UK. We included a QR code on the posters so that families and friends could easily access information too. All audiences were directed to our website for more information and signposting.
We had always planned that this small campaign would be ‘phase one’. It was essential that we also tried to reach professionals to raise awareness and challenge assumptions often made. There are, unknowingly, age blind assumptions and myths around self-harm and older people. There is an ongoing need to educate and have conversations about this.
From the outset, we were in touch with the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health (NCISH) at the University of Manchester. The research by Professor Nav Kapur was instrumental in alerting us to the issue. NCISH developed two infographics around self-harm and older people that could aid us in our reach to professionals.