¿Y AHORA QUÉ? CREATION OF BILINGUAL ENGLISH/SPANISH HEALTH EDUCATION RESOURCES TO PROMOTE HEALTH LITERACY AMONG UNINSURED, UNDERREPRESENTED WOMEN

Abstract

Clínica Amistad is a local clinic that provides primary and specialty care services to uninsured patients throughout the metropolitan area. Although the clinic meets many needs for low-cost primary care in Tucson, its impact could be expanded by providing bilingual English/Spanish educational materials for its large population of Spanish-speaking patients and staff regarding the most important health topics. This would allow patients to be educated on the healthcare issues they face, and help them understand, prevent, and manage their physical condition. This would emphasize preventive medicine, help improve the patients’ quality of life, and reduce the cost of health care for these patients by managing their conditions before they become a serious problem. This project serves as an example of the types of resources that could be made available to patients however, due to the limited resources available, the focus of the bilingual resources will be on women´s health, specifically menstruation, birth control, and sexually transmitted infections or diseases. These topics were selected after discussing the clinic’s needs with the clinic manager, the clinic’s women’s health nurse practitioner, and community health workers. Although there are some bilingual resources available regarding diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia, there are few to none available for women’s health. The educational resources will be developed as a flyer or brochure that will provide concise summaries of the topics and will be offered in audio and video formats to increase accessibility for individuals who prefer non-print media.