Developing Federal HIV Campaigns for Hispanics/Latinos in the United States: Formative Research Processes and Findings

Theoretical Background and research questions/hypothesis:  This abstract describes the formative research processes that CDC undertook to develop three HIV campaigns for Hispanics/Latinos in the U.S., and highlights important research findings regarding this population.

Methods:  The formative research activities for these campaigns consisted of literature reviews and environmental scans looking for existing research, programs, and data to understand key influences, how to best reach the target audience, possible segmentation strategies, and what competing or complementary messages are circulating in the sociocultural environment.  Primary survey data with roughly 970 Hispanic/Latino respondents was analyzed to understand audience beliefs, attitudes and practices. Message, concept, and/or materials testing took place in three distinct rounds of data collection, either via street intercepts or small group interviews, with a total of 88 Hispanic/Latino respondents.  In these rounds, various messages or concepts were presented to the target audience to determine comprehension, receptivity, and potential impact.  Expert consultants, both internal to CDC and external, were engaged throughout the formative research process, via interviews, meetings and consultations.  Additionally, channel data were analyzed to understand Hispanic/Latino media habits, with roughly 27,000 Hispanic/Latino respondents included.

Results:  Looking across all research activities for these campaigns, several salient themes emerged that are relevant for general Hispanic/Latino audiences as well as particular subgroups including MSM. Family is an important feature of Hispanic/Latino culture and emphasizing family support may play a critical role in HIV prevention among Hispanics/Latinos. Family communication in particular may have protective benefits. Utilizing non-traditional families and communities is important, given that Latino MSM in particular may lack family support systems.  Additionally, stigma and homophobia serve as barriers to prevention, and stakeholders provided strong support for addressing these issues. General messaging considerations also emerged. Positive, strength-based messaging was overwhelmingly supported by stakeholders.  Additionally, to address a diverse Hispanic/Latino community, campaigns should focus on commonalities such as faith or family, use images that depict the diversity of the population, and provide materials in English and Spanish. Channel research also yielded important findings regarding dissemination. Spanish- and English-dominant Hispanics/Latinos have different media use habits. English-dominant Hispanics/Latinos in particular may be reached via mainstream outlets, while Spanish-dominant Hispanics can be reached via Spanish-language outlets. Partnerships may play a key role in securing these outlets. Generally, digital media, radio and television were recommended channels for reaching Hispanics/Latinos.  Finally, research revealed gaps in existing resources and campaigns. Only a handful of existing campaigns address issues such as stigma, homophobia or HIV communication among Hispanics/Latinos. Of these, only one campaign exists at the national level and none have been rigorously evaluated. These critical gaps provide a major opportunity that CDC’s federal campaigns for Hispanics/Latinos are working to address. 

Conclusions:  A variety of research activities guided the development of several federal HIV campaigns for Hispanics/Latinos in the U.S. Across these activities, important findings emerged, including the importance of family, and the need to address stigma and homophobia, using positive messaging and a culturally competent approach. 

Implications for research and/or practice: This multi-faceted research process and findings provide important insights into creating HIV campaigns for Hispanics/Latinos in the U.S.