Macro recently completed an analysis of the effectiveness of Faith-Based Community Organizations (FBCOs) in working with Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) based on Department of Labor demonstration projects.

The Touching Lives and Communities report presents results, insights, and information from 22 demonstration projects as reported directly by the WIB grantees. The dimensions of Outreach/Working with FBCOs, Data Outcomes/Reporting, and Capacity-Building/Sustainability were evaluated and the question of whether and how these WIB/FBCO partnerships will sustain themselves beyond the end of the grant funding was examined.

The report includes case studies of promising practices from WIB grantees. These case studies chronicle particular projects in total, to provide a more thorough, contextualized “story” of how these particular grantees made this challenging project into a success in their particular community.

Click here for links to the Touching Lives and Communities report and case studies.

Macro is pleased to announce the second running of MacroPoll Wireless, the first-ever cell-phone omnibus survey.

As more people switch from landlines to cell phones, researchers are seeing the effects of missing “cord-cutters” in their samples. Estimates indicate cord-cutters (the cell-only population) make up 13 percent, and are projected to rise to 25 percent this year.

In October, Macro completed the first MacroPoll Wireless, a national omnibus survey conducted with cell phone users. Two-hundred and fifty respondents answered the survey, with over 100 reporting that they don’t have a landline.

Eight cell-survey pioneers placed an eclectic set of questions on the survey with topics including political preferences, awareness and perceptions of current events, consumer expenditures, health and healthcare, and mobile phone and Internet usage.

MacroPoll Wireless will run again in February 2008. Please contact Randy ZuWallack at randal.zuwallack@macrointernational.com or at 802-863-9600 for information about purchasing questions or about the survey itself.

Click here for more information on MacroPoll Wireless

Click here to view the MacroPoll Wireless press release

Macro is participating in the American Evaluation Association’s (AEA’s) annual conference on November 7–9 in Baltimore, MD, and is co-sponsoring the AEA International Reception. Macro provides a wide range of evaluation services, including program evaluation, performance management, evaluation design, outcome/impact evaluation, data analysis, and formative evaluation.

Macro staff members are chairing 8 sessions and providing 17 presentations, including:

• Reading First Program: Successes and Challenges
• Tools for a Successful Randomized Control Trial in an International Arena
• The Impact of a Smoking Cessation Media Campaign in the Military
• Implementation of Evidence-based Interventions in Community Mental Health Settings
• Challenges and Good Practices in Evaluating Anti-child Labor and Basic Education Programs Worldwide.

See a detailed list of presentations authored or co-authored by Macro professionals.

Stop by our booth in the lobby of the Sheraton Baltimore City Center Hotel to learn about some of Macro’s work, including rapid evaluation of a school-based asthma program, policy and management guidance on veterans benefits, implementation analysis of a nutritious eating program to a health care cost containment survey, access to children’s mental health services within communities, and analysis of child labor practices in nearly every country and territory in the world.

View Macro’s AEA case history brochure.

Join Macro International at APHA in Washington, DC, on November 3–7. Check out Macro staff members’ papers and presentations and learn more about our work at booths 729 and 1047.

For instance, Macro has been helping the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) better understand the nature of child and forced labor around the world and the effectiveness of programs to combat it in its worst forms. We use innovative sampling and methodologies to measure incidence and prevalence in places and industries in which there is little or no scientific data. We are assisting USDOL in tracking the incidence of child and forced labor and human trafficking in relation to production of goods in nearly every country and territory in the world.

Macro also collects data on foreign governments’ efforts to combat child labor, contributing to the development of the crucial Trade & Development Act (TDA) annual reports. This data goes out to policymakers all over the world, supporting them in developing programs to help such children as carpet weavers in Nepal, child fishermen in Nigeria, young market vendors and porters in Peru, and child agricultural workers in Haiti.

At APHA, Macro will showcase our work in:

Global Health Child Labor Tobacco Cessation Youth Fitness Victim’s Rights Human Trafficking

Disease Risk Mental Health HIV/AIDS Cancer Surveillance Underage Drinking Morale and Welfare

See a list of Macro staff presentations at APHA.

View the Macro case history brochure.

A recent Macro analysis on HIV infections within married couples in Africa has challenged AIDS prevention practitioners and policymakers to look at significant new sources of infection. Surprisingly, the study found when only one partner in a marriage has HIV (HIV discordant couple), women were the infected partner in a majority of cases in 4 of the 11 countries studied. Even in the other seven countries, more than one-third of discordant couples had wives infected, not their husbands.

