THURS-085 - Crafting Accurate, Accessible, and Impactful Educational Materials: A Methodical Approach to Material Development
Thursday, April 23, 2026
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM PST
Location: Plaza Foyer, Plaza Level
Area of Responsibility: Area VI: Communication Keywords: Health Communication@@@Health Equity@@@Smoking and Tobacco, Subcompetencies: 6.1.2 Identify the assets, needs, and characteristics of the audience(s) that affect communication and message design (e.g., literacy levels, language, 6.4.5 Pilot test message(s) and communication aids, materials, or tools. Research or Practice: Practice
Project Coordinator II ETR Fontana, California, United States
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this session, participants will be able to:
Share at least three best practices for educational material development, including written copy, use of evidence-based sources, and effective design principles.
Identify the key steps in a methodical workflow for creating accurate, accessible, and impactful educational materials.
Reflect on their approach to developing educational materials in their workplace.
Brief Abstract Summary: Learn how the Tobacco Education Clearinghouse of California (TECC), a project of ETR, develops accurate, accessible, and impactful educational materials to support tobacco prevention and education across the state. This presentation will share best practices in material creation, including copywriting, credible sourcing, and design that enhance clarity and impact of health communications, especially in disadvantaged and minority populations.
Using multiple material examples, presenters will show how to embed cultural relevance, community input, and health equity throughout the material development workflow. Participants will leave with strategies to strengthen their own health communication efforts by improving accessibility, cultural sensitivity, and design for greater public health impact.
Detailed abstract description: The Tobacco Education Clearinghouse of California (TECC), a project of ETR (Education, Training, and Research), is a statewide technical assistance provider that supports the development and distribution of effective educational materials and organic/unpaid social media for projects funded by the California Tobacco Prevention Program (CTPP). In addition to supporting CTPP-funded projects, TECC’s website hosts a variety of resources that are available to all website visitors. These offerings include accurate, culturally relevant tobacco education materials that are intended to support tobacco prevention efforts across the state of California.
As professionals in health education navigate the challenges of mis-, dis-, and malinformation, low health literacy, and inequitable access to resources, the need to create and distribute materials that are accurate, accessible, and impactful has never been more critical. To address these challenges, TECC follows a methodical development process, ensuring that all new and revised materials are evidence-based and resonate with diverse communities, especially disadvantaged and minority populations, in an effort to build trust in public health communication.
This presentation will share TECC’s best practices for educational material creation, including development of written copy, use of evidence-based sources, and principles of health communication design. Additionally, a detailed overview of TECC’s educational material development workflow will be provided, highlighting strategies for incorporating cultural relevance, community input, and health equity into every stage of material development.
This workflow will be demonstrated by sharing the steps taken to develop a few of their recently published materials.
Participants will leave with strategies to strengthen their own health communication efforts, including approaches for ensuring accuracy, accessibility, and cultural sensitivity so that they can create educational materials that advance health equity and broaden public health impact.
