1. April 26, 2013
CORE Group Spring
Meeting 2013
CHW Session
Innovations for
developing low-
literacy materials
to empower
Community
Health Workers

2. Hesperian Health Guides
Hesperian books have been translated into over 80
languages, and are used in 221 countries.
Where There Is No
Doctor, is arguably the
most widely-used
public health manual in
the world… a text that
has meant survival for
thousands in the Third
World since the early
1970s.”
- World Health
Organization

3. 1. Start from people’s own experience
2. Offer practical solutions
3. Find opportunities for compassion and
validation
4. Encourage participation and action in ways
that do not depend on literacy, and that
encourage critical thinking
Empowering community
health materials…

4. Iconic images

5. Use images to convey
content
Images can:
• Make information accessible, represent
complex ideas visually
• Illustrate processes, steps, materials,
positions of the body, etc.
• Draw attention to key information
They also break up the space on the page
and warm up the text

6. Use images to draw
people in
Images can:
• Make it easier for people to relate to the
information, feel that it reflects their own
experiences
• Highlight feelings about a topic, provide
humor where needed
• Enable a different, more personal voice than
the one used in the text
• Create a sense of dialogue with the reader

7. What health problems
may be caused by this
community’s use of
water?
Drawings for discussion

8. Technical Drawings

9. Dialogue drawings encourage
critical thinking

13. Instructions for Group Work
Use the handout for detailed instructions
• Log in using the information on your handout
• Search for an image
• Place the image in your lightbox

14. Other Digital Tools
Trusted Health Information Online
Immediate online access: The HealthWiki provides content in a flexible format — well suited
for low or intermittent networks. Easy online search by topic and across multiple languages.
Download health information: Our books continue to be available for PDF download.
Multilingual Resources
Content in over 30 languages.
For Mobile Phones
Now in English and Spanish! Hesperian’s award-winning Safe Pregnancy and Birth app
presents life-saving information using clear language, step-by step instructions, and
illustrations.
More coming soon…

15. Sarah Shannon
Executive Director
Hesperian Health Guides
1919 Addison Street
Berkeley, CA 94704
www.hesperian.org
(510) 845-1447
sarahs@hesperian.org
Contact Information