Because husbands were traditionally thought to be the cause of wives’ infections, most prevention efforts have been aimed at men. Macro’s findings point out the importance of redirecting prevention efforts to include married women.

Macro’s Vinod Mishra, the lead author of the study, pointed out, “This is not about laying blame; it’s about saving lives by preventing future infections.”

Macro’s analysis was presented at the HIV/AIDS Implementers’ Meeting held June 16–19 in Kigali, Rwanda. The meeting, sponsored by PEPFAR, the Global Fund, UNAIDS, UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank, was attended by more than 1,500 HIV/AIDS program planners and implementers from around the world.

Click here for the IRIN PlusNews article. To view the related article in The Economist, click here.

Following recent wins in the Aurora and Telly awards competitions, Macro has won several more awards for video productions. These videos help our clients showcase human rights, educate the public, support communities, and improve lives.

Macro won two top awards and three second-place awards from The Pegasus Awards, which recognize work produced by nonbroadcast video professionals throughout the United States in educational, medical, and government-related content areas. Macro won awards for the following video programs.

Award of Excellence

Kevin Hines TV Public Service Announcement—Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

How To Organize a Reach Out Now Teach-In for Your Community—SAMHSA/Center for Substance Abuse Prevention Underage Drinking Prevention

Award of Honor

Addiction Treatment Workforce: Where We Are, Why We’re Here, and Where We Need To Be—SAMHSA/Center for Substance Abuse Treatment Recovery Month

Profiles in Public Health: LCDR Thomas Pryor—U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps

Douye (Our Cause)—Human Rights Action Center

Macro also won a third-place certificate for creative excellence for “Vida en la Communidad Para Todos” (the bilingual Hispanic/Latino Initiative 2-DVD set is available at http://hablemos.samhsa.gov/paratodos/onlines.aspx) in the U.S. International Film and Video Festival, Community Development category. This competition is devoted exclusively to recognition of outstanding business, television, documentary, educational, entertainment, industrial, and informational productions.

Macro was a Gold sponsor and presented and exhibited at the 62nd annual American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) conference in Anaheim, CA, on May 17–21.

At AAPOR, Macro staff members highlighted work in areas including global health, education, homeland security, substance abuse, community development, and more, including projects involving:

• Large-scale data collection via the Web, CATI, CAPI, and PDA
• Research and analytic systems integration via the Web
• Program and policy evaluation
• Mobile data collection and GIS mapping

Presentations given by Macro during the AAPOR conference included:

• Cell Phone and Landline Samples: Dual Frame Approach
• Phones and Public-Sector Survey Research: Are Incentive and/or Compensation Offers Really Needed?
• Variables Affecting Consent and Response Rates for an Asthma Follow-Up Survey
• The Impacts of Caller ID on Response and Refusal Rates for the BRFSS
• Final Paper: The Impacts of Caller ID on Response and Refusal Rates for the BRFSS

See a list of Macro’s activities at AAPOR.

So far in 2007, Macro has won eight video awards in categories spanning social issues, public service, and health and wellness.

In the Telly Awards competition, Macro won three “Silver Telly” awards, the highest achievement. Our video team also won two “Platinum Best of Show” awards and three first place “Gold Awards” in the Aurora Awards.

“We’ve won numerous awards in the past,” said Dick Phillips, head of the video production group in Rockville. I think winning these awards for so many diverse programs recognizes the consistent level of excellence that our creative team members bring to every project.”

For instance, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has returned to Macro every year since 2001 for production of its monthly “Road to Recovery” Webcast and television series, which appears online and in more than 15 million homes via cable TV. Producer Doug Cuddihy pioneered the series 6 years ago and has since helped grow its content and creative format.

Producer Angshuman Mojumder created three of the award-winning programs, including videos for the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Office on Smoking and Health (OSH). Former Surgeon General Richard Carmona premiered the OSH video for national press when releasing his report on secondhand smoke exposure last year.

Click here for a full list of the recent video production awards and links to view the award-winning videos.

OnTRAC for OMB Clearances, which helps you manage every aspect of your OMB information collection requests through a Web-based system, is now available through GSA Schedule 70 SIN 132-32. Click here to see our catalog. Refer to page 7 for OnTRAC details. To find out more about OnTRAC for OMB Clearances, visit www.ontrac.net.

