Glossary

A
Action theory		Guides the development of health promotion interventions by spelling out concepts that can be translated into program messages and strategies. Action theory is different from causal theory in that causal theory helps you understand the contributing factors to a health problem, while action theory guides what you do about the problem. Also referred to as change theory or theory of action.
Activities		Methods used within a channel to deliver a message (e.g., the activity of holding training classes to help seniors start their own walking clubs is an example of using a community channel).
Appeal		A message quality that can be tailored to one's target audience(s). This term refers to the motivation within the target audience that a message strives to encourage or ignite (e.g., appeal to love of family, appeal to the desire to be accepted by peer group).
Attitudes		An individual's predisposition toward an object, person, or group, that influence his or her response to be either positive or negative, favorable or unfavorable.
Audience		See primary target audience and secondary target audience.
Audience profile		A formal description of the characteristics of the people who make up a target audience. Some typical characteristics useful in describing segments include media habits (magazines, TV, newspaper, radio, and Internet), family size, residential location, education, income, lifestyle preferences, leisure activities, religious and political beliefs, level of acculturation, ethnicity, ancestral heritage, consumer purchases, psychographics.
Audience segment(s)		A group of people who are enough alike on a set of predictors that one can develop program elements and communication activities that will likely be equally successful with all members of the segment.
B
Barriers		Hindrances to desired change. These may be factors external or internal to audience members themselves (e.g., lack of proper health care facilities, the belief that fate causes illness and one cannot alter fate).
Baseline study		The collection and analysis of data regarding a target audience or situation prior to intervention. Generally, baseline data are collected in order to provide a point of comparison for an evaluation.
Behavioral characteristics/ Health constructs		Activities in which people do (or do not) engage that are relevant to the health problem or to how you might reach and influence them. In CDCynergy, health constructs and behavioral characteristics are discussed together as useful for audience segmentation. The constructs within a theory or causal explanation are its key concepts. For example, "degree of readiness to change" is a construct within the transtheoretical model.
Bounceback cards		A pre-printed, pre-addressed, pre-paid postcard distributed with program materials. Recipients are asked to respond to a few simple questions about the materials and then return the postcard by mail.
C
Causal theory		Helps describe factors influencing behavior or a situation and identify why a problem exists. Causal theory guides the search for modifiable factors like knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, social support, and lack of resources. Causal theory is different from action theory in that action theory guides what you do about a problem, while causal theory helps you understand the causes of a health problem in the first place. Also referred to as problem theory, explanatory theory, or theory of the problem.
Central location intercept interviews		Face-to-face interviews conducted with respondents who are approached and asked to answer questions at a highly trafficked location that is frequented by individuals typical of the desired target audience.
Changeability		The extent to which a contributing factor can be affected through an intervention.
Channel		The route of message delivery (e.g., interpersonal, small group, organizational, community, mass reach media).
Closed-ended questions		Questions worded to provide respondents with a limited number of response choices (e.g., multiple-choice questions, yes/no questions, Likert scale items).
Communication (or creative) concepts		Central theme of a communication effort to which all messages are related. Concepts represent the "hooks" to which an audience can connect or relate.
Communication campaign		Goal-oriented attempts to inform, persuade, or motivate behavior change in a well-defined audience. Campaigns provide non-commercial benefits to the individual and/or society, typically within a given time period, by means of organized communication activities. (Centre for Health Promotion, University of Toronto. (1997). Available on-line at: http://www.utoronto.ca/hcu/rationale-definitions.htm.)
Communication objectives		A quantifiable statement of a desired program achievement necessary to reach a goal.
Community channel		A communication channel in which messages are disseminated at the community level (e.g., library, supermarket, local swimming pool).
Comprehension		A measure to determine whether messages are clearly understood.
Concept testing		The process of learning about the target audience's responses to possible concepts on which you might base your message. This process usually requires qualitative research, such as focus groups.
Contributing factors		Determinants that directly or indirectly cause the problem. A contributing factor can be biological, behavioral, or attitudinal; or an element of the physical or social environment; or the result of policies related to the problem.
Convenience samples		Samples of respondents in research studies who are typical of the target audience and who are easily accessible. No attempt is made to collect a probability sample, and convenience samples are not statistically representative of the entire population being studied. Therefore, findings from studies using convenience samples are not generalizable.
Cost/benefit evaluation		Examines the overall cost of a program compared to the dollar value of the effects that can be attributed to the program. These two values yield a cost-benefit ratio.
Creative Brief		A document that includes information that will be needed by a creative team in order to develop concepts and messages. The brief contains information about your primary target audience as well as settings, channels, and activities for reaching them. Promising message variables and thoughts on what materials will be needed are included. Secondary audiences are also profiled.
