THE FOTONOVELA APPROACH TO SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION

IT IS THE SPECIFIC AIM OF THIS PROPOSAL TO EXPLORE THE VIABILITY OF DEVELOPING FOTONOVELAS AS HEALTH EDUCATION TOOLS IN THE PREVENTION OF ADOLESCENT SUBSTANCE ABUSE FOR BOTH THE HISPANIC AND GENERAL POPULATION OF ADOLESCENTS. THIS AIM WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH THE COMPLETION OF FIVEINTERRELATED OBJECTIVES: (1) ASSESSMENT OF THE EDUCATIONAL VIABILITY OF FOTONOVELAS DEVELOPED FOR PREVENTION OF ADOLESCENT SUBSTANCE ABUSE. THIS OBJECTIVE WILL INVOLVE A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON FOTONOVELAS AND ADOLESCENT SUBSTANCE ABUSE. (2) ASSESSMENT OF THE COMMERCIAL VIABILITY OF FOTONOVELAS. THIS OBJECTIVE WILL INCLUDE GATHERING INFORMATION ON THE SIZE AND EXTENT OF EXISTING MARKETS AS WELL AS A SURVEY OF POTENTIAL USERS/BUYERS. (3) & (4) IDENTIFICATION OF VARIABLES THAT WILL ENHANCE THE ADOPTION/DIFFUSION OF FOTONOVELAS. THESE OBJECTIVES WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH A SERIES OF FOCUS GROUPS WITH HISPANIC ADOLESCENTS, THE GENERAL POPULATION OF ADOLESCENTS, AND HEALTH EDUCATORS AND ADMINISTRATORS OF SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMS. (5) DEVELOPMENT OF PHASE IIRESEARCH PLAN AND ESTABLISHMENT OF TENTATIVE IMPLEMENTATION SITES. THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF PHASE I WOULD DETERMINE THE MOST VIABLE DIRECTION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS CONCEPT, AS WELL AS ITS ULTIMATE MARKETABILITY. IT WILL ALLOW US TO UNDERTAKE THE DEVELOPMENT AND DISSEMINATION OF THIS INNOVATION IN A WELL-INFORMED AND EFFICIENT MANNER