News

Montana State U. digital signage warns of Radon gas danger

November 16, 2011

Health care communications firm Vericom announced that it has partnered with Montana State University in a study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to use ChannelCare health care digital signage to communicate the importance of radon testing and drive renters and homeowners alike to purchase radon test kits.

Radon is a naturally occurring, cancer-causing radioactive gas and the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S., according to the U.S. Surgeon General. There are ways to reduce radon gas to acceptable levels, but the only way to know the level in your residence is through radon testing. There are no signs associated with the presence of radon.

MSU launched Vericom's ChannelCare healthcare digital signage in August 2011 at three Women Infant and Children (WIC) centers in rural Montana. The WIC program provides supplemental nutrition to low income pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women and children.

The messaging provided on ChannelCare high-definition monitors is visually engaging, graphic and animated, intended to be appropriate for rural, low-income audiences to help improve health literacy while empowering viewers to take action to preserve their health.

Vericom developed animated video designed to "demystify" indoor radon exposure for WIC audiences and to create awareness of the importance of radon testing. ChannelCare digital signage radon messages encourage people to purchase subsidized radon test kits at a nearby Environmental Services office. In addition to the radon awareness programming, the WIC centers are playing health education messages from Vericom's extensive content library that lead people to ask additional questions, attend screenings, sign up for programs, get involved, visit websites, etc.

"We believe that ChannelCare will help make a difference in the safety of our WIC audiences by increasing the use of radon testing kits. Early results show a dramatic increase in the percentage of visitors purchasing the kits," said Laura Larsson, assistant professor and Robert Wood Johnson Nurse Faculty Scholar at Montana State University College of Nursing and leader of the MSU radon study.

Read more about health care digital signage.