Leslie O. Strolla, MS, CHES and Kim M. Gans, PhD, MPH, LDN. Institute for Community Health Promotion, Brown University, 1 Hoppin St., Coro 4-West, Providence, RI 02903, 401-793-8318, Kim_Gans@brown.edu

There is need for more effective nutrition education to reach large, varied segments of the population, especially low-income and ethnic minority populations. As part of a NCI-funded research project, we conducted formative qualitative and quantitative research to develop a nutrition intervention tailored to meet the individual needs of low-income Hispanic and non-Hispanic participants in Rhode Island. The formative research objectives were to delineate the specific characteristics of the target audience and determine how to design appropriate interventions for that audience. Exploratory formative research design was based on complementary assistance of research methods, triangulating qualitative focus group and individual interview data with quantitative telephone survey data. The results guided the design and development of intervention materials which were confirmed and pre-tested with additional focus groups. Target audience participants were recruited through clinics and local low-income housing projects as well as at health and cultural events in areas served by the clinics. We also included nutrition professionals and para-professionals working with our target population. The formative research enabled us to clarify the needs and desires of the target population to design a nutrition intervention program that is comprehensively tailored at the individual level. Results delineated a number of specific barriers to healthy eating broken into 3 main categories, lowering total fat, increasing fruit and increasing vegetables. The resulting nutrition intervention program (Your Healthy Life or Su Vida Saludable) includes tailored written materials written at low literacy levels as well as a motivational video adapted to ethnicity using a social marketing approach.

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