Southern Sociological Society 2012

Sandra L. Paredes

Johns Hopkins University Master's Candidate

Communication

Hispanic Women's Perceptions and Attitudes of Health

If we frame health messages within the intended audiences' cultural context, can we shift the locus of control and increase disease prevention?

Acculturation & Disease Prevention

Impetus

Health Perspectives

Literature Review

Coronado, Thompson, Tejeda & Garcia (2004) •  diabetes risk factors: heredity, diet high in fat and sugar, obesity •  emotional trigger: susto made them susceptible to getting diabetes

Pérez-Stable, Sabogal, Otero-Sabogal, Hiatt, & McPhee (1992) •  cancer causes : sugar substitutes, bruises, microwaves, antibiotics •  attitudes: death sentence, punishment from God, and unpreventable

Flórez, Aguirre, Viladrich, Céspedes, De La Cruz, & Abraído (2009) •  locus of control: internal (individual action) & external (God’s will) •  nuance: God helps people who help themselves •  proactive: regular screenings, especially if at risk for breast cancer

Health Literacy

Intended Audience Perspective

Source: DC Cancer Consortium & Westat. (2009). Is your body talking? Take time to Listen: An ovarian and endometrial cancer awareness campaign. www.dccancerconsortium.org

Craft messages that

resonate with the intended audience.

Capture the emotional nuances of health within audience's life context.

BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR HEALTH CARE ATTAINMENT Healthful Mind-body Interaction -- stress reduction relaxation, non-pharmacologic pain and anxiety treatment, substance abuse treatment, sobriety maintenance Health Promotion and Wellness -- public and social media health education, community motivational interventions, impactful health literacy.

Social Science Perspective

Source: Association of American Medical Colleges. (2011). Behavioral and social science foundations to future physicians. www.aamc.org

A complete medical education must include, alongside physical and biological science, the perspectives and findings that flow from the behavioral and social sciences.

Research Design

Research Questions

RQ1: How does acculturation affect Hispanic women’s culturally bound health attitudes and perceptions?

RQ2: How do Hispanic women adopt biomedical health attitudes in the U.S.?

Focus groups • 2 groups, each with 6 -8 participants (n ≈ 14) • English & Spanish • Recruit via local businesses, social media & word-of-mouth in Washington, D.C.

Audience • Women • Ages 18+ • Hispanic & Hispanic-American

Methodology & Audience

Demographics i.e., birthplace, years living in the U.S., age at arrival

Acculturation •  Language preference for media (i.e., radio, newspaper, books, websites) •  Language preference for socializing (i.e., family, friends, work, school •  Cultural self-identification (i.e., Hispanic, Hispanic-American)

Health Behaviors & Beliefs •  Preventative (i.e., vaccines, women’s exams, eye & dental exams) •  Familiarity with cultural health beliefs (i.e., mal de ojo, susto) •  Cancer beliefs (i.e. preventable, treatable, curable)

Screening Tool

Focus Group Segments

More Acculturated

Less Acculturated

Primary language

English Spanish

Birthplace U.S. or foreign foreign

U.S. arrival child adult

Age Under 40 40+

Self-identity Hispanic-American

Hispanic

Last thought …

Sandra L. Paredes [email protected]

@slp22

Thank you