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Student Poster Display
Medical, Urban, and Veterinary Entomology
Student
Jordan Robinson
Masters Student
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Alexandria Renault
Student Researcher
University of Arizona
Bend, Oregon
Kacey Ernst
Faculty
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Mary Hayden
University of Mississippi
Boulder, Colorado
Sarah Yeo
University of Arizona
Tuscon, Arizona
Joshua Arnbrister (he/him/his)
Student
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Davida Adofoli
University of Arizona
Tuscon, Arizona
Skyler Eve Finucane (she/her/hers)
Graduate Student
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Vector-borne disease is becoming an increasing problem, so it is integral that health information is being disseminated to the public to help mitigate the risk and reduce disease burden. One limitation in prior research is that educational materials for vector-borne disease have not been assessed robustly. The Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAM) tool was selected to help systematically determine if health educational materials are superior, adequate, or not suitable overall by scoring the materials in various categories including content, literacy demand, graphics, layout, learning stimulation and motivation, and cultural appropriateness. For assessing vector educational content throughout the state of Arizona, several modifications to the tool have been made to more adequately score the educational content available to match both the population and the one-paged nature of the materials. In addition, content themes were tracked during assessment. Of the 71 materials assessed, 69% were rated as superior, 31% were adequate, and no materials were found to be unsuitable. Arizona vector education materials scored high on making the purpose evident, ensuring context is given first, using subtitles and captions, as well as using subheadings. Interaction, language accessibility, and reading grade level were all frequently missing. A total of 85.9% of the materials address mosquito concerns whereas 17.4% addressed tick items. The majority of mosquito materials focused on personal protection followed by West Nile virus while the majority of tick materials had a focus on Rocky Mountain spotted fever. This research illuminates possible gaps in community knowledge that could serve to reduce risk.