The Madrina Network Web Portal

Abstract The Madrina NetworkWeb PortalA Healthy WeightHealthy Lifestyle Intervention for Latinas Ana Consuelo MatiellaPIACMA Social Marketing This Fast Track application addressesa serious health disparityi ethe crisis of obesity among Latinasin the United Statesand the dire need of a timely and culturally and linguistically appropriate weight lossinterventionThis innovative research grant is in direct response to NCI s goals toimprove health communications by raising public awarenessovercome barriers of effective communication in the media and expand health communications researchas well as addressinginadequate collaborative infrastructures to actuate positive dietary changesa specific barrier that NCI stated needed to be addressed in culturally diverse populationsThe inspiration for this innovative digital health product and approach toweight healthamong Latinas comes from the apparent failure of existing weight loss interventions to address the needs of Latinasthe lack of culturally and linguistically appropriate solutions to the problemthe rapid increase of Latina use of the Internetthe documented need for appropriate content for Latinas searching for health information onlinethe benefits of traditional Latina centered social networksand the research that demonstrates the effectiveness of peer support to achieve health related behavior changesThe Specific Aims for Phase I are to evaluatevia focus group interviews conducted with Latinas in Albuquerquethe feasibilityuse abilityacceptabilityaudience engagement and knowledge imparting capabilities of La Madrina NetworkWeb Portal and Game Based CurriculumIn Phase IIwe will apply Phase I findings and fully develop theMadrina Networkintervention and conduct a randomized trialThe purpose of the Phase II study is to assess if after six months of participation in Webbased Madrina NetworkWeb Portal and Game Based Curriculumthe experimental group of Latinasover the age ofwith a BMI ofwho use the internet to find health informationdemonstratesincreased knowledgechange in attitude and change in behaviors related to weight lossas compared to the control groupGiven the urgency of the problem and the obvious need for this kind of interventiona Fast Track SBIR is the most appropriate and timely route to take Project Narrative This project is significantrelevant and important to cancer prevention and public health because obesity has reached crisis proportions among Latinasand it represents a health disparity that needs to be addressed in a culturally tailored and linguistically competent mannerAccording to the Office of Minority Healthof Latinas are overweight or obeseThis grant application is in direct response to NCI s goals toimprove health communications by raising public awarenessovercome barriers of effective communication in the media and expand health communications researchas well as addressinginadequate collaborative infrastructures to actuate positive dietary changesa specific barrier that NCI stated needed to be addressed in culturally diverse populationsACMA Social Marketinga multicultural health communications firm is collaborating with LCF Researcha nationally recognizednot for profit organization that conducts health services research and implements and evaluates community based improvements in health and health careand Lovelace Health Planan HMO in AlbuquerqueNew Mexico to assess the effectiveness of The Madrina Network Web Portaland fotonovela game based curriculum for the purpose ofaddressing obesity disparitiesamong LatinasThis work will contribute to the body of research related to using digital education to reach out to Latinasone of the fastest growing consumers of the internetsocial media and SmartphonesGiven the documented need for cancer prevention information among Latinasthe obesity disparities among Latinasand the recent and on going increase in Latina use of digital mediaThe Madrina Network Web Portal is timelyand necessary andwe feel confident that it will meet with great success