Macro International's Denise Johnson spoke at the Fourth International Bird Flu Summit in Washington, DC, on March 15. Ms. Johnson presented information on Macro's work for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) through the MEASURE (Monitoring and Evaluation to Assess and Use Results) Evaluation project.

The purpose of the Bird Flu summit is to prepare the World to fight this potentially infectious disease. Topics addressed include country reports, surveillance and data management, and preparing community strategies.

As part of USAID’s MEASURE framework, MEASURE Evaluation works to improve and institutionalize the collection and use of data for monitoring and evaluation in several key areas—family planning, maternal health, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, nutrition, and infectious disease.

See the MEASURE Evaluation Fact Sheet on Avian Flu. Read more about Macro International’s Avian Influenza capabilities.

Macro International research professionals will present at the 11th annual FedCASIC conference on March 6, 2007. FedCASIC is a series of workshops on computer-assisted survey information collection that is sponsored by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Macro staff members are presenting on the following subjects:

• Recent Innovations—Robert Dana
• StatMapper—Andrew Ingles
• Multimode Surveys: EIA Diesel Survey—Benita O’Colmain
• Establishment Surveys: SHPPS Survey—Ben Harper
• Web Survey Design—Ed DeWolfe

The conference is held at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, next to Union Station in Washington, DC, from March 6–8.

Macro International supports measurement and evaluation projects for programs addressing the issues of child labor and human trafficking around the globe. Sound quantitative research in this area is just beginning, and researchers face many challenges. For instance, few established standards exist in an area where behaviors are hidden and often surrounded by taboo.

Macro International staff members recently conducted a research project on child labor in Cambodia. The team applied a risk factors model as a means for describing the dynamic nature of child labor, something commonly done in health studies but new to this field. The research identified geographic location as the key determinant, rather than commonly assumed variables such as poverty or education.

On a recent trip to Southeast Asia, staff members from Macro International presented the results to experts from the United Nations (UN) and national governmental organizations who worked with anti-trafficking programs. Results supported their experiences during the last decade as they worked to eliminate egregious forms of labor. As they have seen, trafficking is often a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, not necessarily being poor or uneducated. The results also highlighted for them the need to better understand the role of geography, as this would help donor agencies focus program resources.

A summary of the paper is located here. The UN Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Region also has placed the full paper on the Web at the following address: http://www.no-trafficking.org/content/pdf/child%20labor%20research%20paper%20-%20final6.30.06.pdf

The infoUSA acquisition of Opinion Research Corporation was completed on December 4, 2006. An announcement made on December 19, 2006, by infoUSA outlines how our company, going forward doing business as Macro International, Inc., will fit into the larger corporation.

infoUSA was founded in 1972 and is the leading provider of business and consumer databases for sales leads and mailing lists, database marketing services, data processing services, and sales and marketing solutions.

Macro is presenting and exhibiting at APHA’s 134th Annual Meeting in Boston, November 4-8. Staff members will provide papers, presentations and panel participants.

With 40 years’ experience in public health, Macro has extensive experience helping to improve lives around the world through service to the public sector.

Our exhibits at the conference showcase our global health-related services, including major multinational programs and a wide range of research, monitoring and evaluation, capacity building, and information management capabilities.

Visit us at the APHA Expo in booths 419 and 341 to learn about our work in:

See a list of Macro presentations at APHA.

Macro is participating in the American Evaluation Association’s annual conference, October 30 to November 5 in Portland, OR, by exhibiting and offering a number of presentations.

Macro conducts performance and program evaluations for Federal Government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and corporate clients, including the U.S. Department of Education, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Environmental Protection Agency, USAID, the Peace Corp, and the Smithsonian Institute, to name a few.

Presentations cover such topics as local communities’ impact on training and technical assistance on the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and Their Families program, Understanding Cultural Competence Via a Multiple-Stakeholder Perspective, Parent and Youth Leadership in Evaluation, and Building Evaluation Capacity.

See a detailed list of presentations authored or co-authored by Macro professionals.

UA Online will be using Macro’s MacroVOLT system to provide online learning and training in South Africa. Targeted online courses include subjects from many disciplines including organizational development, governmental issues, public health, education, non-governmental organizations, and business development. Courses will be available soon.