Credibility		A quality that contributes to the ability of a message source to influence the target audience. Some components of credibility include whether the message source is trustworthy, believable, reputable, competent, and knowledgeable.
D
Delivery/ implementation evaluation		Studies the functioning of components of program implementation. Includes assessments of whether materials are being distributed to the right people and in the correct quantities, the extent to which program activities are being carried out as planned and modified if needed, and other measures of how and how well the program is working. Sometimes referred to as process evaluation.
Demographics		Data such as gender, age, ethnicity, income, or education that can be collected from a target audience, and can be useful for defining the target audience and understanding how to communicate more effectively with the target audience.
E
Effects evaluation		A measure of the extent to which a program accomplished its stated goals and objectives. Also called impact, outcome, or summative evaluation.
Engineering strategy		Causing a change in structuring, systems of care, or types of services to improve delivery of public health services (e.g., installing air filters, creating nicotine replacement products, improving mammography equipment).
Environmental factor		A component of the social, biological, or physical environment that can be causally linked to the health problem. (Adapted from Green, L.W., Kreuter, M.W. (1991). Health promotion planning: An educational and environmental approach. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield.)
Evaluation		Assessing a component of an intervention that compares what was expected to what was observed. Types of evaluation discussed in CDCynergy include formative, delivery/implementation, cost/benefit, exposure/reach, effects, and theory-based evaluation.
Evaluation plan		Written plan that documents all tasks related to evaluation (e.g., designing surveys, planning data collection and analysis, reporting on findings).
Executive summary		An overview of a project, evaluation, or research findings generally presented at the beginning of a report that highlights such issues as activities that took place, why a study was conducted, how it was carried out, and results and recommendations.
Expert review		Examination and critique of program plans or materials by selected people who are knowledgeable in a relevant content area.
Exposure/reach evaluation		Measures the extent to which a message was disseminated (e.g., how many members of the target audience encountered the message). However, this type of evaluation does not measure whether audience members paid attention to the message or whether they understood, believed, or were motivated by it. Also referred to as process evaluation.
F
Factor-specific strategy		A strategy (health communication, health policy, engineering, and/or health service intervention) that is designed to cause change in a specific factor that contributes to the health problem.
Fear		A mental state that motivates problem-solving behavior if an action (fight or flight) is immediately available; if not, it motivates other defense mechanisms such as denial or suppression. (Green, L.W., and Kreuter, M.W. (1991). Health promotion planning: An educational and environmental approach. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield, p. 431-432).
Fear appeals		Attempting to elicit a response from the target audience using fear as a motivator (e.g., fear of injury, illness, loss of a loved one).
Fixed costs		Non-variable costs for planning, implementing, and evaluating a health communication effort (e.g., video equipment purchased for training seminars).
Focus group interviews		A type of qualitative research in which an experienced moderator leads about 8-10 respondents through a discussion of a selected topic, allowing them to talk freely and spontaneously.
Formative evaluation		Evaluation conducted during program development. Formative evaluation measures the extent to which concepts, messages, materials, activities, and channels meet researchers' expectations with the target audience.
Fotonovela		A print item (usually a booklet) in which a story unfolds through the use of photos of characters with their thoughts or conversations written alongside.
G
Gatekeeper		Someone with whom you must work before you can reach a target audience (e.g., a schoolteacher) or accomplish a task (e.g., a television public service director).
Generalizable finding		A study finding from which you can make reliable inferences about people, places, or settings similar to those in the study (Adapted from Sarvela, P.D., and McDermott, R.J. (1993). Health education and evaluation measurement: A practitioner's perspective. Dubuque, IA: Brown and Benchmark.).
Geodemographics		Geographic factors and trends in a specific locale (e.g., where people live, population density, healthcare, climate, eating patterns, spending patterns, leisure activities, local industry, and outdoor activities) that can help with locational decisions (e.g., selecting a clinic site) or local contact interventions.
Goal		The overall improvement in the health problem the health communication effort will strive to create.
H
Health behavior		An action performed by an individual that can negatively or positively affect his or her health (e.g., smoking, exercising).
Health communication		The study and use of communication strategies to inform and influence individual and community decisions that enhance health.
Health constructs/ behavioral characteristics		The constructs within a theory or causal explanation are its key concepts. For example, "degree of readiness to change" is a construct within the transtheoretical model. Examples of constructs from other theories and causal explanations include locus of control, self-efficacy, and perceived risk. In CDCynergy, health constructs and behavioral characteristics are discussed together as useful for audience segmentation. Behavioral characteristics are activities in which people do (or do not) engage that are relevant to the health problem or to how you might reach and influence them.
Health indicator		A statistical point of reference for determining the health status of a community in response to a health problem.
