RUNNING HEAD: PLAIN LANGUAGE PROJECT 1

Plain Language Project

Prepared for
Dr. Julian Aiken
Professor at Humber College

Prepared by
Tony Manful – N01266849
Bachelor of Health Science Workplace Health and Wellness Students

February 25th, 2021

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Target Audience

The target audience I will be focusing on will be a building cleaning services company. I

chose a cleaning services company as an audience to focus on because the article discusses the

correlation between socio-economic classes and the digital divide in Cardiovascular diseases.

According to CEPR- the center of economic and public research, most cleaning service workers

are foreign, black or Hispanic, over the age of 50, and often have less than high school education

or just a highschool- GED Level (CEPR, 2020). This information will be useful in ensuring such

a company is healthy and well by staying informed.

Article Summary

This reading shows the connection of heart disease between lower-income people of colour

who have access to the computer and the internet. They compared those people to higher-income

white people who have access to the computer and the internet.

This research is important because it was meant to show that especially black and Hispanic people

who are lower-income or foreigners are not able to use the internet for health compared to white

people who are often higher income.

Design of Study

Online health tools are connected with having lower chances of heart disease. But these

tools are used differently by many cultures. They are also used differently if you are of lower-

income; a focus group study was done to find out more about how they affect these different

groups. In many workplaces like yours, there are workplace health programs that help employee

stay healthy. One of these programs is called CareHere. Carehere is a big online tool where you

have to enter the following information:

 Weight.  Sex

 Race  Age
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 Height  Postal code

 Blood Pressure  Sugar Levels

As well as other health-related information such as how often you exercise and what you

eat. When you have entered all of this information, you get results that tell you what health

dangers you are likely to have and how to stop them.

What The Researchers Found

After gathering statistics through public and private surveys, researchers found out that more

white people used the online tool Carehere than black, Hispanic, unknown people. To compare, here

are the numbers; 22,278 people that used the online tool were white, and only 2698 were black. Also,

a connection was made between people who accessed the online tool and their income levels. The

white people who used the online tool lived in places where the average income was up to $171,000 a

year. The black people that used the online tool lived in areas where the average income was $11,021

a year. Lastly, the researchers found the biggest connection was that the black and Hispanic people

had more attributes relating to a higher chance of heart disease than white people.

Implications of Study
The research shows that many low-income black and Hispanic people do not have access to

online tools such as the Carehere program; even if they do have a computer and internet, it is not

often used for online health. Also, our income and culture play a big role, especially in minority

groups that must have a higher risk of heart diseases.

Strengths and Weaknesses

This article's strengths are that it truly shows the difference between race, culture, and

income and connecting that to chances of heart disease. Some other strengths of the research are

that it is focused on the community. The research must truly represent the general population so
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that it can be reliable. This is so that people like you and me can relate to this article and can

see people in our lives, such as family and friends, that can also relate to this article.

Some weaknesses of this article are that it was researched through workplaces and

workplace programs. This means that the research does not include people who do not have jobs or

small business owners, or their own employers. This means that the research is not as accurate as it

could be for the entire population.

Single Most Important Thing

The research shows that there is a digital divide in racial demographics affect many low-

income black and Hispanic. As a result, they do not have access to online tools such as the

Carehere program to measure their health risk properly.

Bottom Line Actionable Message: Importance to Organization

This research is very important to you, and this organization can help bring awareness to

the problem and help make these online tools- applications more useful for minority groups in

the future. When we know the information and which groups are affected we are able to help

create better programs and designs that fit the population in most danger.
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Refrences

Senecal, C., Widmer, R. J., Bailey, K., Lerman, L. O., & Lerman, A. (2018). Usage of a Digital

Health Workplace Intervention Based on Socioeconomic Environment and Race:

Retrospective Secondary Cross-Sectional Study. Journal of medical Internet research,

20(4), e145. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.8819


Word choice
Criteria:
1) Uses familiar, everyday words
2) Uses ‘you’ and other pronouns to speak -“They are also used differently if you are
to the reader
3) Uses active voice
4) Uses base verbs
5) Omits excess words
6) Uses the simplest tense possible –
simple present tense is best
7) Uses ‘must’ to express requirements
8) Places words carefully
RUNNING HEAD: PLAIN LANGUAGE PROJECT
6
Example(s) from report:
 “People, use, online, tool”
“This reading shows the connection of heart
disease between lower-income people of
colour who have access to the computer and
the internet”
of lower-income; a focus group study was
done to find out more about how they affect
these different groups.”
“Online health tools are connected with
having lower chances of heart disease. But
these tools are used differently by many
cultures.”
- “One of these programs is called CareHere.
Carehere is a big online tool where you enter
your weight, sex, race, age, height, postal code
and other health-related information such as
how often you exercise, blood pressure and
what you eat.”
“Online health tools are connected with
having lower chances of heart disease. But
these tools are used differently by many
cultures. - Words that were omitted were:
“cardiovascular disease” and “online digital
health tools”
“When you have entered all of this
information, you get results that tell you what
health dangers you are likely to have and how
to stop them.”
“The research must truly represent the general
population so that it can be reliable. This is so
that people like you and me can relate to this
article and can see people in our lives, such as
family and friends, that can also relate to this
article”
“They compared those people to higher-
income white people who have access to the
computer and the internet.
This research is important because it was
meant to show that especially black and
Hispanic people who are lower-income or
foreigners are not able to use the internet for
health compared to white people who are
often higher income.”

Knowledge Translation Principles
Criteria:
1) Written for the reader
2) Organized to serve the reader's needs
3) Content is accurate and evidence-
based
4) The material is actionable, if
appropriate
RUNNING HEAD: PLAIN LANGUAGE PROJECT
7
Example(s) from report:
 “Once you have entered all of this
information, you get results that tell
you what health dangers you are
likely to have and how to stop them.”
 “But after gathering statistics through
public and private surveys, it turns out
more white people used the online
tool Carehere, compared to black,
Hispanic, foreign people.”
“This means that the research does not include
people who do not have jobs or small business
owners, or their own employers. This means that
the research is not as accurate as it could be for
the
entire population.
 “To compare, here are the numbers;
22,278 people that used the online
tool were white, and only 2698 were
black.”
 “The white people who used the
online tool lived in places where the
average income was up to $171,000 a
year. The black people that used the
online tool
lived in areas where the average
income was $11,021 a year.”
“When we know the information and which
groups are affected we are able to help create
better programs and designs that fit the
population in most danger”