National Guideline for

HealthEducationResourceDevelopment inNew Zealand

NationalGuideline for

Published in June 2002 by the Ministry of Health,PO Box 5013, Wellington, New Zealand

ISBN: 0–478–27058–5 (Booklet)

ISBN: 0–478–27059–3 (Internet)

HP3518

This document is available on theMinistry of Health’s website:

http://www.moh.govt.nz

IntroductionThis document has been designed to assist public health serviceproviders to develop health education resources for their programmesand services. It sets out the main steps to be taken, which incorporateplanning, financial, cultural and practical issues that need to beconsidered during the development and production of the resource.

The Ministry of Health has a responsibility to ensure that new resourcesit has funded are technically accurate, have been developed in anappropriate way, and support relevant Government health policy. From1 July 2002, providers of public health services funded by the Ministrywill have a section in their contracts, which requires them to followthe procedures set out in these guidelines. This will replace the currentcontract section, which refers providers to Do We Really Need ThisResource? published by the Public Health Commission in 1995.

There are many established public health providers in New Zealandwho already have substantial experience in the development of healtheducation resources and who will already be familiar with the processesoutlined in these guidelines. However there are also those who arenot so experienced, who will need to make sure they understand andcomplete each step.

More detailed information can be found in resources listed in thereference section at the end of this booklet.

If you would like information about what health education resourcesare currently available, you can access the Ministry of Health’s websiteat www.healthed.govt.nz.

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Ensure that there is a clear rationalefor the resource to be developed.Any resource development should beresponsive to an emergent issue orpart of a planned health promotionprogramme and consistent withnational health goals. It may benecessary for a needs assessment tobe conducted, particularly fordeveloping a range of resources or ifthe costs will be substantial.Needs assessments for new nationalresources require consideration ofinternational materials that are ofpotential relevance.

That is, should it be a printedresource, or an electronic one (video,CD-ROM etc). Account will need tobe taken of who will be using theresource and the context of itsintended use. The more costly theresource, the more important thatdevelopment and distribution arecarefully planned.

Identify the audience for theresource and consider the mostappropriate strategies to access thisaudience. Consider any providertraining for use of the resource.Identify any ongoing orconsequential costs.

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Key Steps (Sequential) Details

oneDetermine theneed for ahealth educationresource or rangeof resources.

twoDetermine the typeof resource thatneeds to bedeveloped to meetthe identified needs.

threeDevelop adistribution andmarketing plan.

Check the national catalogue andwww.healthed.govt.nz website (if indoubt, email or telephone theNational Resource Provider*).

Check with other agencies workingin the same area. It may also beappropriate to encourage anotheragency to update/revise their existingresources rather than produce a newone yourself.

Existing New Zealand or overseasresources can sometimes beadapted for new uses with thepermission of the publisher.Also, useful background text forresources can sometimes beobtained from searching the Internet(although care with copyright issuesis required).

Examine relevant publications bythe Ministry of Health and localhealth organisations.

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fourDetermine if asuitable or similarresource alreadyexists.

fiveConsider adaptingan existingresource.

sixCheck consistencyof the draft contentwith existingnational and localpolicies.

*The National Resource Provideris currently Folio Communications Ltd,PO Box 12 102, Thorndon, Wellington.Tel 04 499 7922, Fax 04 499 1277Email [email protected]

Ask one or more experts from thecontent area you are working in toprovide feedback on the technicalaccuracy of the written material. Thismight be for consistency with medicalfacts and the available evidence.Ministry of Health approval oftechnical content also needs to beobtained prior to final publication.

This is to ensure appropriatelanguage levels, imagery andformats are used to suit theaudience. Use a local healtheducation expert or assess this inthe pre-testing phase.

Resources for a specific ethnic groupshould involve advisors from thatgroup in all phases of the project,from planning to evaluating. MaoriLanguage Commission advice isessential for national resources thatcontain te reo Maori.

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sevenGet technicalaccuracy checked.

eightCheck foreducationalappropriateness.

nineCheck for culturalappropriateness(depending onaudience).

The resource should contain no visualpresentation or description ofdangerous or illegal practices orsituations that encourage a disregardfor safety.

Information must be truthful, decent,non-offensive and from an identifiablesource. The information must notpromote fear, violence, denigrationor social unrest.

Where risks or health issues varyby locality, consider regionaladaptations or scope for regionalmodifications (eg, space for localcontact details). Where te reo Maoriis used in local or regional resourcesit is necessary to check the use oflocal dialect.

Concept testing may not benecessary where the resource ispart of a well establishedprogramme. However, this step isgenerally useful for resourcesassociated with new programmesor for resources that are not partof established programmes.

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tenCheck for relevantconsideration of theadvertisingstandards codes.

elevenCheck for regionalappropriateness.

twelveConsider concepttesting the artworkconcepts and themain themes of theresource on a focusgroup composed ofthe priorityaudience.

Use a competent and qualifieddesigner (or a design company) whosework you are familiar with. Designskills are highly specialised, and gooddesign is essential for communicatingany health messages. For low budgetlocal resources where an externaldesigner is not used, the details inthe accompanying checklist may behelpful – though some of these arenot applicable in all situations.

