ABSTRACTS
Volume 4, Number 1
January-March 1999
Vol. 4, Num 1: Contents
| Editorial | Up
Front | Abstracts
The SOL Formulas for Converting
SMOG Readability Scores Between Health Education Materials Written
in Spanish, English, and French
Contreras, A., Garcia-Alonso, R., Echenique,
M., & Daye-Contreras, F.
The SMOG formula is widely used to determine how easy written health
education materials are to read and comprehend. This study was conducted
to assess whether the SMOG formula, originally developed and tested
in English, was also valid for texts written in Spanish and French.
Readability scores from a sample of passages written in Spanish, English
and French were analyzed. Study results showed that the SMOG formula
seemed to be consistent in measuring readability in the three languages.
However, SMOG scores varied from language to language. Two hypotheses
are being laid out to explain these results. First, being that the SMOG
equation is systematically biased for texts in Spanish or French. Secondly,
that English is more readable than French, and French more readable
than Spanish. Under the assumption of a systematic bias in the
SMOG formula, the so-called SOL formulae are presented here to convert
SMOG scores between Spanish, English and French. In addition, a new
scale for grading reading difficulty is proposed based on SMOG scores
obtained from classical literature. This is important to the extent
that it will provide Spanish speaking and French speaking health communicators
with a readability formula for preparing written materials appropriate
to the level of comprehension of specific target audiences.
Advancing the Role of Participatory
Communication in the Diffusion of Cancer Screening Among Hispanics
Ramirez, A.G., Villarreal, R., McAlister, A.,
Gallion, K.J., Suarez, L., and Gomez, P.
Based on previously demonstrated methods, a cancer prevention program
combining media and interpersonal communication was conducted in a Texas
border city (Brownsville) in 1995-1996. To evaluate the program a quasi-experimental
panel design study followed 107 women in program site and 105
women in a comparison site from 1994 to 1996. Women in the program
site reported an increase in levels of Pap screening adherence.
A Five-Stage Model for Sustaining
a Community Campaign
Rudd, R.E., Goldberg, J., and Dietz, W.
The Sisters Together Move More Eat Better pilot communication
program focuses on young Black women in three inner-city communities
to encourage improved nutrition and increased physical activity. The
design for Sisters Together is based on an expansion of a public
health campaign that combines social-marketing with community building
efforts. The pilot program design comprises five phases: design, promotion,
demonstration, transfer, and sustained activity. The proposed 5-Stage
model holds potential for increasing the life span of a campaign and
contributing to community building. Partnerships and coalition development
promise to maintain the campaign beyond the limited budget period. This
descriptive article illustrates the elements of a hybrid model for the
design of a communication program with examples from Sisters Together,
Move More Eat Better, a pilot program currently in the last year
of implementation.
Migrant Farm Workers' Access
to Pesticide Protection and Information: Cultivando Buenos Habitos Campaign
Development
Parrott, R., Wilson, K., Buttram, B., Jones,
K., and Steiner, C.
Formative evaluation of south Georgian migrant farm workers' access
to information and products to promote pesticide protection and understanding
of cancer risk associated with pesticide exposure was conducted using
field observation, in-depth interviews of Georgia's Migrant Health Program's
outreach workers, and structured face-to-face surveys of migrant farm
workers. The data indicated that fewer than one-third of the pesticide
products reviewed contained messages about pesticide use and exposure
risk for humans. Risk information on products appeared in English
only. Few protective devices were available for purchase.
Migrant farm workers were aware in a very general sense of health risks
posed by pesticides, but they were specifically unaware of the reach
of pesticides sprayed, as illustrated buy their field behaviors. Findings
also demonstrated the need to educate outreach workers about migrant
farm workers' cancer risk, so that they may act as migrant farm workers'
health advocates to reduce the adverse effects associated with pesticide
exposure.
FORUM
Unsolicited GP Advice Against Smoking: To Give or Not to Give?
Stephen A. Buetow
This article discusses whether general practitioners (GPs) should give
unsolicited antismoking advice to patients who smoke. Patient
preferences and GP advice-giving are discussed with particular reference
to professional roles. It is suggested that giving unsolicited advice
against smoking at nearly every encounter is a competitive rather than
collaborative behavior. General practitioners should ascertain patients'
readiness for change before offering to help produce individualized
agreements of joint benefit on change. three strategies for negotiation--bridging,
trading, and logrolling--are discussed.
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