Developing effective sexual violence referral information for youth: The P-process in action

The New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault (the Alliance) utilized the P-Process, a framework for guiding the design and execution of effective health communication, to provide NYC youth with service information for sexual violence. The P-Process included five steps: 1) analysis, 2) strategic design, 3) development and testing, 4) implementation and monitoring, and 5) evaluation and replanning.

In February 2006 the Alliance held focus groups with local teens to determine an effective means for developing and distributing resource information about sexual violence to youth. Focus group participants suggested a range of formats for developing youth-specific resources. Youth emphasized that the more functional and practical the product, the more likely they would keep it and use it in the future.

The design team at the Alliance used this information to develop a Z-CARD® referral tool. The Z-card we designed is a foldable pocket subway map on one side and comprehensive adolescent-friendly services resource guide on the back. This pilot Z-card called the NYC Teen Health Map was distributed to four high schools and several youth-serving organizations in NYC in the Spring of 2007.

The initial implementation and monitoring was subsequently followed by both a quantitative and qualitative evaluation focusing on utility and appeal by students among those who received these maps.

Based on findings from these evaluations, the NYC Teen Health Map was revised, reprinted and distributed citywide. This poster will detail the P-Process framework and provide an application of this framework to other health communication issues affecting youth.