The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #63253

Hy Lam¹, Stephen J. McPhee, MD², Ching Wong¹, Thoa Nguyen¹, Jeremiah Mock, MSc, PhD¹, Tung T. Nguyen, MD³, Hiep Doan, MD¹, and Ky Q. Lai, MD, MPH¹. (1) Vietnamese Community Health Promotion Project, University of California, San Francisco, 44 Page St. Suite 500, San Francisco, CA 94102, 415-476-0557, hlam@itsa.ucsf.edu, (2) Vietnamese Community Health Promotion Project, Division of General Internal Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, 44 Page Street, Suite 500, San Francisco, CA 94102, (3) Division of General Internal Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, 400 Parnassus Avenue, Box 0320, San Francisco, CA 94143

Enhancing public knowledge is crucial to effective cancer prevention. Cancer educational materials are often written in medical jargon, making them difficult for lay people to understand. Many older Vietnamese-Americans do not read English. Furthermore, public health professionals working with Vietnamese-Americans have difficulty finding culturally appropriate materials. Since 1986, we have produced more than 24 booklets, pamphlets, posters, and videos about tobacco prevention and cessation, breast and cervical screening, hepatitis B immunization, and preventive care. These materials are developed based on Vietnamese culture, pre-tested extensively, and produced in plain Vietnamese. Distribution beyond the scope of our projects has been a problem. Reproducing and mailing are expensive. As a solution, we created one of the first Asian-language websites with free health promotion materials. With support from the NCI-funded Asian American Network for Cancer Awareness, Research and Training (AANCART), we have built a website (www.suckhoelavang.org or www.healthisgold.org) where anyone can read and download our materials in both Vietnamese and English in mpeg or pdf formats. Using free software such as Adobe Acrobat, these materials can be viewed, downloaded, and printed in Vietnamese with English translations for distribution at clinics, health fairs, and community-based organizations. Eventually, we plan to archive materials in video CD and DVD formats. Using Urchin web analytics software, we found that 8,524 individuals had visited the website between January 2002 and January 2003. More than 40 organizations nationwide have visited and downloaded materials. A website can provide Asian-language health promotion materials online to health professionals and the public.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to:
• understand how Vietnamese-language health education materials produced during the past 16 years by the Vietnamese Community Health Promotion Project at UCSF, including booklets, pamphlets, posters, videos, and print ads.
• access information and materials via the Internet.

Keywords: Cancer Screening, Media Campaigns

Related Web page: www.suckhoelavang.org or www.healthisgold.org

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.