Hi Paul-
I appreciate your perspective and I've had similar experiences to you that
suggest that expensive and 'slick' looking materials are not necessarily
better- it depends so much on the audience and context.
 
I was wondering if you could elaborate a bit more on your comment about
photonovelas just being handed-out are relatively ineffective. From your
experience, is this, for example, with particular groups, topics, or
settings?
 
Last week we spoke quite a bit on the value and importance of participatory
processes in developing and using photonovelas to address health literacy
needs. However, from the Doak's work, I've understood photonovelas as
containing quite a few elements that can make them a valuable written 'tool'
to address literacy needs in their own right (e.g., realism through visuals,
captures and holds attention, health message woven into relevant life
situations, easy to read language and short conversational sentences). 
 
Although further study is needed, ancedotal feedback I've gotten from health
professionals who distribute the photonovelas at events like health fairs,
etc. say that they are always the first to go. For those distributed in
clinic settings, they tell me clients report keeping them and sharing them
with others (like a magazine). I work with primarily Latino families, which
as you note tend to be a receptive audience since photonovelas are
culturally familiar, so your comment peaked my curiosity. 
 
Any additional information or insight would be great. Thanks!
Susan
.

  _____  

From: healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of AboutDiabetes at aol.com
Sent: Monday, December 01, 2008 3:10 PM
To: healthliteracy at nifl.gov
Subject: [HealthLiteracy 2528] Re: Evidence-based? ... Literacy benefits?


Dear Ceci and Leonard:
 
You raise a very important point. Photonovelas that are just handed-out are
a relatively ineffective and expensive waste of resources. They are much
more effective as interactive tools where the subject reads the photonovela
and then discusses the content through open-ended questions in one-on-one
interviews or in group settings. 
 
Fortunately, the 'users' experience' with photonovelas among many lower
socioeconomic Latinos, and especially Mexicans, as a source of adult
entertainment at least, is fairly good. These experiences create a receptive
audience for the delivery of important health care messages. 
 
How you deliver the message is just as important as the message itself. For
example, in countries other than the US, photonovelas and adult comics are
often printed on very inexpensive paper and the quality of the color
photography or illustrations is poor at best. 
 
So, what is one to do if they want to increase the effectiveness of their
programs by reaching as many of their target audience as possible at 'their'
comfort level? For one thing, I would suggest using a decent 80# matte paper
versus a high-gloss expensive paper for printing.  
 
The characters and backgrounds should also reflect the real world
environment of the recipients. The aspirational images often used in
programs by Big Pharma and large agencies that can afford these projects
work with some, but where is the evidence that they work as well or better
than real life representations? In my experience, they don't. However, this
can be hard to prove when you are dealing with audiences whose cultural
orientation is to be highly respectful of health professionals and
researchers. An example of this is the problem interviewers often face as
they watch Hispanic interviewees struggle to find the words they think the
interviewer wants to hear (so they can show the proper degree of respect).  
 
The size, colors, and length of the program are only some of the other
considerations. A standard US 20-page comic or photonovela may contain far
too much information for a limited literacy reader who grew up reading
similar materials that contained only a few words per page or panel. 
 
None of this is news to either of you, but it may be to the reader.
 
Best regards,
 
Paul Tracey
Learning About Diabetes, Inc.
www.learningaboutdiabetes.org                   
 
 
 
 



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