Asthma and Health Literacy in Newcomer Communities in the Greater Vancouver Area
Condition: Asthma
MeSH terms: Asthma
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      In this study, the investigators aim to develop and test the effectiveness of culturally
      appropriate asthma videos and other educational materials based on knowledge from this study
      and the investigators' previous studies. By culturally appropriate materials the
      investigators mean to develop health information (in the format of video and written
      materials) in the community own language and applied the most appealing cultural beliefs and
      practices in the Chinese and Punjabi communities. The investigators also aim to recommend a
      practical framework and to develop a measure of asthma knowledge and health literacy among
      immigrants from the Punjabi and Chinese communities in BC. The investigators' definition of
      health literacy in this study is the capability of a person to navigate and access to
      asthma-related information, as well as to understand, evaluate, and communicate the obtained
      information to improve his/her health status. The investigators' hypothesis is that
      audio-visual based asthma information in a subject's native language would improve a
      patient's knowledge and self-management of asthma in comparison to printed information.
    

Detailed description: 
      There is compelling evidence indicating that newcomers to Canada with limited English
      proficiency and low health literacy are facing systemic, linguistic and cultural barriers in
      accessing health information and treatment services pertaining to Asthma. The intent of this
      study is to develop and test the effectiveness of culturally appropriate asthma videos and
      other educational materials based on knowledge from this study and the investigators'
      previous elicitation studies, to recommend a practical framework and to develop a measure of
      asthma knowledge and health literacy among immigrants from the Punjabi and Chinese
      communities in the Greater Vancouver Area.

      The objectives of the proposed research are: "1." to assess the knowledge, attitudes,
      beliefs, and practices related to asthma and relevant issues in selected individuals within
      the target communities; "2." to investigate access and utilization patterns of asthma-related
      services among participant communities; "3." to assess the effectiveness of culturally
      competent and participatory developed videos and written educational materials on
      individuals' knowledge and health literacy skills related to asthma; "4." to examine
      relationships between health literacy, culture, language and access to and utilization of
      asthma services among targeted newcomer individuals; "5." to build research capacity and
      community-university-service provider alliances, and contribute to the development of an
      integrated research-service agenda on newcomers' asthma self-management among target
      communities; and "6." to disseminate information to decision makers and knowledge-users , so
      the results of this study can be efficiently used in developing relevant services that meet
      newcomers' needs. The proposed research will use quantitative and qualitative methods
      including a full participatory approach that builds on the investigators' previous work with
      vulnerable ethno-cultural communities in BC.

      The implementation of the project will include the following phases:

      "1." Conduct environmental scan and needs assessment study (literature review and
      interviews); "2" Develop video clips, written materials, and relevant measurement tools; "3"
      Apply the video clips and written materials to test their effectiveness among individuals
      from the target communities in terms of asthma self-management; "4" Conduct quantitative and
      qualitative data analysis; and "5" Disseminate the findings to larger audiences,
      key-informants, knowledge users and policy makers across BC. This research will make
      theoretical, methodological and applied research contributions. It will establish strong
      community - academic connections for the development of the proposed framework. Community
      participation will be applied throughout the development of this study and educational
      materials, enhancing the potential of acquiring new knowledge about cultural and traditional
      practices of the sample population.

      The investigators' approach will allow health care workers and policy makers to design
      appropriate health promotion initiatives targeted to diverse newcomer groups in relation to
      asthma. The investigators foresee findings that provide not only better ways to measure
      health literacy pertaining to asthma in the investigators' target groups, but that will also
      help develop materials and measures that can be applied to diverse cultural populations in BC
      and the rest of Canada. The investigators expect that the participatory approach used in this
      study will contribute to capacity building, improving newcomers' ability to access and use
      relevant asthma information (in terms of prevention, control and management) and to transfer
      and share the information learned with other members of the target communities. The proposed
      community consultation will also help the investigators to identify culturally appropriate
      communication mode(s) to deliver health promotion messages and determine practical adult
      learning approaches applicable to diverse communities in Canada.
    

Intervention name(s): patient role played community video; both videos group; Pamphlet group; physician-led knowledge video; Community video group; knowledge video
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral; Behavioral; Behavioral; Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Group two viewed the patient role played community video; Group three viewed both the knowledge and community videos; Group four read an educational pamphlet only; Group one viewed a physician-led knowledge video; Group two viewed the patient role played community video; Group one viewed a physician-led knowledge video
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Participant)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: Asthma; Community-based participatory research; Educational intervention; Ethno-cultural community; Video recording; Patient education handout