Case Study

Arizona Department of Health Services

The Arizona Department of Health Services’ (ADHS) mission is to promote, protect, and improve the health and wellness of individuals and communities in Arizona by regularly providing health resources and information to Arizona residents that align with these objectives. In response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, ADHS approached OH Predictive Insights (OHPI) with the challenge to accurately understand Arizonans’ concerns surrounding the Coronavirus situation as well as identify the willingness or reluctance to take a vaccine among Arizonans. 

With the support of our leading agency partners at OH Partners to help guide our efforts, OHPI worked closely with ADHS to design a research program to gauge the degree of concern for the current and future of the COVID-19 issue, willingness or reluctance to take a vaccine, and to measure the effectiveness of ADHS’s messaging to general population Arizonans (18+ y.o.). The research plan focused on identifying the perceptions and opinions among key demographics and geographics so that ADHS could gain insights that identify opportunities on how to most effectively interact, inform, and support the health of Arizonans in the midst of the pandemic and as vaccines become available. OHPI fielded the surveys among a target audience to capture data that was relevant and significant to ADHS.

Our Process

 DISCOVERY: We spent time talking with ADHS to understand their goals and objectives,    budget and timeline, and determine which of our services would be the most powerful route    to achieve the goals laid out for us. 

DEVELOP: OHPI crafted actionable survey questions and tailored a research plan to fit the needs of ADHS. For this project, we carefully structured our methodology to answer the big questions at hand: What are the key demographics of those most and least concerned with                      COVID and where are these Arizonans located? How willing or reluctant are they to taking a                      vaccine once available? What kind of messaging resonates best with what audience? We put in                the time and effort to ensure we would reach the right audience, ask the right questions, and                  collect ample data.

FIELD: After working closely with ADHS to finalize survey scripts, we deployed the project in November of 2020. OHPI diligently provided regular updates to ensure smooth and accurate fieldwork with a complete and relevant sample of the target audience.  

ANALYZE: Our expert team of Data Analysts extracted all the data and aggregated the most important and interesting findings from our sample. Statistical analysis of the survey results allowed us to identify the following for ADHS:  

  • Key demographics and regions of general population Arizonans (18+ y.o.) who were most/least concerned with the Coronavirus situation 
  • Willingness/reluctance to taking a vaccine among key demographics and regions once available  
  • Messaging impact among key demographics regarding willingness to take a vaccine 

These insights allowed OHPI to identify areas of opportunity and provide actionable suggestions for ADHS based on the data.

REPORT: We curated reports and deliverables including a Presentation Deck containing actionable insights and intricate breakdowns visualized in a digestible format. With these reports we were able to answer ADHS’s questions and identify key opportunities to optimize                    their success in encouraging and maintaining the health and wellness of Arizonans in light of                    the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Results

As OHPI analyzed the opinions and perceptions of general population Arizonans (18+ y.o.), our evidence offered insights that our expert team of data analysts translated into actionable suggestions to best address the pain points of ADHS. OHPI was able to guide the strategic decisions of ADHS in regard to the most impactful messaging for encouraging the health and wellness of Arizonans with answers to the following questions: 

  • Who is most/least concerned with the COVID-19 situation? 
  • What regions house the most/least concerned? 
  • Who is most encouraged to take a vaccine once available when recommended by a local doctor? by a friend? by a relative?  
    • Who is most/least willing to take a vaccine once available?
  • What regions house the most/least willing?
    • Why? What are the roadblocks for those least willing? What encourages those most willing? 

We provided ADHS with more than just data – we gave them distinct answers and actionable steps backed by research that aligned with their goals and made measurable differences in the concern with the COVID-19 situation and Arizonans’ willingness to take a vaccine – As ADHS applied these data-informed strategies and solutions, concern significantly decreased and willingness to take a vaccine rose across the board for Arizonans, as seen in the results of our September 2020 AZPOP (AZ Public Opinion Pulse) and our January 2021 AZPOP. In January, 59% of Arizona voters were willing to take a vaccine once available to them (a 21% increase from September 2020) with 18,875 Arizonans already vaccinated. As of April 26, 2021, 2,867,481 Arizonans (39.9%) have received at least one vaccination according to ADHS records. OHPI provided the Arizona Department of Health Services with results, data, a presentation, and follow-up to make sure we extensively addressed all their needs and objectives.