giovanna dabner
CREATIVE + ART DIRECTION
Company:
Blog
Breaking the Silence on Mental Health During COVID-19
Project Overview
The Challenge:
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health challenges soared globally as people faced isolation, uncertainty, and stress. Humber River Hospital needed a way to provide credible, compassionate, and accessible guidance to the community. While healthcare professionals were battling COVID-19 on the frontlines, the hospital also recognized the importance of addressing the mental health impact of the crisis. The goal was to create content that would educate, reassure, and empower individuals struggling with stress, anxiety, and emotional fatigue.
Team:
Giovanna Dabner, Copywriter, Videographer
Ana Veiga Laing , Manager, Communications and Public Affairs
Behind the Story: Humanizing Mental Health Awareness
I was tasked with interviewing and filming healthcare professionals to highlight mental health pilot initiatives Humber River Hospital was implementing during the pandemic. While the initial goal was to create video content, I recognized the importance of expanding the reach of these initiatives beyond internal audiences.
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Building a Comforting Space: Many of the nurses I interviewed mentioned that I made them feel at ease, turning what could have been a nerve-wracking experience into a natural conversation. Creating a relaxed atmosphere allowed them to open up and speak authentically about their experiences.
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Crafting the Right Narrative: Before filming, I gathered as much information as possible, drafting targeted questions that would allow each healthcare professional to share their insights clearly while remaining engaging to a broad audience.
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Strategic Visual Storytelling: Based on the responses in interviews, I identified key b-roll opportunities to capture footage that would complement the narratives being shared. This ensured that the videos were visually engaging and reinforced key messages.
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Extending the Conversation: Recognizing the impact of these initiatives, I took the lead in developing a blog post to complement the video content, ensuring that the hospital’s mental health efforts were shared more widely with the public.
The Approach
As the lead writer, I developed a blog post and video content focused on mental health awareness and resilience. The approach included:
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Educational & Empathetic Writing: Crafted a blog post that provided expert-backed insights while maintaining a supportive, reader-friendly tone.
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Actionable Takeaways: Offered practical coping strategies to help individuals manage pandemic-related stress, making the content relevant and applicable to daily life.
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SEO & Accessibility Optimization: Ensured the blog was easily discoverable and digestible for a diverse audience.
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Video Integration: Produced and embedded short, engaging video interviews featuring mental health professionals, allowing audiences to connect with expert guidance in a more personal and accessible format.
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Multi-Platform Distribution: Shared content across Humber River Hospital’s website, social media, and internal communications, maximizing reach and engagement.
The Impact
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Increased engagement with Humber River Hospital’s digital content, providing vital resources to individuals struggling with mental health challenges.
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Strengthened the hospital’s reputation as a trusted healthcare resource during the pandemic.
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Encouraged conversations around mental health, helping break the stigma and promote community well-being.
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Expanded reach through video content, making expert advice more relatable and accessible.
Outcome + Take aways
This project demonstrated my ability to develop multi-platform content that blends storytelling, education, and digital strategy to make complex healthcare topics more accessible and engaging. By combining blog writing with video storytelling, I helped Humber River Hospital extend its mental health awareness efforts during one of the most challenging times in modern healthcare.
