179951 Using the internet to outreach to multilingual populations: Expanding access to family planning services for Californians with Limited English Proficiency

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Donna Bell Sanders, MPH , Information and Education, California Family Health Council, Bakersfield, CA
Veronica Estrella Murillo, MPH , Information and Education, California Family Health Council, Los Gatos, CA
Robin Lowney Lankton, MPH, CHES , Information and Education, California Family Health Council, Los Angeles, CA
Laurie Weaver , Maternal, Child & Adolescent Health/Office of Family Planning Branch, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, CA
Access to high quality information is essential for all Californians struggling to access family planning services and learn more about their reproductive health. The barriers to access are particularly acute for people with limited English proficiency. Thus, the Office of Family Planning's Family PACT (Planning, Access, Care, and Treatment) Program, has responded to the changing demands and expectations of California's multilingual populations by introducing an innovative multilingual website.

The website features information about how clients can access Family PACT services; client eligibility; provides basic information regarding contraceptive methods and sexually transmitted infections; and highlights helpful health education materials on other topics. The website outreaches to family planning clients in 6 different languages: English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Russian. Family PACT, as a publicly funded family planning and reproductive health program, provides access to services for 1.7 million low income Californians every year.

This presentation will explain and discuss the practical aspects of marshalling such an effort and emphasizes the importance of pre-testing and providing culturally appropriate information to potential family planning clients. Implications for best practices in the design and management of information services aimed at multilingual populations will also be discussed.

Learning Objectives:
List the steps needed to develop a website for multilingual populations. Analyze the relationship between access to information services and access to health and health-related services

Keywords: Access to Health Care, Cultural Competency

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I coordinated the effort to launch this website.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Influence of Gender, Culture and Age on Sexual and Reproductive Health
See more of: Population, Family Planning, and Reproductive Health