Social Marketing Outreach regarding Early Identification and Services for Hmong Children with Developmental Disabilities

This study was based on the public health principles of primary and secondary prevention for a hard-to-reach or hardly reached population within an Asian and Pacific Islander (A&PIA) community - families and persons with a developmental disability among the Hmong community. This presentation will describe how social marketing can be used to ameliorate health problems and issues of access for A&PIA populations. Hmong American families are underrepresented among recipients of special education, health, and social services for people with developmental disabilities; this lack of early intervention and services may lead to unnecessary lifelong impairments that could be avoided. In 2008, employing a community based participatory research (CBPR) approach, focus groups were conducted in the Hmong community to determine perception of developmental disabilities and determine barriers to services. Results included the identification of several barriers to services including lack of accurate information, language usage, and limited outreach. Despite these barriers, participants indicated that with an increase in culturally responsive education and outreach, person with developmental disabilities would likely accept services. There have been several studies indicating that social marketing approaches are effective in reaching hard-to-reach and hardly reached communities to create awareness of health-related issues and services. In partnership with a local ethnic TV station and the Hmong community, this study conducted in 2009 explored the best social marketing strategies to inform the Hmong community about developmental disabilities. The goal of this presentation to share the research methodology and the lessons learned regarding developmental disabilities, social marketing and the Hmong community.