The initial offering of courses will be self-paced and self-instructional. Students will register, make payments, study, take quizzes and exams, check their records, submit feedback, print materials they wish to keep, and print certificates of completion at the end of a course—all online.

Courses will be enhanced with graphics and rich multimedia content. Many will offer interaction with content experts through our “Ask-an-Instructor” feature. This feature allows students to pose questions to an expert panel and receive customized answers via e-mail.

Although the development and management of instructional courses is the main goal, courses may also be tailored to support in-person trainings, conferences, and other meetings; deliver Web-based testing courses; develop quick courses from existing materials; develop courses designed for low-speed Internet connections; deliver live Webcasts; and train people in the use of computer-based applications. Find out more about MacroVOLT.

From June 10–16, Macro representatives attended the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR) annual conference in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Attendees included June Bray, Janice Gregoire, Felicia Johnson, Shelley Jordon, Brenda Lange, Lisa Mims, Kathy Tinney, Jewel Woods, Pankaj Kishore, and Kevin Zhang.

Kevin Zhang's article, "Geographic Variation in the Incidence of Colorectal Cancer (CRC) in the United States, 1998–2001," with coauthors from CDC and several State registries, was presented at one of the sessions and will be formally published in the September issue of the journal Cancer. The NAACCR Board acknowledged Kevin for his contributions and participation in the NAACCR’s GIS Committee as well.

Macro manages the Delaware Central Cancer Registry under the supervision of Betsy Cromartie, which received a Gold Standard for the completeness and quality of their data. For the first time, the State of Texas achieved the Gold Standard award.  This was due in part to the success of the case finding project conducted by Macro and managed by Kathy Tinney. Both projects are under the direction of June Bray.

Our Macro booth was also a favorite attraction at the conference exhibit with many attendees drawn in first by the advantageously displayed edible treats.

Vinod Mishra, director of research in Macro’s Demographic and Health Research division, completed a study on HIV as it relates to wealth in eight African countries. His study shows that the wealthiest people in the countries surveyed have higher HIV prevalence rates than the poorest, disputing the commonly held belief that AIDS is a disease driven by poverty.

Mr. Mishra reported on his findings at the third annual U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief meeting in Durban, South Africa. Interest in the results was immediately apparent among officials of leading international health organizations, country mission directors, international donors, and journalists. Mr. Mishra was quoted and his findings were published in the Boston Globe and in more than two dozen print and online media outlets.

The data for this report were collected as part of Macro’s MEASURE DHS project for the United States Agency for International Development. The surveys—the most complete of their kind in Africa—included interviews with between 6,000 and 18,000 people in each country and the collection of blood samples for HIV tests.

As in previous years, Macro played a prominent role at the 2006 American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) conference in Montreal. The conference, held May 18–21, 2006, featured an extensive array of paper sessions, poster sessions, panels, and roundtables on issues related to social, market, and public opinion research. The theme for the 2006 conference was “Confronting Core Values.”

Twenty Macro staff members across several practice areas presented 11 professional papers and posters. Presentations included “Hutus and Tutsi: A Comparison of International Radio Listening Habits and Perceptions of the Outside World,” “Family Values and Conflicting Messages: Abstinence Education in Florida,” and “Improving Response in Spanish-Speaking Households.”

In addition, several Macro staff members served as chairpersons and discussants for panels at the event. Macro also sponsored the Saturday Evening Awards Banquet.

Macro is participating in the 33rd Annual International Conference on Global Health in Washington, DC—attended by 2,000 health delegates from around the world—with papers, posters, and presenters. In addition, exhibits at the conference describe our global health-related services, including major multinational programs and a wide range of research, monitoring and evaluation, capacity building, and information management capabilities.

Macro’s presence at the Global Health Conference includes exhibits describing:

• MEASURE DHS—Over two decades, we have been a major part of the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID's) initiatives to help developing countries collect and use data to monitor and evaluate population, health, and nutrition programs. Activities have expanded to include reproductive health, children’s vaccination programs, and HIV/AIDS. More than 200 studies have been completed in 75 countries.
  
  
• MEASURE Evaluation—As part of USAID’s MEASURE framework, MEASURE Evaluation works to improve and institutionalize the collection and use of data for monitoring and evaluation in several key areas—family planning, maternal health, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, nutrition, and infectious disease.
  
