KEYWORDS:
Adolescent, adult, attitudes, behavior, culture, Hispanic, knowledge, language.

BACKGROUND:
Focus groups conducted by the National Alliance for Hispanic Health in 1995 and 1997 with Hispanic families and health professionals, revealed that some of the most significant barriers to Hispanic immunization are the lack of culturally and linguistically appropriate immunization materials and services; lack of knowledge concerning vaccine preventable diseases; parents’ concerns with confidentiality, discrimination, and disrespectful treatment by providers; and fear of not understanding or asking questions to providers about vaccines.

OBJECTIVE(S):
During the year 2000, the Vacunas para la familia: Immunizations for All Ages, the Alliance’s immunization initiative, conducted focus groups with Hispanic adolescents and parents of adolescents, to obtain baseline data regarding culture, language, knowledge, belief, and attitude which will support the development of appropriate materials for Hispanic adolescents.

METHOD(S):
The project conducted six focus group sessions. Participants represented adolescents and adults of the different Hispanic subgroups, adolescents born in the U.S. and recent immigrants, males and females, and monolingual and bilingual adolescents. A focus group protocol was developed to ensure data collection consistency.

RESULT(S):
Given the limited efforts to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate information and immunization materials, it is not surprising that a large segment of the adolescent Hispanic population lacks knowledge about vaccines and vaccine preventable diseases. Although adolescents believe vaccines are important, misconceptions, lack of access to services, and attitude about health and prevention precluded them from seeking immunization services.

CONCLUSIONS(S):
The focus group sessions provided data to identify the informational needs of Hispanic adolescents and their parents. Based on the adolescents’ recommendations, the program developed culturally and linguistically appropriate immunization materials and outreach strategies.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this workshop, participants should be aware of the knowledge, attitude, and beliefs of Hispanic adolescents to develop effective materials and strategies to increase immunization coverage among Hispanic adolescents.