Translating Health Information Effectively for Latino Populations

California is the state with the most Latinos, constituting over one third of California’s population. The majority of Latinos, the fastest growing minority group in the United States, does not speak English at home. With lower levels of education, English-language proficiency, and health literacy, Latino people need health information they can understand. Literal translations of materials from English to Spanish without tailoring are common and often result in products containing egregious inaccuracies and awkward language usage that can also be out of context. In a medical setting, these errors can compromise health and be life-threatening. This commentary and tool provides examples of “translations gone wrong” and tips to follow to help make Spanish-language products and interpretation services more culturally and linguistically appropriate

Developing a Bilingual Fotonovela to Encourage Human Papillomavirus Preteen Immunization in California: A Case Study

Background. Cervical cancer affects Latinas disproportionately in the United States, especially in California. Fotonovelas are an entertaining educational medium within the Latino community. Purpose. The California Department of Public Health, Immunization Branch partnered with a fotonovela production company to develop a bilingual fotonovela to motivate Latina mothers of preteens to get their children vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV). This paper reviews the process of and lessons learned from creating and pilot testing the HPV fotonovela. Methods. We convened a 10-member advisory committee to guide the development of the fotonovela and field-tested the medium with three focus groups of Latina mothers of preteens (n=22). The focus group participants completed a pre- and post-survey to assess knowledge gain after reading the fotonovela on their own. After participants completed the post-survey, the moderator facilitated a discussion. Results. The advisory committee identified barriers and myths around HPV vaccination and suggested culturally appropriate messaging for the fotonovela. The pre-/post-survey showed statistically significant knowledge gain on the HPV vaccine among focus group participants. Conclusion. We found that the fotonovela is a well-accepted educational vehicle for Latinas. An intervention/control study to test the effectiveness of a fotonovela and/or webnovela in bringing about measurable behavior change is needed