Reviewed Education Materials

Reviewed Education Materials

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About Reviewed Education Materials

Reviewed Education Materials is the product of Public Health – Seattle and King County (PHSKC). Our Review Committee includes health professionals from within PHSKC and from other community agencies, representing nursing, social work, nutrition, health education and library science. There are about 20 health professionals on the committee and meetings average about 12-14 members. We meet at least eight times a year. At each two-hour session we review about 20-24 brochures, booklets, or handouts intended for consumers. We don’t review other types of media, such as videos or posters, nor do we review materials written for health professionals.

The Review Committee has been meeting since 1986, publishing a catalog of approved titles for use by PHSKC programs and the local community. Our experience shows this service is popular with health educators and other program professionals. It gives them confidence that the materials they need for their clients are accurate and highly readable.

In 2002, PHSKC partnered with Washington State Department of Health, Office of Health Promotion, to develop a web version of the database, partially funded by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine. We hope you will find the reviews helpful and easy to use.

We are eager to learn about and review additional materials. And we encourage public health professionals in Washington state to join the Review Committee. Please email Elizabeth Comstock, Reviewed Education Materials program manager, with ideas and comments: Ann Madhavan, Public Health Librarian.

Our Review Process

Before each meeting, members of the Review Committee receive packets of the materials, along with a review sheet that contains pertinent information about each item. Review sheets contain our review criteria and space for notes and comments. Reviewers read all the materials before the meeting, make notes, then meet to discuss them thoroughly and decide whether to approve them. Comments are quoted and summarized in the database. Only approved materials are posted on the web site.

Our Review Criteria

Purpose and intended audience are clear.
Information is well organized, understandable, accurate, and adequate. Excessive or unnecessary information is avoided.
Print can be easily read, layout uses plenty of white space.
Illustrations are positive, realistic, and clarify or draw attention to the text.
The material is ideally available in other languages and translations have been reviewed, back-translated, and meet review criteria.
Vocabulary is familiar and common, technical terms explained, paragraphs short, sentences brief. Tone is positive and personal. Uses active voice and active verbs.
Reading level is appropriate to audience.
Ideas and language are non-biased and non-sexist. (Various ethnic, racial, socioeconomic and age groups and both genders are included where appropriate and depicted in a positive and realistic manner. Pronouns are both male/female, plural, or readers addressed directly. No particular group is singled out to represent either positive or negative information.)

For more information about Developing and Evaluating Health Education Materials:

National Cancer Institute, Clear & Simple: Developing Effective Print Materials for Low-Literate Readers, http://cancer.gov/cancerinformation/clearandsimple
Doak, C. C., Doak, L.G. and Root, J.H. Teaching Patients with Low Literacy Skills, Lippincott, 1996
Food Stamp Nutrition Connection, Resource Library Review Criteria, http://www.nal.usda.gov/foodstamp/Library/review_criteria.html
Patient and Family Education Materials Development Kit, Children’s Hospital & Regional Medical Center, http://www.cshcn.org/docs/MatDevKit03.doc
Center for Disease Control, Simply Put http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/simpput.pdf

For more information about health literacy and health education:

Harvard School of Public Health http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/healthliteracy/
Partnership for Clear Health Information, http://www.askme3.org/
National Academy of Sciences http://www.iom.edu/project.asp?id=3827
Institute for Healthcare Advancement, http://www.iha4health.org/
Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services http://www.hrsa.gov/quality/healthlit.htm
Health Literacy Consulting http://www.healthliteracymonth.org/
Clear Health Communication Initiative, Pfizer, Inc., http://www.pfizerhealthliteracy.com

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Send materials for review, or comments and questions about Reviewed Education Materials to Ann Madhavan, Public Health Librarian.

The Reviewed Education Materials web page is a product of:
Public Health - Seattle and King County
Reviewed Education Materials
999 3rd Ave., Suite 1200
Seattle, WA 98104

This web page is hosted by:
Health Education Resource Exchange (H.E.R.E.)
Washington State Department of Health
Office of Health Promotion
P.O. Box 47833
Olympia, WA 98504-7833