Free healthcare observances calendar: February 2024

While Valentine’s Day is a notable February celebration, the month is also chock full of health awareness observances. A well-thought-out calendar can help align practice marketing efforts and engage with patients and the broader community. Here’s a comprehensive list of healthcare marketing ideas for February.

Achieve better patient outcomes and make a meaningful difference in your community with a targeted marketing strategy that integrates seasonal campaigns and ongoing efforts.

Always-on campaigns include marketing pieces that don’t change from month to month. This minimizes administrators' need for constant oversight while ensuring regular communication with patients.

Always-on campaigns may include: 

Seasonal campaigns, on the other hand, will change from month to month as they reflect the healthcare observances for a specific month. These seasonal campaigns are more fluid and typically require more input and forethought from administrators. 

Seasonal campaigns for February may include

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of poor vision and blindness in adults aged 65 and older. Studies show that as much as 78% of those first diagnosed with AMD have already suffered irreversible vision loss. This is a month-long observance on the calendar, so medical practices have plenty of time to plan activities and awareness events. 

For some great thought-starters, consider: 

Host free eye screenings to detect early signs of age-related macular degeneration.

Partner with local optometrists to host educational webinars explaining ADM risk factors (i.e., smoking), symptoms, and prevention.

Run promotions on eye care services. Offer discounts on eye exams or eyewear during February to encourage preventive eye care.

Plan social media and other marketing content on eye health tips, preventive eye care, eye health, and the importance of regular eye check-ups.

According to the CDC, heart disease was responsible for 1 in every 5 deaths in the US in 2021. Breaking down a little further, the CDC also shows that heart disease kills a person every 33 seconds. Considering that February is dedicated to love, it’s almost appropriate that February has been designated as American Heart Month, aka a month-long opportunity to spotlight heart disease — the leading cause of death for women in the United States. 

To help raise awareness in the local community, practices can: 

Give a heart away. Host a giveaway of heart-themed items like heart-shaped oatmeal cookies, stationery, bookmarks, or keychains. 

Try a steps challenge. Research shows that sedentary lifestyles are a major risk factor for heart disease. Medical practices can lean in by encouraging patients and staff to participate in a steps challenge. Use activity trackers for some healthy competition and award gift cards at the month's end. 

Offer up some heart-healthy recipes. Medical practices can ask staff members and patients to send in their favorite heart-healthy recipes and then share them through patient email newsletters and social media channels. 

Plan content on heart disease education, including risk factors and ideas for making heart-healthy lifestyle changes. The good news is that it’s not necessary to spend hours researching and putting together presentations for this; the CDC and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) have done it in advance. Each organization has a robust library of social media graphics, fact sheets, and toolkits to help get the word out. 

Cytomegalovirus, Group B Strep, Toxoplasmosis, and flu are some of the more common prenatal infections, the complications of which range from acute illness to neonatal death. For many of these infections, awareness and prevention can mean the difference between life and death. International Prenatal Infection Prevention Month is an excellent opportunity for healthcare providers to spread the word. 

Marketing campaigns for International Prenatal Infection Prevention Month may include: 

Arrange information sessions, either live or via webinar, with local obstetricians and gynecologists to discuss prenatal infection prevention strategies.

Obstetricians can offer online antenatal classes covering infection prevention measures for expecting parents.

Social media Q&A. Conduct a live Q&A session on social media, allowing followers to ask questions related to prenatal infection prevention.

Plan social media and other marketing content on the medical practice’s website

focused on prenatal infection prevention. Providers can use materials provided by organizations like GroupB Strep International to curate and share information. 

The American Association for Cancer Research estimated that 200 million Americans were diagnosed with cancer in 2023, while over 600,00 died from it. Those numbers are startling, and the sad fact is the organization notes that 40% of new cases and nearly half of the deaths may be attributed to preventable causes like smoking, obesity, and sedentary lifestyles. 

To raise awareness with thoughtful marketing, healthcare providers can:

Plan blogs and social media content to share information focused on various cancers. Be sure to include materials on prevention, early detection, and healthy lifestyle choices.

Collaborate with local gyms for classes, events, or discounts to promote physical activity, a key element in cancer prevention.

Share information on cancer prevention widely by hosting a daily pop quiz on social media channels. 

Partner with a local oncologist to conduct a webinar to discuss some of the key aspects of cancer prevention. 

In many cases, the key to better health outcomes is early detection and treatment. To that end, healthcare providers can lean into National Self-Check Month with marketing activities that empower their patients. 

Marketing ideas and campaigns may include: 

Educational workshops. When it comes to self-checks, most people don’t know where to start or what to look for. Healthcare providers can demystify the process by hosting in-office workshops emphasizing best practices related to self-examinations for breast health, testicular health, skin health, and more.

Self-check kits. If live workshops aren’t feasible, medical practices might consider distributing self-check kits or guides through their physical location or online platforms.

#SelfCheckChallenge. Create a social media challenge encouraging followers to share their self-check routines and nominate others to participate.

By aligning marketing efforts with any of the healthcare observances outlined above, medical providers can demonstrate their commitment to promoting health and well-being in their community and engage with their audience meaningfully throughout February.