 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Marcia J. Liem, BSN, Immunization Program, County of Los Angeles, Central Health Center, 3530 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90010 and Jennifer Ciridon Rivera, RN, MSN/MPH, CNS, Public Health Nursing Administration, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Public Health Nursing, 241 North Figueroa, Suite 347, Los Angeles, CA 90012, 213-989-7197, jrivera@dhs.co.la.ca.us.
Nearly 10 million people call Los Angeles (LA) County home, representing over 152 different languages. While offering a rich cultural history, the county's diversity also brings many challenges in the field of health education. These challenges include the difficulty in effectively and adequately communicating health promotion behaviors to the community. Public health nurses in LA County identified barriers in communicating with the community members due to limitations in the number of easy-to-read and up-to-date educational materials. As a result, a partnership was developed with health educators, forming the "Interdisciplinary Committee for Health Education Materials Development" with the common goal of providing health education materials that contain an appropriate literacy level for the average reader. In monthly meetings, the committee utilizes respective disciplines' expertise in client education and medical proficiency in an extensive drafting and reviewing process to develop accurate materials. During the process, the committee has also consulted with experts in LAC's tobacco control, nutrition, physical activity, acute communicable disease, and immunization programs. Based on Healthy People 2010 leading health indicators, the committee's educational materials have served to reinforce health promotion and illness prevention strategies. The 34 handouts developed to date range in topics from reportable communicable diseases to bioterrorism to secondhand smoke. All handouts are made accessible to the public and to other health professionals through the LA County Public Health Nursing website at www.lapublichealth.org/phn.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Cultural Competency, Health Education
Related Web page: www.lapublichealth.org/phn
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.