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Improving Care of Upper Respiratory Infections Among Latino Early Head Start Parents

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Abstract

Misconceptions about upper respiratory infections (URI) and their treatment are widely held, especially among Latino parents, and are associated with increased health care visits. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends community based interventions to educate families about URI. We designed a community-based, culturally competent health literacy intervention regarding URI, which was pilot tested with Latino Early Head Start (EHS) parents. In depth interviews were conducted to understand parents’ perceptions. A paired-sample Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to assess change in pre-post knowledge/attitudes scores. Changes in care practices are described. Parents were very positive about this education, were open to non-antibiotic URI care, and reported that materials were helpful. Following the intervention, the mean composite knowledge/attitude score increased from 4.1 (total: 10) to 6.6 (P < .05). Families also reported improved care practices. EHS sites are promising locations for health literacy interventions regarding URI.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank our project coordinator, Angela Barrett, and our data manager, Myra Joyce, for their work in this pilot project. We would also like to thank the Columbia University Head Start, the staff and parents in the participating classes. The project described was supported by Grant Number UL1 RR024156 from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and NIH Roadmap for Medical Research, and its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of NCRR or NIH. The original health literacy modules were funded by a grant from the Health Resources Services Administration (Meyer).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of General Pediatrics, Columbia University, 622 W. 168th Street -VC 402, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Melissa S. Stockwell, Marina Catallozzi, Dodi Meyer & Emelin Martinez

  2. Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Melissa S. Stockwell, Marina Catallozzi & Carmen Rodriguez

  3. School of Nursing, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Elaine Larson

  4. Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Elaine Larson

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  1. Melissa S. Stockwell
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  6. Elaine Larson
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Correspondence to Melissa S. Stockwell.

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Stockwell, M.S., Catallozzi, M., Meyer, D. et al. Improving Care of Upper Respiratory Infections Among Latino Early Head Start Parents. J Immigrant Minority Health 12, 925–931 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-010-9326-8

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