Health policy strategy		Using regulatory, legislative, or organizational rulings to support improvements in the public's health.
Health service intervention		Using a medical test or treatment to improve public health (e.g., mass screenings, immunization services).
I
Impact evaluation		See effects evaluation.
Implementation plan		Written plan that documents all tasks related to program implementation from "rollout" forward (e.g., kickoff event, newsletter mailings, conferences). This plan differs from a research or development plan that documents tasks prior to rollout (e.g., researching the target audience, concept testing, getting buy-in from stakeholders).
Incremental costs		Scheduled costs for planning, implementing, and evaluating a health communication effort (e.g., replacement of worn-out equipment).
In-depth personal interviews		A qualitative research method that involves a one-on-one discussion between an interviewer and a respondent about selected topics. The structure and interviewing style are less rigid than in quantitative, interviewer-administered surveys.
Interpersonal channel		A communication channel that involves dissemination of messages through one-on-one communication (e.g., mentor to student, friend to friend, pharmacist to customer).
J
K
Key informants		Persons or organizations whose opinions can be seen as representative of a community or target audience because of their experience or expertise with the target audience.
Kickoff		Start date for the public portion of a health communication effort, after the internal, preparatory work is complete, that often includes an announcement or event such as a news conference, health fair publicity, or program registration drive.
L
M
Mass-reach media channel		A channel in which messages are disseminated to a large number of people simultaneously using various media (e.g., radio, TV, newspapers, billboards).
Materials		Tangible products that contain the message to be delivered to the target audience (e.g., a brochure, a PSA tape, or a script for an oral presentation).
Media advocacy		Using the mass media strategically to advance a social or policy initiative. Initially, the goal of media advocacy must be determined. Then a story needs to be developed based on facts and values and made meaningful to a clearly defined target audience so that it can attract attention and precipitate specific action.
Media kit		A package (usually a folder) that includes items explaining a program or health issue to the media. May include such items as pamphlets, press releases, contact information, and/or camera-ready copies of materials.
Media relations		The management of communication between an organization and its publics primarily through mass media outlets.
Media tracking		The monitoring of radio, television, and print media over a specified period of time for a specific topic or message. Data gathered can be analyzed for content or trends in amount in coverage.
Medium		Any media class used to convey a message to the public (e.g., billboards, neighborhood publications, point-of-purchase displays).
Message		The memorable, explanatory words or images that capture a health communication concept. Messages are the actual words or images that communicate what you want people to know, feel, or do.
Message source		The person or entity to whom a message is attributed.
Message variables		Message qualities (i.e., style, tone, type of appeal, and message source) that can best facilitate change for the target audience in the settings that have been identified.
Moderator's guide		A set of questions, probes, and discussion points used by a focus group moderator to help him/her facilitate the group. A guide can also contain reminders of which questions are most important to the research to help the moderator use discussion time effectively.
Morbidity		Rate of disease, infirmity, or disability.
Mortality		Rate of death.
Motivators		Factors that help prompt or sustain knowledge, attitudes, or behaviors for a target audience.
Multivariate psychographic characteristics		A set of variables that describes an individual in terms of overall approach to life, including personality traits, values, beliefs, preferences, habits, and behaviors. Psychographics are not usually related to health-specific issues, but more commonly to consumer- or purchase-specific behaviors, beliefs, values, etc.
N
Negative appeal		A message that is focused on negative consequences rather than rewards or benefits.
Nonrecurring costs		Costs associated with planning, implementing, and evaluating a health communication effort that are due once (e.g., speaker's fee for a one-time presentation).
O
Observational study		A study where individuals are observed in a natural setting with minimal observer interaction (e.g., observing shoppers in a grocery store to see if they are reading posted nutritional charts)
Op-ed		A letter, statement, or short essay submitted to a newspaper editor by a reader or representative of an organization. These pieces are featured opposite the editorial page, hence the name "op-ed."
Open-ended questions		Questions worded to allow an individual to respond freely in his or her own words.
Organizational channel		A communication channel in which messages are disseminated at the organizational level (e.g., corporate newsletters, cafeteria bulletin boards).
Outcome evaluation		See effects evaluation.
P
Partners		Individuals or organizations/agencies that contribute to the efforts initiated by a leader or head organization/agency. Partners can have a variety of roles (e.g., contribute research data, share evaluation experience, help to spread the health message).
Positive appeal		A message that is focused on benefits or rewards rather than negative consequences.
Pretesting		A type of formative research that involves systematically gathering target audience reactions to messages and materials before they are produced in final form.
Prevalence		A measure of the extent of a disease or health problem in a population based on the number of cases (old and new) existing in the population at a given time.
Primary target audience		The group(s) of individuals that your communication effort seeks to reach influence. This group is a selected portion of a larger population that is directly linked to the problem through the contributing factors.
