The Low Vision Education Program (LVEP) provides information to 14 million Americans living with low vision, their families and friends. The National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the Federal government's National Institutes of Health (NIH), sponsors the LVEP program. Similar to many other public health education efforts, the LVEP has been evaluated for its ability to reach intended audiences, for its effectiveness, and for its behavior-change messages. One component of the LVEP is the educational booklet, What You Should Know About Low Vision, which explains and illustrates the eye diseases and conditions that cause low vision. In efforts to improve health communication outreach to the Hispanic community, NEI developed a Spanish-language version of the low vision education booklet for Latino populations. In order to ensure that the publication would meet the needs of the intended audience, the NEI worked with representatives from the Latino community to identify the appropriate terms and colloquial expressions that would best convey vision-related concepts and practices. Based on this information, the Spanish-language version of the What You Should Know About Low Vision booklet was developed. Eight focus groups were conducted nationally to ensure that the content of the booklet was culturally appropriate, the usage of key terms was grammatically correct, and the photographs and colors were aesthetically pleasing. The focus groups also examined the best possible methods to distribute health-related information to Latino populations and specifically, how and where they would like to receive this information. Modifications to the booklet were made based on suggestions from the Latino community.
Learning Objectives: Recognize the need for developing culturally appropriate publications; Describe a process for working with a special population in the development of materials and publications; and Interpret the qualitative data used to develop culturally appropriate publications.
Keywords: Health Communications, Vision Care
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.