Outreach Language

ATTACHMENT 4: OUTREACH LANGUAGE

NIDCR Temporomandibular Disorders Brochure
Boilerplate Language for Communications
Related to Focus Group Opportunity

For the TMJ Association

The following language will be used to communicate to the President and Co-Founder of the TMJ Association regarding the focus group opportunity. The email (first communication, directly below) encourages the President and Co-Founder to share the focus group opportunity with the organization’s members via its email listserv (second communication) and website (tmj.org; third communication). (Language for the email listserv and website focus group promotional/outreach communications can be found on page 2 of this document.)

Email Language to president/co-founder, tmj association

To: TMJ Association President and Co-Founder

From: Bilingual Public Health Educator, NIDCR Office of Communications and Health Education

Cc: Chief, Health Information and Public Liaison Branch, NIDCR Office of Communications and Health Education

Subject: NIDCR Focus Group Opportunity: Please Share with TMJ Association Members

Dear XXX,

My name is XXX and I am a public health educator in NIDCR’s communications office. I am writing to let you know we are revising our TMJ Disorders publication and to ask your help in recruiting focus group members to test the updated version, via telephone or online.

The main purpose of the update is to highlight ongoing NIDCR research, and as such, the “Research” section of the publication has changed the most. We thought this update provided a good opportunity to reach out to the audience to gauge perceptions of the brochure’s usefulness and relatability.

We are planning to conduct virtual (online and/or by telephone) focus groups to gather reactions to the revised version of the brochure. We are specifically looking for individuals who have been diagnosed with TMJ/TMD – by a healthcare professional -- in the past 5 years. We are hoping to recruit up to 6 participants via the TMJ Association, and plan to conduct the focus groups later this spring.

If this is something you can help with, it would be ideal if you could:

• Share the email below with the Association’s members

• Promote the opportunity to participate in the focus groups by posting the language below on TMJA’s website

I am happy to discuss via phone if that may be helpful; just let me know a good day/time.

XXX

Title and Contact Information

The following boilerplate language will be used by the TMJ Association to communicate with potential participants about the opportunity to take part in a focus group. This messaging will be posted on the TMJ Association’s website (tmj.org) as well as disseminated to its members via email.

Email Language to TMJ Association Members^*

Subject: Seeking Focus Group Participants: Provide Your Feedback on TMD/TMJ Brochure

Dear TMJ Association Members,

The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will conduct virtual (online and/or by telephone) focus groups to get feedback on its TMJ Disorders brochure, which is being updated.

These focus groups will help NIDCR enhance the brochure’s content, messaging, and graphics.

NIDCR is interested in speaking with individuals diagnosed with TMD/TMJ -- by a healthcare professional -- in the last 5 years.

Focus groups will occur Month Day, 2020 through Month Day, 2020. Each discussion will last approximately 60 minutes. All who participate will receive a token of appreciation.

This is an excellent opportunity for you, as someone with TMD/TMJ, to provide your opinions. If you are interested, please contact insert recruitment firm contact name and email by Month Day, 2020. (Note: Not all who express interest will be able to participate as NIDCR is aiming to speak with individuals representing a variety of backgrounds.)

We look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you,

[Insert Name]

Language for TMJ Association Website

Header: Seeking Focus Group Participants: Provide Your Feedback on a TMD/TMJ Brochure

The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is conducting virtual (online and/or by telephone) focus groups to get feedback on its TMJ Disorders brochure, which is being updated. NIDCR wants to speak with individuals diagnosed with TMJ/TMD -- by a healthcare professional—in the last 5 years, and is especially interested in hearing from TMJ Association members.

Focus groups will occur Month Day, 2020 through Month Day, 2020. Each discussion will last approximately 60 minutes. All who participate will receive a token of appreciation.

We want to hear from you! If you are interested, please contact insert recruitment firm contact name and email by Month Day, 2020. (Note: Not all who express interest will be able to participate as NIDCR is aiming to speak with individuals representing a variety of backgrounds.)

*The email will be sent to all the members of the TMJ Association. During the screening process to identify eligibility to participate and assure diversity in the final participant sample, we will give priority to the Association’s newest (most recent) members among those who show interest in participating. This is because the target audience for the brochure are people who have been recently diagnosed with TMD. “New members” are defined as those who have joined the TMJ Association in the last 24 or fewer months. 

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