Appendix B
Audience Personas
ODPHP met with 30 Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific
Islander intermediaries representing target populations (organized
according to the context in which they might use the Internet to
find health information).
The purpose of a persona is to create sample audiences
that can be compared against each other in crafting electronic documents
to suit many audience needs. User-experience research refers to
persona development as a "necessary foundation of good interaction
design."1 The purpose of the persona is not
to provide information on a specific person; instead, personas serve
as hypothetical archetypes of actual users. The personas developed
in this study are defined based on the experiences of the interviewers.
Typical executive directors oversee nonprofit organizations that
provide either direct health care or infrastructure to community-based
organizations. They are highly educated, holding at least one advanced
degree. Ranging in age from their mid-30s to age 70, they engender
a great deal of respect from community members as well as influence
on a national level.
Typical executive directors access the Internet both at the office
and at home, up to 5 hours per day. They spend the majority of their
workweek answering e-mail, calling various partners, going to meetings
and traveling. Usually, they do not spend a lot of time surfing
the Internet.
The top five tasks that executive directors try to accomplish
on a health information Web site are:
- Search for statistics
- Find grant information
- Find information on health specific to communities
- Find updates on health news
- Gather information for a meeting
The most rewarding aspect of executive directors' jobs are making
a difference, empowering community members to do what they are capable
of, teaching others as well as learning from mentors, and strengthening
the capacity of the community.
The most challenging aspects of their job are having limited resources,
having limited data, handling administrative issues, and breaking
down language and cultural barriers that prevent community members
from getting the health care they need.
Typical health educators and social workers work directly with
community members, referring them to treatment or providing counseling.
Some develop health education curricula, translate health education
materials, conduct outreach to the community, or manage other staff.
Typical health educators and social workers access the Internet
mostly at the office and sometimes at home. Because they are often
seeing clients, they spend up to 1 hour a day on the Internet. Social
workers have even less time than health educators to access the
Internet because they are often visiting clients in their homes.
Health educators have to develop translation standards and processes
because they usually have to provide health education materials
that are specific to a particular language and culture. The two
professions share the job of assisting community members with accessing
services.
The top five tasks that health educators and social
workers try to accomplish on a health Web site are:
1. |
Provide information to individuals or groups (tie)
|
1. |
Find information on health specific to community (tie) |
2. |
Find information on disease or condition (tie) |
2. |
Print handouts for patients (tie)
|
2. |
Search for statistics (tie) |
The most rewarding aspect of health educators' and
social workers' jobs are seeing how their health education materials
have made a difference for non-English-speaking clients or community
and helping clients access services.
The most challenging aspect of their job is sustainability, limited
data, and making sure the community voice is heard.
Typical legislative analysts spend their time working on testimonies,
briefs, presentations, or staffing a political person. They are
highly educated, holding at least a college degree. The average
age is in the mid-30s.
Typical legislative analysts access the Internet at the office
and at home, up to 4 hours a day. Their workday can be up to 10
hours long.
The top five tasks that legislative analysts try
to accomplish on a health Web site are:
1. |
Gather information for a meeting
|
2. |
Find updates on health news (tie) |
2. |
Search for topic related to health care organization (tie) |
3. |
Find information on health specific to communities
|
4. |
Find journal articles |
The most rewarding aspects of legislative analysts'
jobs are the variety of people they meet and the intellectual stimulation.
The most challenging aspects of their jobs are repeating the same
thing over and over and setting their priorities.
Typical librarians who work on behalf of Asian American, Native
Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islander issues are consumer health
librarians. They are usually in charge of developing paper or electronic
kiosks or Internet sites for people who speak Asian American, Native
Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islander languages. They usually hold
an advanced degree in library sciences and are not Asian American,
Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islander.
Typical librarians access the Internet at the office and at home,
up to 5 hours a day. Sometimes they staff a reference desk and answer
consumer health questions and perform literature searches for physicians.
Usually, they are in charge of collecting or creating translated
materials in Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific
Islander languages for paper or electronic kiosks or Internet sites.
The top tasks that librarians try to accomplish
on a health Web site are:
1. |
Search for translated materials (tie)
|
1. |
Find journal articles (tie) |
2. |
Search for statistics (tie) |
2. |
Find organizations that on work on a specific issue (tie)
|
2. |
See how many Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islander sites are available (tie) |
2. |
Find information on treatment and management (tie) |
2. |
Provide information to individuals or groups (tie) |
2. |
Find information on disease or condition (tie) |
The most rewarding aspects of librarians' jobs are
serving as a reference point for people and helping them with a
health care issue.
