Education Brochure Aimed at Minorities Misses the Mark

Wisconsin asthma educators had the right idea, they just missed some of the basics, according to a recent study. In a recent press release, it was announced that educational materials that were developed to target the state's minority populations missed the mark. Other states that are planning to release educational materials should take note.

The Wisconsin Asthma Coalition is comprised of administrators, health care professionals, and researchers. They recently published materials for school aged children to bring home, but much of their work was likely in vain.

Prior research indicates that many minority parents view each asthma attack as a separate medical incident, not realizing that it is the same problem arising again and again.

The study determined that the research team that developed these materials failed to use the right language, address cultural attitudes, medical provider practices, and failed to use good visuals.

Saying that most of the information on the fliers was simply translated from English into another language, there were obvious gaps in the usefulness of these materials.

As examples, they cited a Spanish-language flier. There were many erroneous translations, causing the message that was intended to get across to be lost.

Another example concerned fliers targeted to Native American Indians. The same graphic was used, showing an Indian at a tribal dance, regardless of the tribe that the fliers was designed to target. While this seems a small point to many people, culturally it is a large point.

Additionally, there are other cultural issues that are specific to Native American Indians. Most Native Americans do not trust the medications that are given for asthma, and even try to wean their children off of medications.

Another of their core beliefs is something called "smudging." This is a cleansing ritual using many different types of grass, or tobacco. The grasses or tobacco are burned - which by itself could be a huge trigger for an asthma attack.

"This is a first of its kind. No one has developed a tool to gauge the cultural competence of asthma education materials. It may serve as a model for other states," said Jane Brotanek, M.D., one of the lead authors.

The research team had wanted to educate Wisconsin's minority population about the many risks of asthma and the potential symptoms of this disease. Yet, they failed to take into account cultural beliefs that were related to asthma prevention and care.

This study appears in the journal, Ethnicity & Disease.

Source:
http://www.newswise.com/p/articles/view/535409/