Fotonovelas Find Validation in Studies
“This is very good news. It gives us a validation that our materials are having a positive impact on the target population,” said Mel Baron, associate professor of clinical pharmacy at the School of Pharmacy and the producer of the fotonovela.
Comparable to a comic book, a fotonovela is a story told through photos and limited text. The medium, well known among Latinos, often covers social issues with soap opera-like storylines.
Prior to producing the project, Baron and his associates researched the myths and misinformation common in the Latino community that prevent people from seeking medical attention or sticking to therapeutic regimens in the treatment of diabetes. They also sought a format that was culturally sensitive and familiar.
According to the independent research conducted by Jennifer Unger, associate dean for research at the Claremont Graduate University, the findings provide compelling evidence that fotonovelas such as Sweet Temptations can be a useful medium for health education among Latinos. At the time of the study, Unger was with the USC Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research.
Unger’s study used a test group of adult students at the Roosevelt Community Adult School in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The group was given a pre-test about diabetes and then asked to read the fotonovela, followed by retaking the same test.
“We developed a survey of people’s knowledge, attitudes and beliefs,” Unger said. “We found that the fotonovela did increase the participants’ knowledge of diabetes and that may ultimately lead to better behavior.”
The study reported that 100 percent of the 311 participants found the fotonovela to be informative. Diabetes knowledge increased from 66 to 86 percent after reading the fotonovela. In addition, the youngest respondents, in the 18 to 24 age bracket, benefited most from the fotonovela, with significant changes in their behavioral intentions and knowledge of the disease.
After reading the fotonovela, most of the study participants intended to exercise more, eat more fruits and vegetables, and talk to doctors and family members about diabetes.
The effectiveness of the fotonovela was validated when another independent research study conducted by the Healthcare Management Corp., a subsidiary of Wellpoint Inc., held focus groups on methods to educate minorities about diabetes. Once again, the fotonovela proved to be a signififcant educational tool.
“There is a knowledge disconnect about diabetes in our Latino focus groups, and the cultural relevance of the story in the fotonovela really helped participants connect more with the issue,” said Grace Ting, health services director at Wellpoint Inc. “They could relate to the family experiences of Sweet Temptations. The storyline was comfortable and familiar to them.”
According to Ting, the study group considered various forms of media and found the fotonovela to be the most helpful tool in terms of diabetes awareness.
These results have led Wellpoint to include Baron’s fotonovela in a pilot study that strives to recruit minorities into a disease management program. The success of the Sweet Temptations fotonovela also prompted Wellpoint to support a fotonovela on medication adherence that the School of Pharmacy will produce next year.
According to the Center for Disease Control, in 2008, the number of people with diabetes in the United States increased to 24 million, or around 8 percent of the population. The prevalence of diabetes among Latino Americans is 10.4 percent, resulting in 4.5 million Latinos nationwide having the disease.
Baron also has created fotonovelas on folic acid and depression. He is currently in production on fotonovelas dealing with pediatric asthma and dementia.
The fotonovela projects have been supported by USC Neighborhood Outreach grants, L.A. Care, AmerisourceBergen, the Institute for Community Pharmacy, the Botica del Sol Pharmacy, Eli Lilly, the NACDS Foundation, QueensCare Foundation and Takeda Pharmaceuticals of North America.
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The Chronicle of Higher Education mentioned USC’s $6 billion fundraising campaign. The story noted that USC had already raised $1 billion in a “quiet phase,” including the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College.
The Guardian (U.K.) highlighted two major gifts to USC in a list of the 10 biggest philanthropic benefactors in America. The list included the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
The New York Times featured the USC U.S.-China Institute documentary “Assignment: China — The Week that Changed the World.” The documentary, part of a series, examines media coverage of the 1972 Nixon trip that reshaped U.S.-China relations after a quarter century of isolation and hostility. “People look back now and take it for granted that the outcome was preordained,” said the institute’s Mike Chinoy, who produced the documentary. Voice of America also featured the story.
Los Angeles Times featured the Oscar Senti-meter, a tool developed by the USC Annenberg School, Los Angeles Times and IBM that analyzes thousands of tweets about the Academy Awards nominees. The story noted that Mexican actor Demian Bechir received an enormous boost on Twitter the day of the nominations, with a total of 6,893 tweets mentioning him, a 47-fold increase from the day before. The story noted the tool uses language-recognition technology developed in collaboration with USC Viterbi School’s Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab.
The Times of India (India) featured a three-day medical emergency training workshop organized in association with USC. At the workshop, held at GCS Medical College in India, 50 doctors and more than 100 paramedics learned how to improve emergency support systems. William Mallon of the Keck School of USC said that discussion topics included the use of portable ultrasonic devices to scan patients. “The ultrasound applications help physicians make accurate and timely decisions,” he noted. Daily News & Analysis (India) also featured the workshop.
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