The most challenging aspect of their job is collecting or translating
materials for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific
Islander populations. They have had to create their own translation
standards or processes. The projects take much longer than they
anticipate, and they face many language and cultural barriers because
they are not Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific
Islander.
Typical physicians and nurses wear many hats?from providing
health care to patients to teaching students to consulting on public
health projects. Physicians also can serve as medical directors
of community health centers. They all hold advanced degrees and
range in age from their 30s to their 60s.
Typical physicians and nurses access the Internet at the office
and at home, up to 4 hours a day. If they are working at a community
health center, few physicians and nurses have an Internet connection.
They are busy seeing patients, coordinating meetings, teaching medical
students, developing mentorship programs, and serving on various
organization boards.
The top five tasks that physicians and nurses try
to accomplish on a health Web site are:
1. |
Find information on disease or condition
|
2. |
Search for statistics |
3. |
Print handouts for patients (tie) |
3. |
Find information on treatment and management (tie)
|
3. |
Provide information to individuals or groups (tie) |
The most rewarding aspects of physicians' and nurses' jobs are
being able to "educate our community and respect their voices" and
bringing those voices into academic centers or government. Of course,
they all enjoy the patient interaction.
The most challenging aspect of their job is overcoming barriers
like access to health care, limited resources, and language and
cultural issues.
Typical program administrators have a wide range of responsibilities
from managing staff to developing Asian American, Native Hawaiian,
and other Pacific Islander print and electronic health education
materials to evaluating Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and other
Pacific Islander public health projects. Some provide direct services
to community members who may call them to request health information
or services.
Typical program administrators access the Internet at the office
and at home, up to 10 hours a day. They are online frequently because
they are usually tasked with locating information on behalf of the
community or their organization.
The top five tasks that program administrators
try to accomplish on a health Web site are:
1. |
Provide information to individuals or groups (tie)
|
1. |
Gather information for a meeting (tie) |
2. |
Search for statistics |
3. |
Find journal articles (tie)
|
3. |
Find information on health specific to community (tie) |
The most rewarding aspects of program administrators' jobs are
"connecting with people" and delivering health information to the
community.
The most challenging aspects of their jobs are limited resources
and learning new technologies.
Typical researchers wear many hats ranging from teaching students
to conducting research to holding leadership positions in community
organizations. They are highly educated, holding advanced degrees.
The average age is in the mid-30s.
Typical researchers access the Internet at the office and at home, up to 4 hours a day. They spend a lot of time preparing for lectures or conducting research on behalf of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islander communities.
The top five tasks that researchers try to accomplish
on a health Web site are:
1. |
Find journal articles
|
2. |
Find information on disease or condition |
3. |
Search for statistics |
4. |
Gather information for a meeting (tie)
|
4. |
Find grant information (tie) |
The most rewarding aspect of researchers' jobs is
making a difference for students or community members by providing
them the information they need to be successful.
I see my work as a long-term thing. I don't expect
to see the result within a year but the fact that I'm going to
a community asking people tough questions and trying to make them
realize through the research process that it's not okay to accept
the status quo. I try to teach my students the same thing every
day, trying to make them aware of health disparities.
Dr. Mei-ling Wang, Professor, University of the Sciences,
Philadelphia
The most challenging aspect of their jobs is limited resources as well as social, political, and cultural barriers because of politics or discrimination.
Typical traditional healing practitioners perform acupuncture, Native
Hawaiian traditional healing, T'ai Chi, coining or cupping (use
of cuplike suction devices to draw "bad wind" from the body), or
other forms of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific
Islander traditional healing for their patients. They are highly
educated, usually holding multiple advanced degrees. They wear several
hatsserving on organizational boards, consulting, conducting
research, and teaching.
Typical traditional healing practitioners access the Internet at home and at the office, up to 3 hours a day. They are more Internet-savvy than their American Indian and Alaska Native colleagues in the traditional healing arena. This could be due to the fact that most of them are trained in both traditional Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islander and Western education. This allows them to operate in both worlds and facilitate partnerships.
The top five tasks that traditional healing practitioners
try to accomplish on a health Web site are:
1. |
Find information on traditional healing (tie)
|
1. |
Find information on alternative nutrition (tie) |
2. |
Find information on disease or condition |
3. |
Search for topic related to health care organization
|
4. |
Find grant information |
The most rewarding aspects of traditional healing practitioners' jobs are helping patients feel better, especially when conventional medicine has failed, and helping people find their mission in life.
The most challenging aspect of their job is "trying to come up with creative solutions to problems that have traditionally plagued humanity."
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