HS 490-Assignment 4- Effective Health Education and Communication

For this assignment you will explore health education tools and communication strategies for your health
topic, target audience and geographic location. You will consider literacy, cultural context and use of health
theories as you select effective health education tools. 75 points total.
Best Practice Health Communication/Marketing Tools Submit on Bblearn and hard copy by May 9th, 5pm
1. Assess the Health Education Pieces- 25 pts. Find 2 excellent health education/communication
pieces hard copy pieces. Be sure this was intended as a handout, not simply web-based
information. Use CDC resources (HP 2020, HealthFinder.gov and other non-commercial sources,)
print the pieces out, attach and provide the web-link. Select one piece to analyze using two tools:
a. Simply Put- http://www.cdc.gov/healthliteracy/pdf/Simply_Put.pdf Refer to the check
list on page 29 and discuss the strengths and areas for improvement for: message content,
text appearance, visuals and layout and design- 10 pt.

Heads Up: Facts about Concussion TBI

Message

Text

Visuals

Layout

Translation

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes

Yes
Yes
Yes
No

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

Yes
Yes
N/A
N/A

Understan
d
N/A
N/A
N/A

Concussions- The Facts By Evan Bunnage

Message

Text

Visuals

Layout

Translation

Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No

Yes
Yes
Some
Yes
Yes
Yes

Yes
Yes
No
No

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

Yes
Yes
N/A
N/A

Understan
d
N/A
N/A
N/A

b. The Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) and Users Guide-

http://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/prevention-chronic-care/improve/selfmgmt/pemat/index.html- Score for understandability and Actionability (p 55 & 56)

and discuss strengths and areas for improvement that you recommend. 10 pt.

Heads Up: Facts about Concussion TBI

Understandability
1. 1

2. 1

3. 1

4. 1

5. 1

15. 1

16. 1

17. 0

18. 0

19. 1

Total Points: 16

6. 1

7. 1

8. 1

9. 1

Points Possible:

19

Percent: 94%

23. 0

25. 1

26. 1

10. 1

11.

12. 1

13. 1

14. 1

Actionability
20. 1

21. 1

22. 1

24. N/A

Total Points: 4 Points Possible:

Percent: 80%

Overall I think this was great, after evaluating it the only suggestion I have is to include captions with the
photos.

Concussions- The Facts By Evan Bunnage

Understandability
1. 1

2. 1

3. 0

4. 1

5. 1

15. 1

16. 1

17. 0

18. 1

19. 1

Total Points: 15

6. 1

7. 1

8. 1

9. 1

Points Possible:

19

Percent: 78%

23. 0

25. 1

26. 1

10. 1

11. 1

12. 1

13. 1

14. 1

Actionability
20. 1

21. 1

22. 0

24. N/A

Total Points: 4 Points Possible:

Percent: 80%

Would include actual pictures for this. The illustrations in this are mostly just figures in a bigger more eyecatching form. Also perhaps using not so many terms would be good, or if those terms are used then
perhaps defining a couple of them just incase the reader is not familiar.
c. Overall, using the two tools, what did you learn about the quality of the pieces? What are the
most important recommendations for improvement? 5 pt.
Heads Up: Facts about Concussion TBI

Overall this flyer is very eye catching with important information. The information is not used in
too complex of ways and is very engaging. The photos are relevant to each topic and provide
support for what they are trying to state, however, they do not take away from the context. I find
this to all around be a good booklet that should be available to the public. The only improvement
I have for this piece is to make duplicates in other language (especially Spanish.) This will then
be able to get this info out to more populations.
Concussions- The Facts By Evan Bunnage

This flyer was very informative; however, it would be nice to add some color somewhere on the
document. There is a lot of shades of grey with black and white, and I think that color would
attract more attention to it and make it more likely for one to grab it and read it. The important
facts are very easy to find and I like how big he made the data stand out, it intrigued me to read
more. Again it would be nice to make this in other languages for other populations.
Rubric- 1-5 scale (Missing/incomplete to Mastery)
1. Two appropriate and well -designed health education pamphlets, posters
2. One tool is scored using two methods (each scored 1-5) 10 total
3. One piece described (strengths and weaknesses) using both tools (10 pt.)
4. Overall, criteria based recommendations for improvement

1-5
1-5
1-5
1-5

2. One written press release-Write a press release about your project. You can highlight a
particular event, the launch of the program or a success story. (20 pts.) Example of heath related
press release guidance- http://www.acep.org/Advocacy/How-To-Write-a-Press-Release/

Concussion Mobile Apps Are Now Accessible to the Public

Developers of ImPACT Test introduced 3 new moblile applications for assessment of
concussions: Post-Concussion Symptom Inventory, Sideline ImPACT, and Moble ImPACT
Customer Center. These mobile apps can be used on the spot of a possible injury as part
of a concussion management program.
"We continue to create tools for the evaluation of brain function that are easy to use and
interpret,"
said chairman of ImPACT, Dr. Mark Lovell.
"Our latest apps extend the science behind ImPACT directly to the playing field to help
measure cognitive data as part of an overall concussion management protocol."
Post-concussion symptom inventory
Made by experts who founded ImPACT and has been adopted around the world to
measure symptoms commonly reported by athletes suspected of a concussion.
Sideline ImPACT
A cognitive screening test made to help identify signs and symptoms of a concussion. The
total process of this test requires less than 5 minutes of time.
Mobile ImPACT customer center
This app lets current ImPACT customers to make sideline reports, access data, and much
more from their phone that is usually completed from their desktop. This allows them to
be on the sideline and perform on-the-spot if needed.
All mobile apps are available now in the Apple App Store for $9.99 each.

For more information about the ImPACT moble apps visit their website.

