Effective Health Education and Communication

Assess the Health Education Materials- 30 pts Use CDC resources

(HP 2020, HealthFinder.gov and other non-commercial sources provided in class and text).
Include the web-link for each written and audio visual piece.
https://www.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/publications/files/pemat_guide.pdf

Written Health Education Piece

https://www.cdc.gov/features/copingwithstress/index.html
Understandability
The material and purpose of this education piece is completely evident. Coping with stress
is the title of the piece which describes what stress is, symptoms of stress and tips to
manage stress. 1 POINT
There is no provided information that distracts from the proposed topic. 1 POINT
Language used in the material is easy to understand. 1 POINT
The only medical term used is the word stress which is described briefly and efficiently. 1
POINT
No numbers used (N/A)
No calculations are expected to be performed. 1 POINT
The material is broken down into short, bulleted sections 1 POINT
There are three clearly titled sections 1 POINT
Logical sequence 1 POINT
There is no summary presented
Layout and design: bullets, clear topics, pictures, side text boxes) 1 POINT
Easy to read text on screen 1 POINT
No narration (N/A)
No visual aids used to represent written material (N/A)
Pictures have clear captions 1 POINT
No visual aids (N/A)
No tables (N/A)
UNDERSTANDABILITY
92%
The language that this piece is written in is very easy to read. All ages would be able to
comprehend the material. It makes it very easy to understand since there are no numbers
involved and no calculations needed to be performed. A brief summary at the end may be
beneficial but the material is already presented fairly briefly.
Accountability
Many actions that the user can take are clearly presented and understandable 1 POINT
Material addresses user in the first person 1 POINT
Manageable steps 1 POINT
No tangible tool is presented
No calculations (N/A)
No instructions needed to (N/A)
ACTIONABILITY
75%
More manageable steps could make this written material easier to incorporate into our daily
lives of stress management and stress reduction. Tips throughout the day are very helpful
and they provide examples of how to incorporate them into our lives.
Visual Health Education Piece
https://www.acscan.org/sites/default/files/Palliative%20Care%20Brochure
%20Pediatric%202016.pdf
Understandability
The material and purpose of this education piece is completely evident. 1 POINT
There is no provided information that distracts from the proposed topic. 1 POINT
The language in this piece not very easy to understand. It is also very wordy.
Medical terms are not described. The term palliative care is what the entire brochure is
about but it does not define the word palliative until the third page of the brochure.
No numbers used (N/A)
No calculations are expected to be performed. 1 POINT
The material is presented in lengthy paragraphs.
There are three clearly titled, bolded sections 1 POINT
Logical sequence 1 POINT
There is a summary presented at the end of the brochure 1 POINT
There are bulleted lists when needed 1 POINT
Easy to read text on screen 1 POINT
No narration (N/A)
Visual aids are presented to help guide the reading. 1 POINT
Pictures are relevant and provide credibility (American Cancer Society) colored text boxes 1
POINT
No visual aids (N/A)
No tables (N/A)
UNDERSTANDABILITY
77%
The material in this piece is grouped together well but the paragraphs are extremely wordy.
More bulleted lists could provide for an easier read. This brochure is very credible and is
presented clearly to the reader. More statistics or success rates of this program would be
important to add in.
Actionability
Steps to sign up for the program and where to go are easily presented 1 POINT
Material addresses user in the first person 1 POINT
Manageable steps 1 POINT
No tangible tool is presented
No calculations (N/A)
Instructions and websites are provided for sign ups 1 POINT
ACTIONABILITY
80%

What are some of the most important health education concepts you learned completing
these assessments?
Understandability is the most important health education concept for any material
distributed about health promotion. If a user does not understand the health concept, where
to get help or what steps to take, there may be no way they can receive help. Visual aids,
colored text boxes and bold titles help guide the reading as well as break up material so it
does not seem overwhelming.\
Press Release-30 points
Practicing Meditation Leads to an Increased Perception of Individual Quality of
Life

Moscow, ID May 1, 2017- Quality of life is the standard of health, comfort and
happiness experienced by an individual or group. According to HealthyPeople.gov, quality of
life is one of the four fundamental measurements of health. It greatly impacts our mental,
physical, emotional and social functioning which is why it is important to manage. Quality of
life varies immensely depending on geography, socioeconomic factors, age, gender and
other health factors but steps to take to increase quality of life are similar across all
populations. Meditation is a great way of increasing relaxation, self-awareness, happiness
and concentration as well as reducing stress which all correlated to health factors such as
blood pressure, mental health and heart health.

Meditating is deeply focusing on ones mind and thoughts then reflecting on the
relationship they have on ones lifestyle. Regularly practicing meditation leads to an overall
relaxing state. It can also be used in stressful situations to help calm the mind and physically
calm the body by reducing heart rate and blood pressure. Living in a relaxed state can
benefit individual mentality which in turn increases happiness and overall mood.

Practicing meditation has improved not only my mental and spiritual wellbeing but
also benefitting relationships with my friends and family. Ashley Jensen. Ashley meditates
alone in a quiet, comfortable environment 25 minutes a day four days a week. She has
noticed an increase in her personal confidence and she feels as though she lives her life in a
calmer, more meaningful manner. Ashley has two children and is a stay-at-home mother so
her life can get very busy. Meditation helps reduce stress caused by her hectic lifestyle.

Target Audience Considerations- 20 points

My target audience for my health promotion project is college aged students at the
University of Idaho in Moscow, ID. Since my audience is already enrolled in college, it is safe
to assume that the students are generally literate. A problem that some college students
may have could be speaking issues. Our university is very diverse and some of our students
may have a problem understanding accents or communicating with someone who may not
understand their accent. Some students also have a problem speaking English. Luckily, our
campus have translators that can help with most languages. Communication is very
important in meditation practices for the students who are being taught meditation practices
and following guided meditations. Scientific literacy may be a problem for the students who
are trying to understand the benefits of meditation on a physiological level when assessing
health factors. Something important for students to understand would be the benefits in
meditation on reducing risks for chronic diseases. Understanding what chronic diseases are
may be an issue for some students as well as understanding what risk factors mean and
what risk factors are. For example, some students may not understand what hypertension is
and meditation is a way of improving hypertension.

There are many cell phone applications that can be beneficial for college students. The
Pacific College of Oriental Medicine created a list of the top 10 cell phone apps that increase
mindfulness for the college student. The list provides a small summary of each of the apps,
whether the app can be downloaded on Andriod or iOS devices and how much the app costs.
The article also presents a brief summary of what meditation is and how it can benefit
students.
Social Media Strategies- 20 points
Twitter.com is a site that is used by 18-28 year olds significantly more than any other age
group. College aged students fit this age range. Twitter is also offered as a free cell phone
application for Android and iOS devices. Twitter is a way to share thoughts, funny pictures,
articles and more. Twitter also includes an explore feature which links the user to trending
topics and articles based on what other users are talking or tweeting about. Since Twitter
is such a quick and easy way to connect with friends and others based on what profiles you
follow, sharing event information and important articles related to mindfulness, stress
reduction and quality of life could be shared very efficiently. With just one click of a
retweet button, the article or event can be shared with those who follow you in seconds.

Blogs are a great way to voice your opinions with very little to no restrictions. Since college
students seem to favor no restrictions, blogging would be a great way to get out information
about meditation and quality of life in college students. There are many different blog sites
and blogs are used widely by college aged users. Users can search blogs based on topic
which also provides related blogs. If a user views blogs discussing quality of life, they may
also be exposed to related blogs such as meditation, stress reduction, recreational activities,
physical activities, etc.