Process evaluation		See delivery/implementation evaluation and exposure/reach evaluation.
PSA		Acronym for Public Service Announcement. PSAs are typically aired or published without charge by the media. Can be in print, audio, or video form.
Psychographics		See multivariate psychographic characteristics.
Public domain		Materials or text that are not under copyright to any person or entity. These materials and text can be reproduced and used without obtaining permission from the producer or paying fees or royalties. Items produced by the federal government are frequently considered to be in the public domain.
Public relations		The methods and activities employed in persuading the public to understand and regard favorably a person, business, or institution.
Q
Qualitative research		Research that collects data that appear in words rather than numbers. Useful for collecting information about feelings and impressions. Focus groups and in-depth personal interviews are common types of qualitative research.
Quantitative research		Research designed to count and measure knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Yields numerical data that are analyzed statistically. Surveys are a common type of quantitative research.
R
Random sample		A sample of respondents in which every individual in the population has an equal chance of being included in the sample.
Readability testing		Applying a formula to written materials to predict the approximate reading grade level a person must have achieved in order to understand the material.
Recall		The extent to which respondents remember seeing or hearing a message that was shown in a competitive media environment; usually centers on main idea or copy recall.
Recurring costs		Costs for planning, implementing, and evaluating health communication efforts that occur at regular intervals (e.g., salaries, utility bills).
S
Saturation		Achievement of a message gaining wide coverage and high frequency designed to achieve maximum impact.
Screener		An instrument containing short-answer questions used in the recruitment process for research methods such as focus groups and central location intercept interviews. Interviewees' answers to the questions determine who is and who is not eligible to participate in the research.
Secondary audience		A group(s) of individuals that can help reach or influence the intended audience segment and is not considered part of the problem. Secondary audience(s) should be identified through profiles created for the primary audience(s).
Secondary research		Research that involves obtaining, synthesizing, and analyzing existing data about the problem and/or population.
Segmentation		The process of dividing a target population group into homogeneous subsets of audience segments based on some common factors related to the problem, usually behavioral determinants or psychographic factors. Audience segments differ from target population groups in terms of the specific variables used to divide the target population group.
Self-administered questionnaires		Questionnaires that are filled out by respondents. These can be distributed by mail, handed out in person, or programmed into a computer enabling respondents to enter answers electronically.
Setting		A location or environment where the target audience can be reached with a communication effort (e.g., a grocery store is a setting where audience members can be reached with educational pamphlets).
Sigma encoding		A process in which an electronic device is attached to each videotape copy of a public service announcement sent to television stations. When the PSA is aired, a signal is sent to a central location where records are kept on when, where, and how often the PSA appears.
Small group channel		A communication channel in which messages are disseminated at the small-group level (e.g., meetings on health topics, cooking demonstrations).
Social marketing		The application of commercial marketing technologies to the analysis, planning, execution, and evaluation of programs designed to influence the voluntary behavior of target audiences in order to improve their personal welfare and that of their society. Social marketing-driven programs, which incorporate more than messages, include components commonly referred to as the "4 Ps"-product, price, place, and promotion.
Strategy		A general plan of action for affecting a health problem. A strategy may encompass several activities. The four types of strategies discussed in CDCynergy are health communication, health policy, engineering, and health service intervention.
Stratify		To arrange the population at large into population groups that can be targeted for an intervention.
Style		A message quality that can be tailored to one's target audience(s). This is a general term that refers to such issues as presenting cartoon figures vs. detailed graphs, or using flowery, embellished text vs. short or pithy text.
Summative evaluation		See effects evaluation.
Sunk costs		Costs for planning, implementing, and evaluating health communication efforts that have already been expended and cannot be recovered.
T
Talking points		Prepared notes used by a speaker to guide his or her presentation.
Target population		A group of individuals who share one or more characteristics that are directly linked to the problem through the contributing factors.
Theater testing		A research method in which a large group (60-100, sometimes up to 300) is gathered in a theater-style setting to view and respond to audiovisual materials such as commercials or PSAs. Control audiovisual materials are also shown to lend realism and help check how memorable materials being tested are in comparison.
Theory-based evaluation		Evaluation that shows how each specific program activity is linked to a corresponding program effect.
Tone		A message quality that can be tailored to one's target audience(s). This term refers to the manner in which a message is expressed (e.g., a fatherly tone, an alarming tone, a friendly tone).
U
V
Variable		A characteristic of an object of measurement that can take on a range of values. For example, height, test scores, and gender are variables.
Variable costs		Costs for planning, implementing, and evaluating health communication efforts that change with the size of the program (e.g., printing costs vary by the size of the order.).
W
X
Y
Z
		End of Glossary