Rubric 1-5 scale

1. Press release contains all required features
2. Press release is well written (grammar, spelling, format)
3. Press release is interesting and engaging to the reader
4. Press release is appropriate and newsworthy

1-5
1-5
1-5
1-5

3. Target Audience Considerations- Describe special considerations of your target audience based
on the Audience Insights for using electronic media and other health education resources. Use the
website: http://www.cdc.gov/healthcommunication/Audience/index.html to describe the best health
communication strategies for your target audience based on their habits/preferences, top health
concerns and media habits. 10 points
Social media is growing like wild fire, especially with the target population of high school students.
They key time for high school students to use social media is during their lunch breaks at school as
well as in the evening when they are done with the school day and their athletic practices/games.
A big health strategy for this audience is to target them in the times that they will be home as well
as to target concepts that they would want to explore when on social media. A big influence of this
is also what their friends are sharing on social media, because once one of them shares a piece of
information it will appear in their feed for other friends to see and take home information from.
A target population for the prevention of concussions is mostly the parents of athletes

Special Considerations

Communication strategies

Parents
Possible language
barriers to receiving
appropriate information
about concussions.
Is that generation
familiar with the use of
that specific electronic
media.
In study looked at in
class most stay at home
moms regularly use the
internet (especially
Pinterest)
Having concussion
information boards
available for parents to
access and gain more
knowledge.
Advertising-Places paid
or public service
messages in the media
or in public spaces to
increase awareness of
and support for a
product, service, or
behavior.
Entertainment
Education- Seeks to
include healthpromoting messages
and storylines in
entertainment and news
programs or to
eliminate messages that
counter health
messages; can also

1.
2.

include seeking
entertainment industry
support for a health
issue.
Media Advocacy- Seeks
to change the social and
political environment in
which decisions on
health and health
resources are made, by
influencing the mass
media's selection of
topics and shaping the
debate on these issues.
Media Literacy- Teaches
intended audiences
(often youth) to analyze
media messages to
identify the sponsor's
motives; also teaches
communicators how to
create messages geared
to the intended
audience's point of view.
Youtube is widely used
by parents so having an
ad prior to their stream
to increase awareness.

Rubric for Question 3 1-5 scale (Total 10 points)

Discuss important target audience considerations using CDC Audience Insights 1-5
Discuss best communication strategies for target based on media habits
1-5

4. Social Media Strategies-use the social media toolkit:

http://www.cdc.gov/socialmedia/Tools/guidelines/pdf/SocialMediaToolkit_BM.pdf . Select two
social/electronic media sources (other than Facebook) to use for your health topic/target audience
(screen shot/provide a link). Provide some background on each electronic media source you
selected and why you think it is a good fit for your target audience. 10 pts
Twitter This allows people to post a short 140-character message about anything over the Internet,
application, or on their phone. Often users will post about what they are doing, interesting
links or pictures they come across, major events, and replies to other users on Twitter.
One battle faced with concussions is getting through to the athletes. Some athletes are in
denial of injury, scared to admit injury to others, or sometimes both. The use of twitter
among famous athletes has reached a record high. One of my tactics was to have former
athletes speak with current athletes to encourage them to practice proper practices of
injuries. If a famous athlete we to tweet about the dangers of concussions this would reach
athletes on a personal level and make them more comfortable with it. Not only could they
tweet about the dangers of concussions, but they can discuss their personal experiences
with them and how athletes should come forth with these injuries to avoid future problems.
Youtube This is a global video sharing website where users can post videos, watch videos, or both.
I think this is a good fit because before most popular videos is a small ad that starts to play.
The video usually plays for about 10 seconds before a viewer has the option to skip over it.
I would like to put an ad about concussions on there, this would ensure that people learn at

least one fact about concussions before skipping over the video. If users are interested in
learning more they can allow the ad to finish before their next video start. I am applying
this to my audience because youtube is used by various audiences that apply to
concussions. Athletes looking up game highlights, coaches searching new plays, or parents
trying to find their childs game they missed last week. Each population can learn
something from concussions and apply it to themselves or someone they know.

Rubric - 1-5 Scale (10 points)

1. Social Media Strategies- 2 project related strategies identified and described
2. Clear explanation of fit between the media strategy, target audience and project goals
3.

1-5
1-5

5. Cultural Competency Discuss the following based on the lecture and reading (10 pts)
a. What is important to consider about a culturally competent system related to your health
topic? Refer to the slides and the concepts of diversity, inclusion, equity and linguistic
competency.
High school sports are so widely held not only around the nation, but the world, and it is important for
people to recognize that different beliefs will be held in various demographic areas. Not only does it
depend just on the region, but the cultural beliefs that certain people adhere to. The biggest difference can
be seen in rehabilitation, and how certain people decided to go about their healing process. There is more
than one way to reach a common destination and being accepting to alternative forms of medicine is very
important for health care providers.
b. Refer to the individual cultural competency assessment conducted in class, what areas do
you exhibit high levels of competency and what are are ripe for improvement? Relate this to
your health topic. (Attach to hard copy).
I am very familiar with different cultures and practices. I lived in Europe for a summer so I have first-hand
experience of being put in a complete different structure of living. It was a weird concept for me to adjust
to, but with eagerness to learn it did not take long to adapt at all. After this experience I am much more
open-minded. It helped strengthen my patience for others and I know the struggle they face when being
put into a situation they are unfamiliar with. I feel that being able to show empathy for their struggle is
really important for the athletes and their parents, and knowing that we understand that will only improve
health care situations.

Rubric - 1-5 Scale (10 points)

4. Reflection on a culturally competent system related to health topic
5. Personal reflection on cultural competency

1-5
1-5