 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Stacy K. Lavilla, MS, Communications, Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Orgranizations (AAPCHO), 439 23rd Street, Oakland, CA 94612 and Nina Lynn Agbayani, BSN, RN, Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations, 439 23rd St., Oakland, CA 94612, (510) 272-9536, nagbayani@aapcho.org.
Methods: AAPCHO, along with our media spokespersons and project sites, worked with ethnic and in-language media to increase awareness of diabetes in AAPI communities. In May 2000, AAPCHO submitted press releases to 100 ethnic and in-language media in CA, HI, MA, MN, NY and WA. Twenty-percent ran the story, reaching approximately 4 million people. Through our experiences with ethnic and in-language press, we found that they are more likely to cover a story if it is translated in the appropriate language. Additionally, receiving media coverage is easier if the press release is localized. In preparation for November Diabetes Awareness Month, AAPCHO modified an NDEP press release to be more culturally appropriate for AAPI communities. This press release was translated in Chinese, Tagalog, Korean, and Thai and localized by our media spokespersons. The messages in the release stress the seriousness of diabetes, promote the benefits of controlling diabetes and encourage people with diabetes to manage their disease.
Results: A follow-up phone survey was conducted in late November to see how many media outlets ran the story, and to see if our efforts to localize and translate the press release were effective in increasing media coverage. The data from this survey showed that press coverage improved to 30% compared to media activities conducted in June 2000.
Conclusion: Ethnic and in-language media are interested in sharing diabetes information with their readers. Having the information presented in culturally and linguistically appropriate formats may be more effective in getting important diabetes information to AAPI communities.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: , Asian and Pacific Islander
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.