The Spanish Ministry of Health has announced their public campaign to help prevent a possible heat wave this summer, and protect in particular those more vulnerable, such as children and the elderly. The initiative has been too quickly labeled as a very innovative effort to prevent the worst effects of heat waves, in particular around the main idea of using SMS notifications for weather alerts. However, on this occasion the emphasis on a misguided use of mobile communications may gloss over the actual limitations of the campaign.

Even long after the devastating heat wave that caused around 52,000 deaths in Europe in the summer of 2003, it seems hard to bring awareness of such catastrophic events and raise awareness around them. Data of their impact is collated long after the event has taken place, and once it is available it is difficult to have it reach public officials and news outlets in a meaningful manner. France had 14,802 deaths during that heat wave and the collapse of the public health system due to lack of preparedness, hubris, and cultural practices is still cause of much debate. In that context it is quite refreshing to see a department of health taking action for such a condition in a country much more prone to heat waves than France. And yet, the campaign has critical flaws.

First of all, it seems to be geared towards three channels, none of which seems to have been understood appropriately.
The TV campaign, inserted next to, and competing with, advertising, may lack sufficient impact. While TV may be one of the most efficient broad channels to reach youth and the elderly, the campaign seems a bit too full of its own craftiness, missing the actual lesson of awareness and falling short on message impact.
The digital channel is embedded in the website of the Ministry and falls victim of its own bureaucratic practices. Few would visit it. It does not prepare very well technical monitors and social workers, which is the key missing audience here, and offers trivial games that not only add nothing to the needs of the campaign but that will simply not be used. Will people really want to add an image of their own hand puppetry for heat wave prevention? Yes, that is an actual example...

Finally, the great headline of providing SMS warning notifications might sound good but lacks any depth in analysis. Not only access to the system is offered through the same cumbersome and obscure website. But how many of those children will care to receive notifications? Or most critically, how many elderly will care to subscribe to the service and receive messages on their mobiles? It is precisely with old population that web access is most limited. Moreover, mobile phone penetration for those most at-risk in Spain is minimal. In a country where mobile phones are surpassing land lines it is precisely the population that needs those notifications most the one that does not not have them. Heat wave prevention needs other means of action, that target community channels, social service channels, etc. Probably these are most difficult, more costly, but SMS is not going to make it for this frail population.