HCS_SSA_ATTACH 4_FAMILY LETTER_SEPTEMBER 2011 FINAL for OMB

Healthy Communities Study

How Communities Shape Children’s Health

Sponsored by the National Institutes of Health

SSA Attachment 4

Ms. Debra Plum

Orchard Drive

Your Community, ID 12345-6789

Only 78 families in your community

will take part in this health study

designed to help improve children’s health in your community and nationwide.

Your family is invited to participate

Dear Debra Plum,

Your family has been selected from all the households in your community to participate in a national health study. This is your opportunity to have a major impact on the health of America’s children—and we hope you take it.

Like parents everywhere, you dream of your children growing up to be happy, healthy, and successful adults. You want them to reach their full potential. Many different factors can affect the health of children. For example, community parks give children a place to play safely. Learning healthy habits—like eating well and getting enough exercise—are also important.

The National Institutes of Health—the nation’s medical research agency—is conducting a national study to determine which factors are most important to the health of our children. This national effort is called the Healthy Communities Study. It’s the largest attempt to understand the relationship between community activities and good nutrition, physical activity, and a healthy weight among children. Enclosed is a brochure with additional information on the study.

Only 78 families in your community have been selected for this study. And your family is one of them. That’s why we’re writing to you now. We’re asking you to take part in the Healthy Communities Study, if you meet certain requirements. We’d like one of your children to participate with you, too. Participating is easy, costs nothing, and won’t take a lot of time. You can do it in your home at your convenience and stop at any time. Your answers will be kept completely confidential. To thank you for participating, your family will receive a gift worth up to $30 or more (depending on your level of involvement in the study). Your child will also receive a small gift.

To learn more and find out if your family is eligible, please call us at 800-XXX-XXXX. Or log on to our Web site at www.www.www. When you call us or go to our Web site, we will ask you for your special study code and password. Your study code is: xxxxxx and your password is: xxxxxxxx. We’ll also be following up with a phone call in a few days to answer any questions you may have about the study and your participation. Please welcome it.

The Healthy Communities Study could benefit the health of our nation’s children for many years to come—and you could make an important contribution to it. We look forward to talking with you very soon.

Sincerely,

[Signature] [Signature]

S. Sonia Arteaga, Ph.D. Howard A. Fishbein, Dr. PH

Project Officer Study Director

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Battelle Memorial Institute

National Institutes of Health

The Healthy Communities Study is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, including primary funding by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, with additional support from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Cancer Institute, and the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the National Institutes of Health. Additional collaborators include the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Research Partners for the study include the University of South Carolina, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Kansas, and Examination Management Services, Inc..