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This document is being maintained for historical purposes, but is
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Guidelines for Health Education and Risk Reduction Activities
April 1995
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, Georgia
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Core Elements of Health Education and Risk Reduction Activities
A number of core elements should be considered in health education and risk
reduction program and evaluation activities.
Effective Health Education and Risk Reduction program activities:
- State realistic, specific, measurable, and attainable program goals and
objectives.
- Identify methods and activities to achieve specific goals and
objectives.
- Define staff roles, duties, and responsibilities.
- Define the populations to be served by geographic locale, risk
behavior(s), gender, sexual orientation, and race/ethnicity.
- Assure that educational materials and messages are relevant, culturally
competent, and language- and age-appropriate.
- Include professional development for all program staff.
- Include a written policy and personnel procedures that address stress
and burnout.
- Include written procedures for the referral and tracking of clients to
appropriate services outside of the agency.
- Provide for collaboration with other local service providers to assure
access to services for clients.
- Assure confidentiality of persons served.
Effective Health Education and Risk Reduction evaluation activities:
- Include process evaluation. (See Appendices.)
- Require consistent and accurate data collection procedures, including
number of persons served, quantity and type of literature or materials
distributed, and demographics of persons served. A description of the
tools to be used and definitions of various measurements (e.g., "unit
of service" and "contact") should be outlined.
- Include staff supervision, observation, evaluation, and feedback on a
regular basis. (See Appendices B-D.)
- Include feedback from persons served.
- Designate staff who are responsible for evaluation and quality
assurance activities, for compiling and analyzing data, and for
documenting and reviewing findings.
- Define methods for assessing progress toward stated process
goals/outcome objectives.
- Include mechanisms for measuring the use of referral services.
- Provide findings for program modifications.
