Appendix A:

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Information Sources

National Sources

The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)
U.S. Public Health Service, NCHS
3700 East-West Highway
Hyattsville, MD 20782

NCHS tracks and analyzes changes in health status in the United States. A summary of status and trends is published each year, entitled Health/United States.






Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
Centers for Disease Control
Atlanta, GA 30333

The MMWR provides immediate alerts regarding disease incidence, morbidity and mortality as reported to CDC by health departments nationwide.






The Roper Center
P. O. Box 440
Storrs, CT 06268


The Roper Center collects and stores public opinion data collected by survey organizations including NORC, Gallup, Roper, Harris, Opinion Research Corporation, Yankelovich, Gordon Black Company, various news polls, and special studies.






The ODPHP National Health Information Center
P.O. Box 1133
Washington, DC 20013-1133
(800) 336-4797 (from outside of the Washington Metropolitan area)

The center helps the public locate health information through the identification of health information resources and a referral service.

Journals

The journals listed below cover health communications program development and related topics discussed.


Alcohol Health and Research World, a quarterly publication of the (DHHS) National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (ADAMHA) 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857.


American Demographics, Box 68,127 West State St., Ithaca, NY 14851.


American Journal of Health Promotion, a quarterly publication, Box 1287, Royal Oak, Ml 48068.


American Journal of Public Health, a monthly publication of the American Public Health Association, 1015 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20005.


Evaluation and the Health Professions, quarterly, Sage Publications, Inc., 2111 W. Hillcrest Dr., Newbury Park, CA 91320.


Health Education, bimonthly, a publication of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, 1900 Association Drive, Reston, VA 22091.


Health Education Quarterly, a publication of the Society for Public Health Education, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Periodicals Division, 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158.


Health Education Research, quarterly, IRL Press, Inc., P.O. Box Q, McLean, VA 22101-0850.


HealthLink, a quarterly publication of the National Center for Health Education, 30 East 29th St., New York, NY 10016.


Journal of Communication, quarterly publication by Oxford University Press, University of Pennsylvania, 3620 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19104-3858.


Public Health Reports, a bimonthly publication of the U.S. Public Health Service, Dept. of Health and Human Services, Hubert Humphrey Bldg., Rm. 721-H, 200 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20201.


Public Opinion Quarterly, a quarterly publication of the American Association for Public Opinion Research, University of Chicago Press, 5801 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, IL 60637.

Appendix B
How to Test for Readability

The SMOG Readability Formula

To calculate the SMOG reading grade level, begin with the entire written work that is being assessed, and follow these four steps:

1. Pick 30 sentences, 10 each from near the beginning, in the middle, and near the end of the text.


2. From this sample of 30 sentences, circle all of the words containing three or more syllables (polysyllabic), including repetitions of the same word, and total the number of words circled.


3. Estimate the square root of the total number of polysyllabic words counted. This is done by finding the nearest perfect square, and taking its square root.


4. Finally, add a constant of three to the square root. This number gives the SMOG grade, or the reading grade level that a person must have reached if he or she is to fully understand the text being assessed.

A few additional guidelines will help to clarify these directions:

• For purposes of SMOG, sentence is defined as a string of words punctuated with a period (.), an exclamation point (!) or a question mark (?).
  
  
• Hyphenated words are considered one word.
  
  
• Numbers that are written out should also be considered, and if in numeric form in the text, they should be pronounced to determine if they are polysyllabic.
  
  
• Proper nouns, if polysyllabic, should be counted, too.
  
  
• Abbreviations should be read as unabbreviated to determine if they are polysyllabic.

Not all pamphlets, fact sheets, or other printed materials contain 30 sentences. To test a text that has fewer than 30 sentences:

1. Count all of the polysyllabic words in the text.

2. Count the number of sentences.


3. Find the average number of polysyllabic words per sentence as follows: Average = total number of polysyllabic words divided by total number of sentences


4. Multiply that average by the number of sentences short of 30.


5. Add that figure on to the total number of polysyllabic words.


6. Find the square root and add the constant of 3.

Perhaps the quickest way to administer the SMOG grading test is by using the SMOG conversion table. Simply count the number of polysyllabic words in your chain of 30 sentences and look up the approximate grade level on the chart.

An example of how to use the SMOG Readability Formula and the SMOG Conversion Table is provided below.

Example Using the SMOG Readability Formula:

We have calculated the reading grade level for this example. Compare your results to ours, then check both against the SMOG conversion table.

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