  
• Child Survival Technical Support—Private voluntary organizations (PVOs) and their local partners must sustain public health support. Through the Child Survival Technical Support (CSTS+) project, Macro provides assistance to improve quality of service and to build a capacity for continuation. We provide regional training events, telephone and in-person consulting, mobile computing and data collection, mobile and geographic data management, and dissemination of technical assistance materials. We work with PVOs directly, with a consortium of PVOs, and with USAID.
  
  
• Global Health Monitoring—Macro has been a leader in global health over its 40-year history, completing thousands of projects in more than 100 countries. We work with federal agencies, health ministries, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), PVOs, and donor organizations in a wide range of areas including: health risk surveys, maternal and child health, educational opportunities, child labor, HIV and infectious diseases, health education, and program monitoring.

For more information on Macro’s health monitoring capabilities, please contact Janet Hoch at 301-572-0200 or e-mail us at globalhealth@orcmacro.com.

The Washington Post reported that statistics about fish are vital to the fishing industry, where even a temporary loss of stock can cost hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses, not to mention the impact on the ecosystem. During the past 100 years, the world’s fish supply has shrunk and now one-quarter is being harvested faster than fish can reproduce to replace it. A high harvest rate demands accurate accounting.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)—dedicated to marine preservation—monitors the level of marine resources, including incidence of anglers as well as their level of effort.

Macro conducts two interrelated surveys—an intercept survey of anglers, which measures the average catch per recreational fishing trip, and a telephone survey gauging the level of fishing effort by the general population—to assess the impact of recreational fishing on U.S. marine fisheries. During our tenure, we have established protocols and procedures such as programming, assigning and scheduling interviews, and collecting and processing data.

View Scientists Try to Count Fish in Sea

The article, titled How AIDS in Africa Was Overstated, reports on significant differences between previous AIDS infection rate estimates and actual rates based on Macro and other survey data.

Macro has collected, analyzed and disseminated accurate and representative demographic and health data through more than 200 surveys in 75 countries. Our current India survey involves interviews with 240,000 women and men on topics such as child health, nutrition, reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, fertility, family planning, child mortality, environmental health, women’s empowerment, and domestic violence. Blood samples are being collected to complete 280,000 anemia tests and 150,000 HIV tests. Macro conducts the MEASURE DHS survey program for the U.S. Agency for International Development.

View How AIDS in Africa was Overstated.

Download printer-friendly version of the full article without graphs.

For information on the MEASURE DHS surveys, including methodologies, data, country reports, comparative studies, geographic analysis, publications and special topics, go to: http://www.measuredhs.com

Americans are worried, yet unprepared-according to an Macro national telephone survey on individual and household preparedness for terrorist attacks and natural disasters.

"All Americans need to know how to prepare for emergencies," said Macro president, Greg Mahnke. "They should know what steps to take for the national welfare, as well as their own safety and security. Our survey demonstrated that there are large gaps in Americans' knowledge and preparedness. As a country, we need to do something to fill those gaps."

The unbiased, independent survey-a follow up to a 2003 Macro study-examines public attitudes in order to uncover factors that motivate diverse populations to take preparedness measures and identify perceptions that thwart preparedness efforts. Despite the effects of Hurricane Katrina and the spate of disasters that touched the Nation in 2005, Americans across every demographic group are no more prepared for a national emergency than they were in 2003.

The demographic group studied included women, cultural and ethnic minorities, urban residents, older Americans, and those affected by disabilities. Here are some of the results:

• More than 36 percent of Americans are worried about terrorism.
• Americans feel more prepared for a disaster than for a terrorist attack.
• Only 17 percent of all Americans have both an emergency plan that includes a meeting place that has been discussed with family members and a basic emergency kit.
• African Americans, women, and people with disabilities or with household members who have disabilities report significantly higher levels of concern but less preparedness about emergencies than other Americans who are rural, White, and of higher income.
• Women are significantly more likely than men (16 percent and 7 percent, respectively) to cite concern for personal or household safety.
• Urban residents are more motivated for preparedness by marketing efforts.
• Older Americans are more motivated for preparedness by the national threat advisory level.

Download the press release (Word) and white paper (PDF).

A survey conducted by Macro was mentioned in the Wall Street Journal Weekend Edition on December 31/January 1. The article, titled Eli's Choice, describes the educational options available to children with Down syndrome and the effects of educational choices on academic performance and social interaction. Macro conducted the survey as a subcontractor to the University of Massachusetts Boston Center for Social Development and Education, which serves as the research coordinator for Special Olympics. The survey polled 5,600 seventh- and eighth-grade students from 70 schools across the country on their willingness to interact with students with intellectual disabilities at school and outside the school environment.

