Step Two: Identifying Gaps

In this page

  • Finding or Creating the Materials to Reach Your Audience
  • Ordering Existing Materials vs. Developing New Ones
  • Check Available Resources

 

Finding or Creating the Materials to Reach Your Audience

You know the audience you need to reach and the topic you want to address. Now you need to determine if you should order existing materials or create new ones? If the materials you want for a specific population and topic area do not exist, you have just found a gap in the field. Such gaps need to be filled to ensure that all Californians are informed about the negative impacts of tobacco on individuals, families, communities and the environment.

Ordering Existing Materials vs. Developing New Ones

If materials exist:

  • Are they appropriate for your target population?
  • Do they convey the most up-to-date information?
  • Are they in the language(s) you need?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, you might want to consider developing new materials.

In order to create materials that potentially will benefit other projects in California, also consider these questions:

  • Will my material fill a gap and address a statewide need?
  • Will it update and replace a current catalog item?
  • Is it suitable for my intended audience (age appropriate, literacy/reading level appropriate, culturally appropriate, will it be available in different languages)?
  • Can it be adapted for statewide use? This requires strong overall quality, cost-effectiveness for revising/adapting, and ease of storage and shipping.

Check Available Resources

You may want to look at Communities of Excellence assessment results that your Local Lead Agency in your county conducted; this may help guide you on what tobacco education materials might be needed in your local community or for local campaigns. Also, the TEAM Lab Needs Assessment results from Spring 2010 highlight what materials projects’ indicated they needed.

Known Gaps in the Field

A recent survey in 2008 by the Tobacco Education Clearinghouse of California identified the following gaps in thefield.

In general:

  • Materials supporting coalition activities for health professionals.
  • Promotional items that meet state standards for lead.
  • Updated videos, DVDs and items geared toward youth (kids, teens, students).

Populations with the highest need for materials:

  • Low socioeconomic status
  • Hispanics/Latinos/Spanish-speaking
  • American Indians/Alaskan natives
  • Rural communities

Materials needed, by major topic area: