Methods to ensure relevance, usefulness and accessibility in developing popular health education materials about women's health

Many important topics in women's health – including sexuality, family planning, unsafe abortion, HIV, and violence against women – can be difficult for health educators to discuss with their community. In response to feedback asking for community organizing support, Hesperian created a new health education and community organizing resource, Action Guide for Women's Health, which has activities and strategies to help health promoters tackle discussions and actions on these difficult topics. This resource was reviewed by professional health care providers and experienced organizers and was field-tested by community-based groups in 23 countries. This participatory method enables the production of relevant material and inclusion of activities that are practical and motivating. Of particular interest was participants' comfort level discussing challenging topics, so a new component to the field-testing process was introduced - a pre- and post-test survey. The short questionnaire was designed by a qualitative researcher and program evaluation specialist, incorporating input from end users, and was distributed to participants before field-testing started and after it was completed. Initial results indicate that field-testers had various levels of experience and comfort addressing the topics covered, and that exposure to the information in the guide gave users more confidence in leading challenging discussions. While the field-testing process is designed to gain feedback from users about materials in the development process, it is important to follow up with users after they have had time to familiarize themselves with and practice the activities and strategies offered in order to fully evaluate the material's efficacy.