Calling for articles

Details

By Karla Skokan

Call for Articles

eSaludToday.com, is pleased to announce a call for articles for publication in this new online health magazine for Latinos. eSaludToday.com is a bilingual global magazine serving readers from the United States, Latin America and other countries in the world. The mission of eSaludToday.com is to promote healthy communities for Latino young adults and their families by utilizing social media to stimulate interest in and provide access to reliable health information and research. 

eSaludToday.com brings attention to important physical, emotional, social and spiritual aspects of health that affect young Latinos today…presenting them through web-based ezine, video and blog modalities. Riveting articles will delve into topics of health equity, sustainable communities, nutrition, exercise, chronic disease, obesity prevention, child development and other relevant issues. The content authors will be as broadly based as the range of topics—researchers will share latest studies and findings, and health experts will bring pertinent new information.

eSaludToday.comis a program of Familias en Acción a non-profit community organization located in Portland, Oregon.

www.familiasenaccion.org Target Audience: Hispanic families especially young people ages 15 to 39 who are high utilizers of the internet, mobile technology and social media. Global internet followers Format Possibilities: eSaludToday uses different formats in order to reach a variety of followers. Written articles, videos, audio interviews are encouraged. Spanish or both English/Spanish is preferred. Examples of varied formats would be: public service announcements both visual and audio; health demonstrations in Spanish produced through YouTube.

Written Article Guidelines:

-Public health research and evidence based or best practice information

-Written in a manner that is engaging for readers

-May be in Spanish or English

-Maximum 5000 characters (negotiable)

-We reserve the right to edit submissions according to our guidelines. Edited versions will be subject to the author's review before publication to be sure the information remains accurate when writing style has been changed. We also welcome submissions that do not fit the "plain language" guidelines noted below. These will be used as reference and noted as such.

Please submit to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Style suggestions:

The following are tips for the development of articles to engage readers from Communicating with Plain Language by Nicole Donnelly, Penny Lane, Joan Winchester from the MAXIMUS Center for Health Literacy.

1. Know your audience: Plain language must speak directly to the target audience, using words they know and giving them the information they need. You must be prepared to make adjustments in your writing to compensate for readers’ lack of background knowledge.

2. Use a Friendly Tone-Write in a friendly, conversational tone. Ask yourself how your message would sound if you were trying to communicate it to friends or family at home, in your living room. Use “living room language” when you write. How will you know if the tone is right? Reading the materials out loud is a great way to check. It may feel awkward at first, but you can hear in an instant if the tone is conversational or not.

3. Use the Active Voice-Write as if you are speaking directly to the reader. Use pronouns like I, we, and you. Not only is this smoother, friendlier, and less intimidating, but it’s also much easier to read. In the active voice, the subject is doing something. In the passive voice, something is being done to the subject. In the active voice, the noun (the person doing the action) comes first, and the verb (the action) comes second.

4. Use Familiar Vocabulary. Say it in the clearest, simplest way possible using words people know. Replace multi-syllable words with simpler ones. Use the same word consistently to mean the same thing. Pick one and stick with it. Beware of short words with complex or multiple meanings. Short words are not necessarily easy words. When you’re formatting material in print or on the web, break it into manageable chunks and use consistent reading signposts to point the way. Use bold print, sections, headings, checklists, numbers, bullets, and arrows.

5. Highlight What is Important. People who struggle with reading or who are unfamiliar with the content need these signposts to guide them. Signposts also help make the material easy to scan, so readers can find what they need quickly and find it again if they need to without rereading everything.

6. Put Important Messages First. Emphasize the importance of key messages by placing them at the beginning of a document or sentence.

7. Keep it Simple- Keep your writing brief. Take out unnecessary words and phrases to increase clarity and readability. Write simple and straightforward sentences, aiming for 15 words or fewer.
Paragraphs should be brief and cover one topic, including only information the audience needs. Eliminate unnecessary details. Edit ruthlessly

Thank you!