Available Resources
Is funding available for printing?
If your tool produces physical materials, you may need to consider where to draw money in order to print and distribute them. Grants may be available to fund health education materials and fundraising are all options. Otherwise, users of the tool will most likely have to pay for printing out of pocket. Obviously, if funding for printing is provided, the tool will more likely be attractive to more groups.
Is funding available for outreach?
It is possible that only a small subset of your target audience will find your tool on their own meaning that outreach on your part would be ideal. A number of costs can be associated with outreach including cost of print materials, calling costs, postage costs, and time. You may want to investigate the options that you have for funding these aspects in order to maximize the utility of your tool.
Is funding available for evaluation?
In order to determine whether your tool has been an effective resource for its users, you may want to consider conducting an evaluation. This may be done by looking at data, distributing surveys, conducting interviews, and numerous other methods. Consider the cost and benefits of paying for this evaluation and explore available funding options.
Are there trainers and support for people using the guide?
Once you are successful in gaining the attention and interest of your community members, it is important to support them throughout the process so that they will understand and follow through with finding out their family health history. Designating a certain person who understands the process and is available to assist others will be most helpful in ensuring that community members will not abandon the idea. Providing clearly visible contact information for this person and having him or her call community members to ask if they have any questions will help to keep individuals engaged in the process.
Can your organization provide computers and Internet?
It is possible that some of your target audience will not have access to computers or internet. Consider if you would like to provide this resource to people that need it. Another way to provide this service is by communicating with customers via telephone to help them construct tool materials.
Are your computers and Internet the only access points?
If computers and the Internet are the only access points for the tool, consider printing out some copies of the tool so that those who do not have computer or Internet access will still be able to participate. In addition, if you have a way of providing use of computers or the Internet, be sure to advertise this option for those that may be willing to take advantage of this service.
Do you have appropriate dissemination methods in place?
Determining which methods will be the most efficient and cost effective in distributing the materials will help you to decide how to best disseminate them. For example, use volunteers to drop off materials at places such as doctors’ offices, health fairs, grocery stores, banks, and other frequented places or places that are focused on health care. This can help reduce the cost of having to mail materials to different locations.
Individuals will be more inclined to become involved in a family health history initiative if successful stories are available to share with them. This will help them to relate to the situation in some way and will help them to understand the importance of this initiative and realize that they also have a lot to gain from getting involved.
This about what other organizations you are already working with that might be able to help with the family health history project. Organizations and programs do not necessarily have to be related to health to be relevant to family health history. Even think about groups that are peripherally related - a gym where people think about fitness, or a library where people might check out health books, for example. The people and organizations that you interact with daily may be great resources in the development of these tools.
Are photos and graphics available that relate to family health history?
When introducing a new document to someone, they will automatically be drawn to pictures and graphics before reading any text. Having applicable photos and graphics will help to captivate the intended audience and can help to stimulate interest in the material. Intriguing, relevant photos will encourage people to find out more about what they are looking at.
