Evaluation of a health newsletter intended for SagePlus participants

Little is known about the effectiveness of the SagePlus newsletter as a motivational tool for influencing behavior change. The purpose of this study was to determine the reading level of the SagePlus newsletter and to evaluate the effectiveness of the Sage Plus newsletter as a communication and motivational tool for Sage Plus participants. A nonexperimental, descriptive correlational design was used in this study. Forty English speaking participants were contacted and agreed to participate in the telephone survey from a potential list of 190 participants. A modified questionnaire containing 20 multiple choice and open-ended questions was used in a telephone survey. Data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Readability Formula, and the Flesch Reading Ease Test. Findings showed that the newsletter is written at a U.S. grade level of 3.5 and has a readability of 79.5. Findings showed that participants read the newsletter and felt that it was written clearly. Participants (87.5%) receiving the newsletter thought the newsletter motivated healthy behavior changes. Intake of fruits and vegetables made the most changes with fruits increasing by 62.5% and vegetables by 56.4%. Close to 70% of the sample surveyed either did not make improvements or actually declined in activity levels. The study supports use of newsletters as an effective educational motivational tool for dietary changes when written clearly and at a reading level the reader can comprehend. Providers can positively promote healthy lifestyle changes by the use of newsletters...