Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra)
Cosmetic Surgery Campaign Testing Research
Using qualitative research to refine a campaign to encourage reporting of misconduct among medical practitioners performing cosmetic surgery
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) is the national organisation responsible for implementing the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (the National Scheme) across Australia. Ahpra works with 15 National Health Practitioner Boards in implementing the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme.
Background
In late 2021, Ahpra and the Medical Board of Australia commissioned an independent review of the regulation of medical practitioners who perform cosmetic surgery. This review followed medical reports which raised concern about alleged misconduct of some medical practitioners in the sector. In response to the review, Ahpra developed a cosmetic surgery campaign to increase awareness of, and to encourage reporting of, public safety concerns to its new cosmetic surgery hotline.
In 2022 Ahpra engaged Wallis Social Research to test some creative executions and views on the campaign dissemination channels and to identify any scope for refinement.
Process
The research involved mini group discussions and in-depth interviews with two groups of participants:
women who had had cosmetic surgery for “aesthetic” reasons (i.e., not medically necessary), which was performed by a registered medical practitioner in Australia
women planning to undergo cosmetic surgery.
The creative executions tested included social media posts, online advertisements and a radio advertisement. Refinements to the campaign messaging and executions were proposed.
Further information about the Ahpra Cosmetic Surgery Hotline is available from https://www.ahpra.gov.au/resources/cosmetic-surgery-hub.aspx
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