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Questions about the Toolkit

  • What is the Communication Toolkit?
    The Communication Toolkit is a set of written materials designed to help consumers:
    • Seek and identify good quality health care.
    • Make better health care decisions.
    • Be more informed and involved in their health and health care.

    The Toolkit also includes guidance to help employers, health care purchasers, insurers and health plans, and other organizations use these materials to communicate with their employees or members.

    Review the materials for consumers.

    Review the guidance on how to use these materials.

    This free resource was developed by the American Institutes for Research with funding from the California HealthCare Foundation. The National Business Group on Health hosts and maintains this website. For more information, see: About the Communication Toolkit.

  • What topics are covered by the materials for consumers?
    The consumer materials consist of 16 documents that are grouped into four topic areas:

  • Who can use the Communication Toolkit?
    The Toolkit is available to any organization that is interested in communicating with consumers about health care quality, evidence-based health care, making wise use of health care resources, and the importance of being informed and engaged consumers. Organizations can adapt the materials to suit their needs or use them largely “as is.” The Toolkit has been used successfully by employers, purchasing organizations, insurers, and others. Read more about their experiences in how others have used the materials.
  • How can the Communication Toolkit help me?
    As an employer or purchaser of health care benefits, you are well-positioned to communicate critical information and to articulate specific actions that your employees or members can take to choose good care, manage their lifestyle, and make wise use of health care resources. The Communication Toolkit can help you do this by giving you tested, proven materials along with tips and guidance based on the experiences of other organizations. Benefits to using the Communication Toolkit include:
      • The Toolkit helps you communicate confidently and effectively with your employees or members.

    The materials were developed with input from key stakeholders (employers, unions, purchasers, consumers) and have been tested extensively. Thanks to this testing, the materials can help you avoid pitfalls when communicating about potentially sensitive topics like health care quality, personal responsibility, and the wise use of resources.

      • The Toolkit gives you a head start in communicating.

    There’s no need to develop materials from scratch. The Toolkit also contains real-world guidance and tips based on the experience of other organizations that have used the Toolkit.

      • The Communication Materials are flexible – and easy to adapt and use.

    The materials can be used in many ways to fit your communication goals, employee or member population, and available resources. You can share the materials with your employees or members “as is” or adapt them to fit your organization’s specific needs.

  • Who developed the Communication Toolkit?
    The American Institutes for Research (AIR), a not-for-profit research organization in Washington, DC, developed the Toolkit in collaboration with McGee & Evers Consulting Inc., Vancouver, WA. Funding for the Toolkit came from the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF), an independent philanthropy committed to improving the way health care is delivered and financed in California. The National Business Group on Health hosts and maintains this website.
  • When you say that organizations can “adapt” the materials, what does this mean?
    The Communication Materials are designed so that you can customize them as much or as little as you’d like. If you don’t want to adapt the materials extensively, there are just three things you need to do:
    1. Delete or customize the yellow highlighted sections of the document.
    2. Replace the sample photographs.
    3. Include an acknowledgment of the source of the materials: “These materials were adapted from the Communication Toolkit that was developed by the American Institutes for Research with funding from the California HealthCare Foundation. The National Business Group on Health hosts the Toolkit website.”

    If you want to customize the materials further, review this guidance on how to use the Communication Materials.
    You can also see examples of how other organizations have adapted the materials.

  • Do I have to use all of the Communication Materials?
    You can use as many or as few of the 16 different documents as you would like. Each of the documents has been designed to stand alone, so you can distribute them individually or as a group. If you are going to distribute multiple documents, consider starting with the materials included in Tips for getting good quality care and Finding trustworthy health information on the internet. These materials are the easiest for consumers to understand and use – and they give people help with tasks that are important to them. You can help your audience by starting with these materials before moving on to topics that may be more difficult to understand – such as making wise use of health care resources.
  • Do I have to acknowledge the source on the materials that I adapt from the Toolkit?
    Although you are free to adapt the Communication Materials however you would like, we ask that you acknowledge the source by including the following statement in your materials: “These materials were adapted from the Communication Toolkit that was developed by the American Institutes for Research with funding from the California HealthCare Foundation. The National Business Group on Health hosted the original Toolkit website.”
  • Are there any restrictions about how I use the Communication Materials or where I post them?
    No. You may use and distribute the Communication Materials in the way that best meets the needs of your audience, as long as you appropriately acknowledge the source.