pink-book

Why Should You Use This Book
The planning steps in this book can help make any
communication program work, regardless of size, topic,
geographic span, intended audience, or budget. (intended
audience is the term this book uses to convey what other
publications may refer to as a target audience.) The key is reading all
the steps and adapting those relevant to your program at a level of
effort appropriate to the program’s scope. The tips and sidebars
throughout the book suggest ways to tailor the process to your
various communication needs.
If you have limited funding, you might
• Work with partners who can add their resources to your own
• Conduct activities on a smaller scale
• Use volunteer assistance
• Seek out existing information and approaches developed by
programs that have addressed similar issues to reduce
developmental costs
Don’t let budget constraints keep you from setting objectives, learning
about your intended audience, or pretesting. Neglecting any of these
steps could limit your program’s effectiveness before it starts.
This book describes a practical approach for planning and
implementing health communication efforts; it offers guidelines, not
hard and fast rules. Your situation may not permit or require each step
outlined in the following chapters, but we hope you will consider each
guideline and decide carefully whether it applies to your situation.
To request additional copies of this book, please visit NCI’s Web site
at www.cancer.gov or call NCI’s Cancer Information Service at
1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).