Development of video media to help Chinese seniors navigate the U.S. health care system

Background: A critical problem facing Chinese American seniors is the conversion of potential health care access into realized health care access; in California, few lack health insurance yet consistently report lower use of health care services and lower satisfaction than Caucasian seniors. Methods: We conducted five focus groups of Chinese American seniors and their caretakers to identify barriers and facilitators that affected their ability to obtain health care, and about interest in specific preventive health care topics. We analyzed their responses to develop video vignettes designed to address different issues facing Chinese American seniors. Topics were selected for development based on importance rank within focus groups and ability to translate into a video media framework. These video vignettes are 3 to 5 minutes in length and focus on providing the viewer with practical and actionable information regarding the specific health care topic. Findings: Topics selected for development encompass several broad constructs: 1) overcoming access barriers, e.g., obtaining interpretation services, obtaining disabled placards, obtaining paratransit services, dealing with expensive medications; 2) increasing knowledge, e.g., understanding prescription labels, understanding insurance, identifying depression; and 3) preventive care, e.g., cardiovascular prevention screening, and cancer prevention screening. We present selected final video vignettes (subtitled in English) planned for television and internet broadcast and DVD distribution. Conclusions: Video vignettes are a practical health education approach to reducing health access barriers that can reach wide audiences of stakeholders, such as Chinese American seniors and their caretakers, through multiple media outlets including television and internet and DVDs.