BetaHCF Case Studies Library is in beta. We're still adding campaigns and fixing things.
HCF Case Studies Library

← All campaigns · Open in the library

civilsociety.co.uk

Time to Change

Also: Time to Change England · Time to Change Global

England's anti-stigma programme run by Mind and Rethink Mental Illness from 2007 to March 2021, funded by Comic Relief, the Big Lottery Fund and (from 2011) the Department of Health; its social marketing campaign launched in January 2009 and from 2017 focused on men. Time to Change Global adapted it to Ghana, Kenya and other countries from 2018.

Years
2007–2021
Country
GhanaKenyaUnited Kingdom
Topic
Mental health
Asks people to
Support a policyTalk to someone
Strategy
Social normsTestimonial
Channel
EventsOutdoorSocial (organic)Social (paid)TV
Audience
Adults
Adults 25-45 in middle-income groups (2009-16); low-middle income, men's focus (2017-21).

Evidence

Quasi-experimentalPositive

Henderson et al. (2020), national Attitudes to Mental Illness surveys: 2009-19 improvements of 0.25 SD in knowledge, 0.32 SD in attitudes (2008-19) and 0.29 SD in desire for social distance; not definitively attributable. Sampogna et al. (2017), 10,526 pre/post-burst respondents: campaign awareness associated with better knowledge, attitudes and intended behaviour. Ronaldson et al. (2024): after the programme ended, knowledge fell 7.8% and willingness to interact fell 10.2% from 2019 to 2023, back to 2009 levels. Time to Change Global (Potts 2021): pre/post improvements in Accra (intended contact) and Nairobi (knowledge). Safe messaging: stigma programme; not suicide-specific. Evans-Lacko 2014 (Attitudes to Mental Illness surveys 2003 and 2007-2013, about 1,700 a year, compared against the pre-campaign trend): prejudice and exclusion attitudes improved after launch, and regions with higher campaign awareness showed larger gains in knowledge and attitudes (dose-response), but not in intended behaviour.

Sponsor (who paid)

  • Mind NGO, delivery partner
  • Rethink Mental Illness NGO, delivery partner
  • Comic Relief Foundation, funder
  • Big Lottery Fund Foundation, funder
  • Department of Health (England) Foreign government, funder from 2011

Credits (who made it)

Not recorded yet.

Related campaigns

Sources

  1. Henderson C et al. Mental illness stigma after a decade of Time to Change England. Eur J Public Health 2020;30(3):526-532 evaluation · 2020 · DOI 10.1093/eurpub/ckaa013 · PMID 32531039
  2. Sampogna G et al. The impact of social marketing campaigns on reducing mental health stigma: results from the 2009-2014 Time to Change programme. Eur Psychiatry 2017;40:116-122 evaluation · 2017 · DOI 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.08.008 · PMID 27997875
  3. Ronaldson A et al. Investigating changes in mental illness stigma and discrimination after the Time to Change programme in England. BJPsych Open 2024 evaluation · 2024 · DOI 10.1192/bjo.2024.801 · PMID 39501845
  4. Potts LC, Henderson C. Evaluation of anti-stigma social marketing campaigns in Ghana and Kenya: Time to Change Global. BMC Public Health 2021 evaluation · 2021 · DOI 10.1186/s12889-021-10966-8 · PMID 33964900
  5. Time to Change to close after funding ends (Civil Society) news · 2020
  6. Evans-Lacko S et al. Influence of Time to Change's social marketing interventions on stigma in England 2009-2011. Br J Psychiatry Suppl 2013 evaluation · 2013 · DOI 10.1192/bjp.bp.113.126672 · PMID 23553699
  7. Evans-Lacko S et al. Economic evaluation of the anti-stigma social marketing campaign in England 2009-2011. Br J Psychiatry Suppl 2013 evaluation · 2013 · DOI 10.1192/bjp.bp.112.113746 · PMID 23553701
  8. Evans-Lacko S et al. Effect of the Time to Change anti-stigma campaign on trends in mental-illness-related public stigma among the English population in 2003-13: an analysis of survey data. Lancet Psychiatry 2014 evaluation · 2014 · DOI 10.1016/s2215-0366(14)70243-3 · PMID 26360575
  9. González-Sanguino C et al. Time to Change's social marketing campaign for a new target population: results from 2017 to 2019. BMC Psychiatry 2019 evaluation · 2019 · DOI 10.1186/s12888-019-2415-x · PMID 31881957
  10. Evans-Lacko S et al. Mass social contact interventions and their effect on mental health related stigma and intended discrimination. BMC Public Health 2012 evaluation · 2012 · DOI 10.1186/1471-2458-12-489 · PMID 22742085

Research notes

The decline after closure is a rare natural experiment on campaign withdrawal. Creative agencies not verified. Evidence updated 2026-10-22: level observational -> quasi-experimental on Evans-Lacko 2014 (comparison with the pre-campaign trend plus regional dose-response). Outcome kept positive.

Record cases/time-to-change.json, updated 2026-10-22· Link to this campaign