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Marla L. Clayman, PhD, MPH1, K. Viswanath, PhD2, Bradford W. Hesse, PhD1, and Neeraj K. Arora, PhD1. (1) Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, 6130 Executive Boulevard , Room 4005, MSC 7344, Bethesda, MD 20892-7344, (2) Center for Community-Based Research, Harvard School of Public Health/Dana Farber Cancer Institute, 44 Binney Street, SM 251, Boston, MA 02115, (617) 632-2225, vish_viswanath@dfci.harvard.edu
Background: The aim of this research is to examine differences among self-identified Hispanics/Latinos in the Health Information National Trends Survey, using language of interview as a proxy for acculturation. Methods: Hispanics/Latinos comprised 12% of this sample (n=734); over half (n=430, 56%) responded in English, with the remainder responding in Spanish. Respondents were asked “How much would you trust information about cancer from…?” using 4-point Likert scales. The sources included were: doctor or other health care professional; family or friends; newspapers; magazines; radio; television; or Internet. Results: English-responders reported higher trust for cancer information from newspapers (p<.0001), magazines (p<.001), and the Internet (p<.0001) compared to Spanish-responders. English-responders report more media exposure than Spanish-responders: daily hours listening to the radio (3.0 versus 2.1, p<.0001) and watching television (3.2 versus 2.9, p=.07); days per week reading newspapers (2.9 versus 1.2, p<.0001) and magazines (1.6 versus 1.1, p<.001); and use of the Internet (59% versus 15%, p<.001). English-responders were socio-economically different from Spanish-responders. The median household annual income reported by Spanish-responders was 15-20 thousand versus 35-50 thousand dollars for English-responders. While fewer than half of all Spanish-responders had graduated from high school, 83% of English-responders had. In multivariate analyses, media exposure and education mediated the effects of language of interview on source credibility. Conclusions: Language of interview is useful to distinguish socioeconomic differences among Hispanics/Latinos. Self-identified Hispanics/Latinos constitute a heterogeneous group, members of which access and regard mass media sources of cancer information differently, potentially influencing their knowledge about health and health behaviors.
Learning Objectives: At the end of the session, the participant in this session will be able to
Keywords: Communication, Latinos
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.