Ramirez A Susana, Graff Kaitlin, Nelson David, Galica Kasia, Leyva Bryan, Banegas Mateo, Huerta Elmer
University of California-Merced, CA, USA
Washington University-St. Louis, MO, USA.
Health Educ Behav. 2015 Oct;42(5):611-20. doi: 10.1177/1090198114543009. Epub 2014 Aug 13.
Spanish-dominant Latinos make up 13% of the U.S. population, and this group is poorer and faces multiple threats to health compared with the general population. Additionally, Spanish speakers face challenges accessing health information that is often not available in Spanish. This study provides a descriptive epidemiology of a unique, low-cost health information source: the longest-running U.S.-based Spanish-language call-in radio health education program.
From the universe of all calls 1999 to 2011, stratified random sampling yielded 1,237 analyzed calls, which were manually coded for caller sex, age, proxy status, and health concern. Descriptive statistics were used to examine basic demographics of callers and call topics overall and by sex and proxy caller status.
Among all calls, the top three call-generating health topics were specific symptoms/conditions, sexual/reproductive health, and gastrointestinal concerns. The top nine topics were consistent among women, men, and proxy callers; however, relative frequency of topics varied across groups. Nearly one quarter of calls were initiated on behalf of someone, generally a child, spouse or sibling, or parent. Sixty percent of callers were women; women made 70% of proxy calls.
Understanding the differences in information seeking behaviors, information needs, and source preferences is important for determining where and how to disseminate health information and may help explain disparities in knowledge and health outcomes. The radio talk show format provides a uniquely personal, culturally sensitive channel for meeting health information needs of a vulnerable population while leveraging the cost-effectiveness and wide reach of a mass medium.
以西班牙语为主的拉丁裔占美国人口的13%，与普通人群相比，该群体更贫困，面临多种健康威胁。此外，讲西班牙语的人在获取通常没有西班牙语版本的健康信息方面面临挑战。本研究提供了一个独特的低成本健康信息来源的描述性流行病学：美国运营时间最长的西班牙语热线广播健康教育节目。
从1999年至2011年所有来电中，通过分层随机抽样产生了1237个分析来电，对来电者的性别、年龄、代理状态和健康问题进行人工编码。使用描述性统计来检查来电者的基本人口统计学特征以及总体和按性别及代理来电者状态划分的来电主题。
在所有来电中，产生来电最多的前三个健康主题是特定症状/状况、性/生殖健康和胃肠道问题。女性、男性和代理来电者的前九个主题一致；然而，各群体中主题的相对频率有所不同。近四分之一的来电是代表他人发起的，通常是孩子、配偶或兄弟姐妹或父母。60%的来电者是女性；女性发起了70%的代理来电。
了解信息寻求行为、信息需求和信息来源偏好的差异对于确定在何处以及如何传播健康信息很重要，并且可能有助于解释知识和健康结果方面的差异。广播脱口秀形式提供了一个独特的个性化、文化敏感的渠道，既能满足弱势群体的健康信息需求，又能利用大众媒体的成本效益和广泛覆盖面。
