Engaging first time Latino immigrant parents to understand their infant's behavior using Fotonovelas (Picture Stories)

Background:  A need exists to culturally tailor concepts that will help new Latino immigrant parents better understand their parenting role in promoting their infant’s health and development.  The purpose of this study was to identify a culturally tailored approach to increase Latino origin U.S. immigrant first time parents understanding of infant behavior in order to promote their infant’s mental health and readiness for a preschool experience. 

Methods: A Community Based Participatory Research approach was used to identify ways to engage immigrant parents in the process of understanding their infant’s behavior.  Concepts from Barnard’s Keys to Caregiving were culturally tailored by developing picture stories (fotonovelas). The sample included four sets of parent groups (N=40 parents) mothers and fathers.  Using qualitative methodology in both rural and urban Latino immigrant communities in the Pacific Northwest, Midwest, East and West Coast, parents adapted the concepts and designed the stories to communicate essential knowledge to first time immigrant Latino limited English speaking parents.

Results: The results surprisingly discovered that Latino immigrant fathers were equally engaged in learning about their parenting role.  They were as committed to their infant’s growth and development, as the mothers. 

Conclusions: This study resulted in a series of picture stories (fotonovelas) in Spanish and English.  It established the importance of culturally tailoring concepts to develop curriculums that promote the parenting role and parental understanding of infant behavior and readiness to learn.  Latino immigrant mothers and fathers equally contributed to the development of the stories.  They were, therefore, motivated to use them.