2010 Aesculapius Award
for Excellence in Health Communication
World Wide Web Sites & Television and Radio Public Service Announcements
Purpose
The Aesculapius Award, named for the ancient Greek God of healing, recognizes outstanding
organizations that provide health information to the public through the use of World Wide Web
(WWW) site and television or radio public service announcements (PSAs). The Award is intended to encourage excellence in health communication and promotion.
Eligibility
Any WWW site or PSA that promotes public awareness, understanding, or involvement in health,
health care, or health policy is eligible. For example, an eligible entry can include information about healthy lifestyles, illness and injury prevention, medical care/research, or family and social concerns relating to health. Website entries must serve a public or consumer health education or communication purpose. Websites with the primary purpose of bill boarding or promoting the entrant’s organization will not be considered for an award.
Active WWW sites and PSAs that first aired during the 2009 or 2010 calendar years are eligible.
PSAs must have been produced for public service, not commercial use. They must have aired at least
five times. PSAs may be of any acceptable broadcast length up to one-minute (i.e., 10, 20, 30 or 60
seconds).
Technical Requirements
- All entries must be accompanied by the entry application, a one-page summary of the WWW
site’s or PSA’s objectives and production (including information on the use of outside
professionals and the amount of broadcast use); see application form for a list of contents
- Each WWW site entry must provide the complete website address on the entry form
- Label PSA cassettes or discs with organization name, title of PSA, and its length
- Each television entry must be submitted on a separate VHS tape in North American NTSC standard (with ten seconds lead tape or tone-and-bars) or DVD
- Each radio entry must be submitted on a separate standard audio cassette (with ten seconds lead tape) or CD.
Non-English Entries
If the WWW site or PSA is not in English, entrants must provide the following in English:
WWW Site and PSA Categories
Entries must be categorized as one of the following:
- Community Group (non-profit)
- Corporation (commercial company)
- Educational Institution
- Educational Organization or Foundation (non-profit)
- Government Agency
- Hospital and Medical Institution
- Media (Agency, PR firm, etc.)
- Production Company
- Trade or Professional Association.
Awards
Winners of the Aesculapius Award of Excellence are listed as awardees and are entitled to display the
award logo on their website, in publications, etc. The best WWW site and television and radio PSA
receive the Aesculapius Award – including an elegant, engraved brass commemorative plaque and a
special winner’s logo. Other entrants receive a certificate of merit or certificate of appreciation.
Entry Fee
An entry fee of $100.00, in U.S. currency, is required for each entry submitted. Entry fees are used to
help offset administrative expenses for the Aesculapius Award program. Please make checks payable
to the “Health Improvement Institute,” a non-profit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization dedicated to
improving the quality and productivity of America’s health care.
Entry Date
Key points in the annual award cycle include:
- Entry deadline – September 10, 2010
- Judging – September / October 2010
- Winners notified – November 2010
- Winners announced and certificates/plaques sent – December 2010.
JUDGING CRITERIA FOR WWW SITES
WWW sites are judged on the following criteria (based on entry materials and website contents):
Objectives & Planning
- Does the website have a clear purpose? Specific and measurable educational objective(s)?
- Is the audience well defined?
Content & Credibility
- How accurate and useful are website contents?
- How comprehensive is the information on website?
- Does the website follow applicable codes or principles (eg, HII/HWR criteria, Consumer Reports
WebWatch guidelines, HON code) that help establish credibility? For example:
- Disclosure of authorship and funding
- Description of website purpose/mission and supporting organization
- Disclaimers regarding the use of information?
- What is the timeliness of the information conveyed on the website? Does it state when the information was last updated?
- Does the website provide adequate and appropriate identification of authors and sources, and links to other related sites or references to other resources?
User-friendliness & Interactivity
- What browsers does the website support?
- How easy is it to navigate through the website? Are contents well organized?
- Does website provide a search engine? If so, is it easy to use? Does it produce relevant results?
- Is there a site map?
- Does it engage web users?
- Does it provide any on-line forums? Forms for feedback, comments, questions, etc?
Visual design & innovation
Creativity:
- How creative is the website in combining visual designs, photos, illustrations, and texts effectively?
- How interesting and engaging is the website?
- How successfully does the website create a strong, unique, and consistent “personality?”
Aesthetics/Readability:
- How well can you read the text? Do background colors, patterns, designs, etc. enhance the text?
- Is the website “clean and clear?” Or is it cluttered? Or are pages too busy?
Evaluation
- How well does the website meet its objectives? Is there a visitor count?
- Is it effective in educating, persuading, or moving the target audience to action?
- How does the website solicit and use feedback?
- What other evaluation criteria are used?
JUDGING CRITERIA FOR PSAs
PSAs are judged on the following criteria (based on entry materials and PSA contents):
Objectives & Planning
- Did PSA have a clear, realistic, specific, and measurable objective(s)?
- Was the target audience well defined?
Message Design
- How clear and understandable is the message?
- How creative and appealing is the PSA?
- How appropriate is the message for the target audience?
Production
- How well-produced was the PSA?
- Did it meet broadcast requirements and professional standards?
Distribution & Reach
- How well was the PSA promoted?
- How often was the PSA aired?
- Did the intended audience see or hear the PSA?
Evaluation
- How well did the PSA accomplish its objective?
- Was the PSA effective in educating, persuading or moving the target audience to action?
- What other evaluation criteria were used?
Entry Form
About HII
To provide feedback
