This document summarizes Sandra Paredes' proposed research study on Hispanic women's health perceptions and attitudes. The study would use focus groups to understand how acculturation affects Hispanic women's culturally-bound health beliefs and how they adopt biomedical views in the US. It reviews literature showing cultural influences on perceptions of diabetes, cancer causes, and preventative actions. The research aims to craft culturally resonant health messages. The proposed methodology would recruit Spanish- and English-speaking Hispanic and Hispanic-American women to participate in focus groups. A screening tool would assess demographics, acculturation, health behaviors, and beliefs. Focus groups would segment participants by acculturation level to explore differences in primary language, birthplace, arrival
Hispanic Women's Perceptions and Attitudes of Health
1. Hispanic Women's Perceptions and
Attitudes of Health
Sandra L. Paredes
Johns Hopkins University
Master's Candidate
Communication
2. Acculturation & Disease Prevention
If we frame health
messages within the
intended audiences'
cultural context,
can we shift the locus of
control and increase
disease prevention?
5. 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
7. Intended Audience Perspective
Craft messages that
resonate with the
intended audience.
Capture the emotional
nuances of health within
audience's life context.
Source: DC Cancer Consortium & Westat. (2009). Is your body talking? Take time to Listen: An ovarian
and endometrial cancer awareness campaign. www.dccancerconsortium.org
8. Social Science Perspective
A complete medical education must include,
alongside physical and biological science,
the perspectives and findings that flow from
the behavioral and social sciences.
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.
Source: Association of American Medical Colleges. (2011). Behavioral and social science foundations to
future physicians. www.aamc.org
10. 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.?
11. Methodology & Audience
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
12. Screening Tool
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)
13. Focus Group Segments
More Less
Acculturated Acculturated
Primary English Spanish
language
Birthplace U.S. or foreign foreign
U.S. arrival child adult
Age Under 40 40+
Self-identity Hispanic- Hispanic
American