relation: http://d-scholarship-dev.library.pitt.edu/18506/
title: InFLUyentes: a strategy to improve flu vaccination coverage among hispanics in Pittsburgh, PA
creator: Rivera-De Jesus, Jesabel I
description: Although vaccination has proven to be the best flu prevention method, misconceptions and myths regarding the vaccine and the disease, are factors that affects intentions to get the vaccine, and set Hispanics’ health in disadvantage when compared with non-Hispanic Whites. Hispanics are more prone than Non-Hispanic Whites to develop chronic and respiratory diseases, which place this population in high risk to develop flu complications. Therefore, it is of pivotal public health significance, to develop strategies that can address flu misperceptions in Hispanics. This essay proposes a local strategy in Pittsburgh, PA called InFLUyentes, as a possible method to increase vaccination coverage among Hispanics. InFLUyentes, the Spanish word for influential, endeavors to prepare members, from all educational levels of the Hispanic community, to positively change other’s flu misperceptions. With the support of a health promotion campaign, InFLUyentes will be ready to intervene with accurate information, whenever a misleading comment about flu is presented in their daily environment. The ultimate goal of the InFLUyentes strategy is to facilitate accurate information-based decisions regarding flu prevention, and to eventually aim to integrate yearly flu vaccinations into a new community norm within Hispanics in Pittsburgh. InFLUyentes strategy bases its educational information on previous health belief and focus groups studies, regarding flu perception in Hispanics, and utilizes the social contagion theory to integrate the information to the community. Community-based approaches are the best method to create community solutions, which take in consideration the actual needs, perception, motivations, and norms of a community. These are pivotal factors that will lead to the creation and implementation of an effective intervention. A limitation of this strategy is that it will not necessarily impact everyone, since some people may not accept the corrections to their flu misperceptions. Further investigations on the impact of the InFLUyentes strategy should be addressed. Throughout this project, competency of important Public Health concepts, such as strategic planning, health communication, cultural competency, and infectious disease management, were demonstrated.
publisher: University of Pittsburgh
date: 2013-04-17
type: Other Thesis, Dissertation, or Long Paper
type: PeerReviewed
format: application/pdf
language: en
rights: attached
identifier: http://d-scholarship-dev.library.pitt.edu/18506/1/JRivera_2013MPH_Essay.pdf
format: text/plain
language: en
rights: attached
identifier: http://d-scholarship-dev.library.pitt.edu/18506/4/licence.txt
identifier:   Rivera-De Jesus, Jesabel I  (2013) InFLUyentes: a strategy to improve flu vaccination coverage among hispanics in Pittsburgh, PA.  Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.