Greg N. Mahnke, Ph.D., was profiled in the Washington Post on December 26. Dr. Mahnke recently was named president of Macro. His role in integrating research and technology across Macro and our parent company, Opinion Research Corporation, is discussed in the "New at the Top" column, along with a brief overview of his career.

On October 5, Macro reported the company had a very successful proposal selling season. "Every September 30, which marks the end of the federal government fiscal year, we take stock of our sales performance," said Frank Quirk, chairman and CEO. "The results for the first nine months of 2005 are sensational, with new bookings totaling $162 million. In September alone, there were 70 separate new wins or add-ons to existing contracts accounting for $75 million in sales. This puts us 50 percent over last year's performance, which was also strong. We now have a contract backlog of $325 million going into the fourth quarter, which indicates that we will have strong revenue performance in 2006."

In early October, Macro introduced a new management team; Greg Mahnke, PhD, has been promoted from executive vice president to president. Senior vice presidents Mary Look, PhD, and Steve Fulton, esq., have been promoted to executive vice president. This group, which constitutes the Office of the Chairman, will work closely with Frank J. Quirk, the company's chairman and CEO.

"Macro has achieved significant growth, year after year, by delivering high-quality, innovative services," said Quirk. "We have the expertise to make a difference in human services and health-related projects, and in the lives of people they serve. Our commitment to delivering results for our clients has supported our financial success, enabling us to grow from $80 million to $135 million in revenue over the past five years."

As president, Mahnke will keep Macro at the forefront of research innovation. "We are constantly striving to deliver better, more transparent and more actionable data to our clients," Mahnke said. "This includes recent improvements in our survey research capabilities that strengthen Macro's leadership position in multi-country and multi-mode data collection, analysis and access."

At the annual APHA conference in November, Macro made 21 presentations on a variety of topics. Sessions included oral presentations, roundtable discussions, and posters. National issues that were covered include HIV prevention research, tobacco use, workplace health, and intimate partner violence. Several presentations reported on research pertaining to health issues as they relate to specific ethnic groups; for instance, outreach to Hispanic/Latino communities with public health messages, tobacco use among Asian American youth, and perception and treatment of cancer pain among Spanish-speaking populations.

Presentations on international health issues included several studies done in India, such as the effects of cooking smoke and environmental tobacco smoke on acute respiratory infections in young Indian children. Other sessions focused on public health reporting needs, Federal privacy issues, confidentiality regulations, and similar issues. Information technology also was covered, including interactive Web-based health promotion and information architecture for health information resources.

See a complete list of presentations.

Macro vice president Lynn Halverson and research associate Ewa Carlton play an important role in the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) “calories count” campaign. Macro conducted a 6-month focus group series for FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition to provide consumer feedback to the “Stop the Obesity Epidemic” campaign.

We conducted eight focus groups with adult men and women with varied educational levels. Discussions included how to alert consumers about allergens in certain foods and how to modify food packaging and restaurant menus to provide more useful information. The groups also provided feedback on a graphic icon that showed a specific claim (e.g., “low fat”) and on the clarity of label designs.

Participants believed that providing nutritional information in fast food restaurants would allow them to make healthier food choices. For example, a menu board option viewed by focus group participants provided a distinct group of healthier meal combinations (“combos”) in a separate box adjacent to a list of other possible “combos.” The participants appreciated this menu board because it made the healthier food choices more easily noticeable.

Web marketer Andrea Harris coordinated the effort on behalf of SHS’ Web and Technology Solutions Department. She worked with an instructor at Strathmore Elementary School, located only 15 minutes from SHS’ Rockville offices, to help improve the students’ access to books at home. Borders Books and Music provided a 20 percent discount for the event.

The project’s original goal was to have one book purchased for each of the 25 students. The SHS shoppers doubled that goal. “Many staff members got to the store, saw a book they had loved as a child, and ended up buying a copy for one of the Strathmore students,” Ms. Harris said. Each student received two books to take home, and the instructor received copies to keep in the classroom.

The students sent a thank you poster and invited SHS back next year. The poster said. “We are grateful to have such generous people in our community.” Ms. Harris agreed and said, “Next year, we’d like to expand the Booknic to the whole school.”