Evaluation of a fotonovela on the environmental factors affecting obesity

Obesity is a major public health problem in the nation. This presentation describes a study on process, impact, and outcome evaluation of a fotonovela developed with active involvement of the participating community and distributed in a rural area of California. This fotonovela was a 16 page-printed magazine that included pictures and text messages related to the environmental factors affecting obesity such as food availability, neighborhood security, and health policies for obesity prevention. It intended to reach primarily a Hispanic/Latino audience.

Nine focus groups with a total number of 68 participants were conducted to assess individual changes (knowledge, attitudes, skills, and behaviors), and community outcomes (community advocacy, active participation, and community engagement) resulting from reading the fotonovela. The results of this study indicated that fotonovelas are very useful health communication tools that promote greater community engagement and health promoting individual change.

This presentation will also provide participants with an opportunity to analyze the instrument used in this study to assess process, impact, and outcomes of community-based participatory health communication tools. It will also present recommendations for community planning and health policy, in light of the results of the study, regarding Hispanic/Latino community-based participatory methodologies aimed to reduce health literacy disparities.