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Michigan opioid use disorder stigma campaign

Also: End the Stigma

Michigan Department of Health and Human Services $1 million statewide ad campaign (US-MI) launched November 2019 with State Opioid Response funds, aimed at adults and parents of teens, to change how Michiganders talk about opioid use disorder treatment, "criticism to compassion".

Years
2019–2020
Country
United States
Budget
$1 million (federal State Opioid Response grant).
Topic
DrugsOpioids
Asks people to
Reduce stigmaSeek helpTalk to someone
Strategy
Stigma reductionTestimonial
Channel
OutdoorPrintRadioSearchSocial (paid)TV
Audience
AdultsParents
Primary target: people aged 25-44 who misuse opioids, and their peers and family; statewide with emphasis on Genesee, Lapeer, Macomb, Sanilac, St. Clair and Wayne counties (SOR year-two report). The launch release describes adults and parents of teens.

Evidence

Self-reportedUnknown

Sponsor-reported impressions November 2019-April 2020: outdoor 55.0 million, Michigan Association of Broadcasters TV/radio 41.5 million, radio 21.5 million, cross-screen digital 16.8 million, minority digital 8.1 million, YouTube 3.1 million, transit 2.9 million, cable/connected TV 2.8 million, social 1.7 million. No outcome evaluation found.

Sponsor (who paid)

Credits (who made it)

Executions (individual ads)

Related campaigns

Sources

  1. MDHHS launches statewide media campaign in fight against opioids, harmful stigmas sponsor · 2019
  2. MDHHS: State Opioid Response Grant Annual Program Summary, Grant Year Two (Statewide Media Campaign) sponsor · 2020
  3. Governor Whitmer, Michigan Opioids Task Force announce efforts to combat opioid epidemic sponsor · 2019
  4. Heley K et al. Reducing Health-Related Stigma Through Narrative Messages. Health Commun reference · 2019 · DOI 10.1080/10410236.2019.1598614 · PMID 31014112
  5. Ledford VA et al. Don't Call Them "Unclean" Or "Unkempt": Analyzing the Harmful Direct and Indirect Effects of Opioid Stigma Marks on Stigmatizing Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions. J Health Commun reference · 2025 · DOI 10.1080/10810730.2025.2552949 · PMID 40898421
  6. Ledford V et al. The Influence of Stigmatizing Messages on Danger Appraisal: Examining the Model of Stigma Communication for Opioid-Related Stigma, Policy Support, and Related Outcomes. Health Commun reference · 2021 · DOI 10.1080/10410236.2021.1920710 · PMID 33941010
  7. Hom JK et al. The impact of news photographs on drug-related stigma: A randomized message testing experiment in a National Sample of US Adults. Prev Med reference · 2025 · DOI 10.1016/j.ypmed.2025.108293 · PMID 40311941
  8. Krendl AC et al. Addiction onset and offset characteristics and public stigma toward people with common substance dependencies: A large national survey experiment. Drug Alcohol Depend reference · 2022 · DOI 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2022.109503 · PMID 35644088
  9. Frkovich J et al. Opioid-Related Public Health Communication Campaigns: An Environmental Scan. Am J Health Promot reference · 2022 · DOI 10.1177/08901171221082471 · PMID 35365055

Research notes

US-MI. The State Opioid Response year-two report calls it the 'End the Stigma' campaign; ads ran November 2019 through April 2020 on radio, cable TV, billboards, transit, Google search, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and the Michigan Chronicle; sample copy: 'Conversations don't come with autocorrect'. Credits checked 2026-10-22 against fetched pages: Brogan & Partners ('MDHHS contracted with Brogan & Partners in Project Year 1 to create an opioid anti-stigma media campaign', SOR year-two report). Executions: the two 'Autocorrect' spots on the Michigan HHS YouTube channel (uploaded about six years before October 2026; exact year not retrieved). Other MDHHS 2019-era spots ('Prescription of Hope' :30, 'A New Prescription' :60 radio, 'No Reply' teen anti-drug) may belong to this campaign but are not confirmed. The evaluation sources listed are general stigma-message literature, not evaluations of this campaign. Follow-ups: 2021 harm reduction campaign is mi-change-at-your-own-pace; 2022 is mi-recovery-begins-with-we; 2023- is mi-united-michigan. Ad library search: "Michigan Department of Health and Human Services", "MDHHS". Evaluation links reviewed 2026-10-22: six general opioid-stigma message studies (Heley 2019, Ledford 2021, Ledford 2025, Hom 2025, Krendl 2022, Frkovich 2022 environmental scan) set to reference; none evaluates this campaign.

Record cases/mi-opioid-stigma-campaign.json, updated 2026-10-22· Link to this campaign