Logo Cambio de colores 2004

Cambio de Colores 2004
Latinos in Missouri:
Gateway to a New Community

March 10-12, 2004
University of Missouri-St. Louis

Last updated:
May 19, 2004

Research Panel:
Health Interventions with Hispanics in the Midwest

A report contributed by

Theme: Health
Moderator: Louise Miller, School of Nursing, MU

Presenters:

  • Santosh Krishna ( presenter), Christina Vasquez Case, Andrew Balas, SLU: "Health education interventions: Do they work?"

Santosh Krishna ( presenter), Christina Vasquez Case, Andrew Balas, SLU: "Health education interventions: Do they work?"

Introduction. Health education in general has been found to be effective among people of various demographic characteristics. However, it is not known if this general finding can be applied to the Hispanic people of Missouri. A review of health literature was performed to find out if educational interventions are effective in improving knowledge and health outcomes of Hispanic people of Missouri.

 Methods.� Studies of patient education, health education, and delivery of care as they relate to the Hispanic population, were searched for in Medline (1966-2003) and CINAHL (1982-2003) Search results were limited to English language articles but no limit was placed on age. We identified 55 studies where an educational intervention was mentioned. A look at the complete article narrowed this to 21 articles that met the pre-specified eligibility criteria i.e. experimental or quasi-experimental studies to educate patients or participants in a specific health area or preventive care.

Results. The final 21 articles were reviewed in-depth. Studies were conducted in various parts of the United States but none were found in Missouri. In twelve studies participants were children and adolescents whereas the remaining 9 studies educated adults three of which also included children. Sample size ranged from 268 to 3348, with a total of 9011 participants. Studies covered asthma (1), cancer (3), diabetes (1), preventive care/prenatal screening (2), smoking (2), nutrition and exercise (4), access to care (1), HIV/AIDS/STD (3), safety (2), CPR (1) and wellness (1).

Lectures, rap music, video, computer-based programs, demonstration, Internet-based and printed materials and distance-education were the methods of education and were delivered by qualified health professionals, school teachers or were computer-based. Sixteen of 21 studies (76%), reported significant improvements in outcome variables and/or significant difference between groups with a greater improvement in the intervention group following the education. All but two studies used some form of technology to provide information and education. Improved outcomes included:

  • Reduction in diabetes complications
  • Reduced fat in diet
  • Increased access to care
  • Increase in knowledge of asthma management, nutrition and exercise, breast cancer screening and prenatal screening for genetic diseases
  • Increase in skills for refusal to drugs
  • Increase in self-esteem
  • Reinforcement of negative attitudes toward smoking

Conclusions and Discussion. This systematic review of patient education studies suggests that culturally appropriate educational interventions are helpful and effective in improving the health of Hispanic people by increasing their knowledge and by helping modify attitudes and behaviors. Technology-based educational interventions can enhance health education efforts among this population and should be considered by health care providers. The fact that very few studies have been conducted that focus primarily on Hispanic population demonstrates that more studies are needed throughout the country and specifically here in Missouri.


Day 2: Thursday, March 11th, 2004.

Reporter: Diane Kuschel
(573)875-1395
(573)881-4041
kuscheldg@missouri.edu