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Scholarly Works (3 results)

  • Article
Policy Reports and Research Briefs (1995)

Technologies that alter a nation’s infrastructure affect all sectors of society. The changes wrought by anew infrastructure ripple throughout the nation’s social, economic, and political institution and transform its culture. They erode old forms of livelihood and create new ones; they supplant preexisting notions of space and time and connect formerly disparate parts into a more integral whole. The development of a national information infrastructure is such a phenomena.

The United States today is an advanced post-industrial society in which political and economic activity is increasingly conditioned by one’s relationship to information. The development of a national information infrastructure—the so-called information superhighway—attenuates this relationship. The national information infrastructure is an economic, political, and social phenomena that ill fundamentally transform society. Since it undergirds the nation’s economic and social institutions, the development of an advanced information infrastructure will affect all sectors of the economy and all classes of society. This advanced telecommunications network will radically alter the way society functions. It will redefine the nature of work and commerce, our access to education and health services, our forms and levels of political participation, and even our notions of leisure.

The modernization of the nation’s information infrastructure thus has significant implications to Latinos. As is often the case with transformational technologies, it will infrastructure may be a force for greater economic and political integration to Latinos into society, or it may lead to increased marginalization of Latinos.

    Cover page: The Development of a National Information Infrastructure and its Implications for Latinos
    • Article
    • Peer Reviewed
    UC Davis Previously Published Works (2018)
    US Latina women experience disproportionately high cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates. These health disparities are largely preventable with routine pap tests and human papillomavirus (HPV) screening. This study tested the efficacy of a cervical cancer education intervention to improve risk factor knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, and self-reported behavior related to cervical cancer screening among low-income Latinas who had not been screened in the past 2 years, compared to a usual care control group. Low-income Latinas who had not had a pap test in the prior 2 years were recruited from three Federally Qualified Health Centers and randomly assigned to intervention and control groups, with in-person assessment at baseline and 6-month follow-up. Women in the intervention group received a one-time low-literacy cervical cancer education program through an interactive, multimedia kiosk in either English or Spanish based on their language preference. Compared to the control group, the intervention group demonstrated greater knowledge (p < 0.0001) and more favorable attitudes at follow-up; fewer intervention group women never thought of getting a pap test (46 vs. 54 %, p = 0.050) or agreed that it is fate whether a woman gets cervical cancer or not (24 vs. 31 %, p = 0.043). The groups did not differ significantly on the proportion who had obtained or made an appointment for a pap test at follow-up (51 vs. 48 %, p = 0.35). Both groups reported high levels of self-efficacy regarding pap screening at post-intervention. A one-time interactive, multimedia educational intervention improved cervical cancer knowledge and attitudes among low-income Latinas but had no effect on cervical cancer-screening behavior. Exposure of the control group to the pre-test conducted on the multimedia kiosk may have influenced their screening behavior.
      Cover page: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Cervical Cancer Education Intervention for Latinas Delivered Through Interactive, Multimedia Kiosks
      • Article
      • Peer Reviewed
      UC Irvine Previously Published Works (2015)

      Background

      The human papillomavirus (HPV) is the precursor and the single, most important risk factor for cervical cancer. It is also the most commonly sexually transmitted infection in the United States. An estimated 20 million persons are currently infected with the virus, with an estimated 6 million new infections occurring annually and 12,000 new cervical cancer cases and 4,000 cervical cancer deaths annually. The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is thus an especially important preventive measure for racial/ethnic groups who bear an unequal burden of cervical cancer mortality.

      Purpose

      This study aimed to develop a culturally and linguistically appropriate intervention to educate and empower Latino and Korean Americans to make an informed HPV vaccination decision for their minor children.

      Methods

      A parent-focused HPV vaccine education DVD was developed through focus groups and cognitive interviews with Latino and Korean Americans parents of children ages 11-17. A randomized controlled efficacy trial was subsequently conducted with 708 Latino and Korean Americans parents to assess knowledge gains, decisional conflict, decision self-efficacy and informed decision-making resulting from viewing the intervention DVD.

      Results

      Differences between treatment and control groups for pre-post changes in knowledge, informed decision-making and decisional conflict were statistically significant among the parents exposed to the education intervention DVD.

      Conclusion

      The study demonstrated that a culturally and linguistically appropriate intervention DVD designed to educate parents about the risks and benefits of the HPV vaccine promoted informed decision-making regarding HPV vaccination among at-risk populations.
        Cover page: Design and efficacy of a multilingual, multicultural HPV vaccine education interventionCreative Commons 'BY' version 4.0 license
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