Kernicterus Public Awareness Poster and Brochure
Spreading awareness of a preventable affliction
Once thought eradicated in the U.S., kernicterus is a form of brain damage that affects newborn babies when severe jaundice goes untreated. HMOs put pressure on hospitals in the 1990s to cut costs by doing fewer tests on infants and sending mothers home earlier with their babies. As a result, cases of kernicterus—an incurable disease with cerebral palsy-like symptoms—began to reappear around the country. Captains was tasked with helping to galvanize action and support within the healthcare community and the public at large.
While a range of conceptual campaigns were developed, focus group testing confirmed that the simplest, most direct message resonated best with parents within multiple socioeconomic and ethnic groups. As a direct result of the campaign, one of the largest hospital systems in the U.S. adopted universal billirubin screening for newborns, preventing potentially hundreds of cases of kernicterus.