BACKGROUND:
Immunization rates among African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and other minorities ranging from children to adults are significantly lower than their white counterparts. The availability of and access to high quality, culturally competent/sensitive and appropriate educational material is an essential element in increasing immunization rates among diverse populations.

OBJECTIVE:
To examine availability and variation of culturally sensitive immunization education materials among immunization coalitions and identify best practices with respect to development of culturally competent materials.

METHOD:
Culturally competent health promotion respects cultural values, beliefs and practices of intended audiences. Immunization education materials deemed culturally competent were acquired and reviewed. A survey of over 60 immunization coalitions is being conducted to determine what coalitions consider culturally sensitive immunization material to be, what materials are being used, whether materials used were developed by the coalition or an outside organization, do the materials meet the needs of the coalition and what culturally competent material they would like to have access to.

RESULT:
Preliminary results show that culturally competent immunization material has been developed by various national organizations. On a local level, San Antonio Metropolitan Health District developed culturally sensitive bilingual immunization educational material using familiar cultural images. Overall, there is great variability in approaches and methods used to develop the material.
Research is underway to determine the following:
• What culturally sensitive immunization material is being used;
• Who developed the material;
• Does the material meet the needs of the coalition; and
• What culturally competent material they would like to have access to.

CONCLUSION:
Direct translation or changing pictures does not assure that culture is recognized and integrated into consumer-oriented educational materials; however, it can be the first step towards initiating cultural competency. Findings suggest a need for a comprehensive list of culturally competent immunization educational materials and best practices/criteria to guide the development of culturally competent materials.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. Identify criteria for evaluating culturally competent immunization educational material.
2. Determine what culturally competent educational material is currently being used by coalitions.
3. Identify what coalitions need to provide culturally competent immunization education.