Creating project CREATE: Lessons learned and best practices for developing web-based resources for public health practitioners

Background: This paper discusses the Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention’s effort to develop a web-based service called Project CREATE that responds to a need for targeted health promotion materials expressed by directors of HIV/STD prevention services in predominately rural states. Purpose: Project CREATE allows users to select customized photos, taglines and applicable statistics in order todesign targeted prevention posters to reach persons at riskfor HIV/STDs in their areas of rural America. Methods: Project CREATE resulted from a bottom-up development process that involved pilot testing the website prototype with members of the target audience (i.e., rural HIV/AIDS health educators, prevention specialists and program coordinators), a model that could be applied to any health promotion effort. Results and Discussion: The assessment data from the pilot test attests to the need for services like Project CREATE that are developed in close coordination with the practitioners who will ultimately use these resources. Translation toHealth Education Practice: The paper concludes with recommendations for best practices for public health researchers working with software developers to create web-based tools designed to be used by practitioners.