Why we do what we do

We investigate the influence of communication and culture on individual- and population-level health and health disparities.​

We explore how Latino ethnicity and culture interplay with communication access and influence. We conceptualize communication influence to include the information environment and communication-based health promotion interventions. Specifically, we are interested in: (1) Evaluating the influence of the information environment on health behaviors and outcomes; (2) Describing influences on risk factors and health behaviors among Latinos; and (3) Designing health communications for maximum effectiveness among Latinos across the acculturation spectrum. This research employs multiple mixed methods, including primary data collection in the community and analysis of national and state data sets. 

Access to accurate, timely, relevant information has been considered a social determinant of health. Information from the media may be especially important in rural settings, with geographically-dispersed populations that are harder to reach through other channels, and where local community news predominates. However, the unequal distribution of health information is compounded in rural regions that face multiple barriers to health, and thus may contribute to rather than reduce disparities.

Latinos comprise nearly 18% of the US population and more than 40% of California's. However, the diversity of this population poses new challenges for understanding how to design effective behavior change interventions. Most community-based interventions with Latinos have focused on those who speak Spanish exclusively, limiting our understanding of how acculturation and linguistic diversity impact communication intervention design and effectiveness and whether interventions reduce disparities.

We are motivated to address health disparities.

Read more about disparities in health or use the widget here to see the latest data on disparities for Healthy People 2020's Leading Health Indicators.