Pre-testing is essential for all newresources and may even be a goodidea for resources that aremodifications of older resources.It is important that the materialsused for pre-testing are as similaras possible to the final product.Conducting multiple focus groupsmay be worthwhile for pre-testingexpensive resources.

The resource code is obtained fromthe National Resource Provider.Where appropriate ISBN numbersshould be sought. These can assistin the future marketing of theresource and improve the orderingof reprints. Any organisational logo,if used, should be discreet.

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thirteenCheck forappropriate contentand designcharacteristics.

fourteenPre-test the draftversion of theresource on focusgroup/s composedof the priorityaudience.

fifteenInclude publicationdetails and theresource code onthe resource, if it isintended to beincluded in thenational cataloguefor distribution.

Include website details, phonenumbers and other details whereimportant linkages with other similarresources occur.

This is an essential step andproduction should not proceedbefore there is signoff by the Ministryof Health. There is a turn-round timeof 10 working days required by theMinistry of Health for approvingresources.

Consider having the designermanage the print production ifpossible. If managing your ownproduction, quotes must be soughtfor the printing, and reasonabletimeframes allowed for this part ofthe process. Trying to speed up theprocess at the printing stage to meetdeadlines can be very costly.

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sixteenInclude linkagedetails with relatedresources.

seventeenSend a pre-production copy ofthe resource to yourcontract manager inthe Ministry ofHealth for approval.

eighteenManageproduction.

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This action is required to help keeptrack of resources relevant to theNew Zealand setting, in order tomaximise their appropriate use andto avoid duplication of effort. If aresource made for use at a regionallevel is appropriate for national use,then the National Resource Providermay enter into negotiation with yourorganisation concerning widerdistribution.

Distribute and market the resource,in accordance with the distributionand marketing plan, to maximise itsuse by the priority audience.

nineteenDeposit threecopies of theresource with theNational ResourceProvider.

twentyDeposit threecopies of theresource with theNational Library.

twenty-oneCommencedistribution andmarketing.

This is necessary to meet therequirements of legal deposit.

Consider evaluating how well theresource has been distributed, itsacceptability to the priority audienceand its role in achieving health-related behaviour change (especiallyif it is part of a larger health promotionprogramme).

Describe all the key aspects,including mistakes made, lessonslearnt and evaluation results. Thissummary could be for internal useand/or included with routine reportsto your funder(s).

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twenty-twoUndertake the levelof evaluationappropriate to theresource.

twenty-threeWrite a report onthe development,production anddistribution of theresource.

National Checklist of

Content and Design Characteristics for

Printed Health Education Resources

This summary checklist is a modified version of that proposed by Paulet al 1997. Note, however, that some of these details are not applicablein all types of printed resources, and that design skills are highlyspecialised and require years of training. However, the list below isuseful for producing such items as posters and fliers to advertise localevents.

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• Use short words and sentences.

• Use the active voice.

• Use concrete, not abstract terms.

• Keep a coherent flow.

• Use familiar words.

• Use an expert, a representative fromthe target group (such as a child), or acelebrity to endorse the message.

• Avoid ambiguity.

• Express quantities in prose: “half” not“49%”.

• Do not use Roman numerals.

Characteristic Key Details to Consider

content:

Syntacticstructure

content:

Semanticstructure

content:

Attributes


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• Consider using direct, strongly wordedmessages, such as “half of all long-term smokers die from diseases causedby smoking”.

• Provide specific, accurate informationabout the health risk (as above).

• Emphasise short-term risks: “chestinfections this winter”.

• Emphasise the positive results ofpreventive behaviour: “smokefreehomes reduce the risk of cot death”.

• Specify desired behaviour clearly, suchas “Ring the quitline 0800…”.

• Use simple, easily readable, plaintypeface (eg, a seraph typeface).

• Avoid blocks of italics and blocks ofuppercase.

• Try to use less than three differenttypefaces.

• Co-ordinate size, line length andleading.

• Consider using margins of blank spacearound text.

• Use high colour contrast (between printand background).

content:

Motivationalstrategies(use the healthbelief model)

design:

Physicalattributes


• Use paragraphs (not all in one block oftext).

• Use one paragraph per topic.

• Use headings (for paragraphs).

• Use lower case text for headline.

• Use visual elements (pictures, graphics).

• Place illustration near relevant text.

• Use bullet points to break up text.

• Put important point first.

• Repeat important points.

• Use number signalling (first, second).

• Use bold and/or italic typeface.

• Consider using colour.

• Consider using relevant and realisticillustrations.

• Consider using colour (not just blackand white).

• Avoid the use of symbols.

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design:Illustration andgraphics

design:Presentationtechniques

design:Cueing(highlightingimportantpoints)

References

ministry of health. 1996. he tatai i teara: guidelines for developing maorihealth education resources.wellington: ministry of health.

paul cl, redman r, ranson-fischer rw.1997. the development of a checklistof content and designcharacteristics for printed healtheducation materials. healthpromotion j aust 7: 153–9.

public health commission. 1995.do we really need this resource?Wellington: Public HealthCommission.

public health commission. 1995.pacific islands health educationguidelines. wellington: Public HealthCommission.

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Documents

National Guideline for