Transforming Scientific Information on the Dangers of Secondhand Smoke Exposure into Visually Appealing Infographics

Background:  The Surgeon General has concluded that there is no risk-free level of secondhand smoke exposure, and that the most effective way to protect nonsmokers is to eliminate smoking in indoor areas, including homes and other private environments, worksites, and public places. Eliminating SHS exposure is a primary goal of CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health, the lead federal agency responsible for comprehensive tobacco control.  Public health professionals can benefit from communication tools, such as infographics to inform the public, policymakers, and stakeholders on this key issue. 

Program background: Communication products like infographics are an effective way to package and disseminate scientific information on secondhand smoke to the public, policymakers, and stakeholders.  CDC’s Office on Smoking and health recently released a series of infographics addressing secondhand smoke exposure in a variety of settings. In this session, we will outline the approach taken to develop and disseminate the “Going Smokefree Matters” infographic series. This series was designed for a broad range of tobacco control stakeholders on the issue of smoke-free environments, including casinos and multiunit housing.  

Evaluation Methods and Results:  At the end of this presentation, attendees will be able to:

1. Explain why public health practitioners and others can benefit from communication tools such as infographics and where they can be used
2. Outline the steps that could be taken in order to develop an impactful infographic
3. List two lessons learned from the development of the “Going Smokefree Matters” infographic series

Conclusions:  Throughout this effort, we learned important lessons in terms of content, process, and design.  For example, using fewer words in plain language format and framing high impact statistics using attractive visuals is key to creating infographics that are accessible and useful.  In this session, we will expound on these lessons and discuss how they can be applied to the development of communication products.

Implications for research and/or practice:  We will share lessons learned to enable participants to maintain scientific integrity while increasing the visual appeal and accessibility of the public health information in the infographics. Attendees to the session will be able to describe, from start to finish, the process we followed in transforming scientific information into visually appealing, impactful, plain language products that are effective in delivering a critical public health message.