Warning:

This document is being maintained for historical purposes, but is now out of date. To view current guidelines please visit:

• HIV/AIDS Guidelines and Recommendations   at http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/guidelines/index.html

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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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                          Educational Materials

Educational materials are learning or teaching aids.  They can be used to
reach masses of people, to reinforce or illustrate information given in a
one-on-one setting, or serve as references to remind people of information
they received earlier.  Materials also teach skills by providing hands-on
experience or by illustrating a step-by-step approach.  Effective materials
can also influence attitudes and perceptions.  

Development or selection of educational materials is directed by several
considerations:

  - What is the public information objective?  Is it to inform,
    demonstrate, persuade, or remind?  These considerations determine how
    educational materials are designed and used.

  - Who is the target audience?  Where (which channels) can they be
    reached?  Are there any target audience preferences for types of
    materials (e.g., non-print for low-literacy audiences, fotonovelas for
    Latinas)?

  - What is the specific message?  Is it a skill, an attitude to be
    considered, medical information, a negotiation approach, or a synopsis
    of previous instruction?

  - What materials are already available?  Will they fit the audience,
    channel, and objective?  Can they be purchased?  Reproduced?  Modified?

  - What financial, staff, and other resources are available for materials
    development?  Should development be handled in-house or by contract?

Choose Formats for Education/Information Materials

In selecting formats for educational and informational materials, choice
should be guided by the amount and type of information to be presented, the
channels to be used, and target audience preferences.  For most messages,
using as many different formats as appropriate will provide more options
for message promotion.  Commonly used formats include:  

Channel: Television
    Formats: Public service announcements, paid advertisements, editorials,
    news releases, background or question and answer (Q and A) for public
    affairs programs

Channel: Radio
    Formats: Live announcer copy (PSAs), taped PSAs, topic ideas for 
    call-in shows

Channel: Newspaper
    Formats: News releases, editorials, letters to the editor

Channel: Outdoor
    Formats: Transit ads, various sizes
        Billboards, various sizes
        Ads/posters for bus stop enclosures, airports

Channel: Community
    Formats: Posters for beauty and barber shops, pharmacies, grocery
    stores, worksites
        Bill inserts: shopping bag inserts or imprints, paycheck inserts
        Special event giveaways: calendars, fact cards, pencils, balloons,
        key chains   
        Table top or other displays for health fairs, waiting rooms,
        libraries, schools 
        Newsletter articles for community, employer, business newsletters
        Fotonovelas, flyers, pamphlets, coloring books for distribution
        through community settings

Channel: Interpersonal
    Formats: Posters for physicians' offices and clinic waiting and
    examination rooms
        Talking points, note pads for patient counseling, presentations at
        schools, organizations, religious institutions
        Videos for classroom use

Review Available Materials

Before developing new materials, make sure that new production is
necessary.  If materials are available that will meet identified program
needs, expense and effort can be saved.  Contact the CDC National AIDS
Clearinghouse (1-800-458-5231) to find out what is available.  

Use the Materials Review Checklist to assess appropriateness of existing
materials.  (See Appendix E.)     

Determine whether appropriate materials can be used or modified: 

  - Is the organization willing to share its materials?  (Note: Virtually
    all materials produced by the Federal government are in the public
    domain.  This means that they are not copyrighted and can be freely
    reproduced.) 

  - Can your program identity be substituted or added to the materials?
    (Make changes to fit planned public information activities.)

  - Is the material available in the quantities needed?  Is it affordable?

  - Were the materials tested?  With what results?

  - How are the materials currently being used?  By whom?  With what
    effects?

  - Are the materials suitable for the identified target audience and your
    community?  (Testing may be needed to find out.)

  - Are the messages consistent with specified public information and
    prevention program objectives?

Pretest Messages and Materials

Pretesting is defined as the testing of planned public information
strategies, messages, or materials before completion and release to help
assure effectiveness.

Pretesting is used to help make sure that messages and materials will work. 
It is important to test messages and draft materials with target audiences. 
Also, testing with media or other "gatekeepers" is a good idea, e.g., PSA
directors or others who can influence whether messages and materials are
used.

Pretesting can help determine whether messages and materials are:
    
  - Understandable.

  - Relevant.

  - Attention-getting. 

  - Memorable.

  - Appealing.

  - Credible.

  - Acceptable to the target audience.

These factors can make a difference in whether messages or materials
contribute to meeting public information objectives.  

The most frequently used pretest methods include:

  - Focus groups.

  - Self-administered questionnaires.

  - Central location intercept interviews.

  - Individual interviews.

  - Theater-style testing.

  - Readability testing.

  - Gatekeeper review.

Specific pretest methods will vary, depending upon:

  - Materials format(s).

  - Complexity of the materials or messages (e.g., for complex messages,
    more time may be needed to explore audience reactions).

  - Degree of sensitivity or controversy (e.g., a combination of methods
    helps make sure that responses are honest).    

  - Previous experience with or knowledge of the target group (i.e., less
    testing, or less in-depth exploration may be called for if a great deal
    is already known about audience views).

  - Resources. 

  - The pretest questions to be explored.

Note: Additional information about pretesting can be found in Making Health
Communication Programs Work: A Planner's Guide.  (See Resources and

 References 
.)

Staff Characteristics for Materials Development and Pretesting 

Staff who are involved in the development of educational materials should
know the attributes and limitations of the educational materials formats to
be used.  In addition, they should:

  - Speak, read, and write the language or dialect of the designated
    audience or have access to someone who does.

  - Have the ability to identify accurately and incorporate appropriate
    literacy levels in design of materials.

  - Communicate effectively in print and audiovisual media, or have access
    to competent materials producers.

  - Be familiar with characteristics and life styles of designated
    audience.

  - Be non-judgmental.

  - Know the message and materials objective.

  - Be able to personalize the material's message to be relevant to the
    target audience.

  - Be able to design and conduct message and materials pretests or have
    access to trained and experienced help.

  - Be able to design and implement distribution and promotion plans to
    assure appropriate use of materials to support public information
    activities.

Training for staff materials development and pretesting should:

  - Emphasize how to design objectives, messages, and educational material.

  - Instruct how to design and implement dissemination, promotion, and
    evaluation plans to assure appropriate use of materials.

  - Inform about sources of additional information and related services.

  - Teach how to determine appropriate motivator of behavior change.

  - Instruct how to design and conduct pretests, including how to conduct
    focus groups.

  - Provide practice sessions and opportunities for observation before
    conducting target audience pretests.

  - Provide other training as needed (e.g., cultural sensitivity, low
    literacy materials development, sexuality attitudes, interviewing
    skills).

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