Health Fotonovela Strips for Spanish Language Newspapers

描述（由申请人提供）：将癌症研究转化为简单易懂的信息是美国主流的一个挑战。缺乏英语能力、难以获得医疗保健以及社会文化障碍是单语拉美裔面临的挑战。截至2006年，美国西班牙裔/拉丁裔人口估计为4400万(1)。在美国，近25%的拉丁裔人口不会说英语(2)，他们无法获取有关营养、癌症预防和/或早期癌症检测的重要健康信息。Fotonovelas是一种流行的拉丁美洲印刷媒体，用照片和对话框讲述故事。因为fotonovelas是图形化的，并且使用对话框来传达信息，所以它们本质上很容易阅读。Fotonovelas起源于拉丁美洲的一种娱乐流行文化媒介，它们在西班牙裔/拉丁裔社区中很受欢迎和好评（3,8,9,30）。SBIR第一阶段拨款申请的总体目标是评估在美国各地的西班牙语报纸上每周制作和刊登健康福托诺维拉贴片的可行性。健康信息条的目的是通过传播关于营养和健康饮食习惯的循证信息，告知以减少单语拉丁美洲人患癌症和其他慢性疾病的风险。作为实现这些目标的手段，Ana Consuelo Matiella and Associates，一家拥有25年生产健康fotonovelas经验的小企业，提议对两个受众进行调查和形成性研究：针对这两种受众的研究将采用对单语西班牙语使用者和西班牙语报纸的潜在读者进行焦点小组访谈的形式，以及对西班牙语编辑和出版商进行深入的个人访谈。从对单语西班牙语使用者的焦点小组访谈中收集的数据将确定fotonovela漫画的接受度、语言的适当性、可信度以及故事情节和人物的个人/相关性。与编辑和出版商进行深入的个人访谈将收集关于fotonovela专栏可行性的意见、关于格式和方法的数据，以及报业对该媒介接受程度的一般评估。公共卫生相关性：该项目的相关性在于它解决了NCI确定的协作基础设施不足的问题，以“在单语拉丁裔成年人中推动积极的饮食变化”。(4)将确定制定一项创新战略的可行性，该战略将通过西班牙语报纸上的fotonovela交流模式向单语拉丁裔成年人传播营养信息，这将有助于在这一难以接触到和服务不足的[人口]中获得知识。可行性将通过研究单语成人、西班牙语使用者/读者的潜在影响和接受程度，以及测试西班牙语报纸编辑和出版商在其出版物中采用这种文化和语言上熟悉的干预措施的意愿来确定。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Cancer research that translates into simple, easy to understand information is a challenge in mainstream USA. A lack of English language proficiency, trouble accessing health care, and socio-cultural barriers are challenges for monolingual Latinos. As of 2006, the estimated Hispanic/Latino population in the United States was 44 million (1). Almost 25 % of the Latino population in the US does not speak English (2) and accessing important health information about nutrition, cancer prevention and/or early cancer detection eludes them. Fotonovelas, a popular Latin American print medium, are stories told with photos and dialog bubbles. Because fotonovelas are pictorial and use dialog to convey information, they are intrinsically easy to read. Fotonovelas originated as an entertainment pop culture medium in Latin America and they are popular and well-received in the Hispanic/Latino community (3,8,9, 30). The overall goal of this SBIR Phase I grant application is to assess the feasibility of producing and placing health fotonovela strips on a weekly basis in Spanish newspapers across the United States. The purpose of the health fotonovela strips would be to inform in order to reduce the risks of cancer and other chronic diseases among monolingual Latinos through the dissemination of evidence-based information on nutrition and healthy eating practices. As the means to achieve these goals, Ana Consuelo Matiella and Associates, a small business with 25 years experience in producing health fotonovelas, proposes to conduct investigative and formative research with two audiences: monolingual Spanish speakers in Los Angeles, California, and Spanish language newspaper editors and publishers in the western U.S. The research with the two audiences will be in the form of focus group interviews with the monolingual Spanish speakers and potential readers of Spanish language newspapers, and in-depth, individual interviews with Spanish language editors and publishers. Data collected from the focus group interviews with the monolingual Spanish speakers will establish the receptivity of the fotonovela strips, language appropriateness, as well as believability, and personal/ relevance of story lines and characters. In-depth individual interviews with editors and publishers will gather in-put on the feasibility of the fotonovela strips, data on format and approach, and a general assessment of receptivity to the medium on the part of the newspaper industry. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The reason this project is relevant is that it addresses the NCI identified problem of inadequate collaborative infrastructure to "actuate positive dietary changes in the monolingual adult Latino population." (4) The feasibility of developing an innovative strategy that would disseminate nutrition information to monolingual adult Latinos via the fotonovela communication mode in Spanish language newspapers will be established and this will contribute to knowledge gained in this difficult to reach and underserved [population]. Feasibility will be determined by researching the potential impact and receptivity with the monolingual adult, Spanish speaker/reader as well as testing the willingness of Spanish language newspaper editors and publishers to adopt this culturally and linguistically familiar intervention for use in their publications.