Communication Strategies for Healthcare Services among Hispanics in Boston

This study focuses on implementing an outreach campaign to target a particular group that is not accessing the healthcare services. The program selected for the Hispanic population in the Boston area is of the prevention, health screening and direct service type. The program will prioritize on the chronic disease management among the disadvantaged groups for the promotion of wellness among the vulnerable populations and also for the purpose of reducing the health disparity.

Running head: COMMUNICATION
Communication
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Description the organization, including services provided and service region...............................2
Healthcare services for a targeted group.........................................................................................5
Demographic data of the target population.....................................................................................6
Cultural overview and background of the target population...........................................................7
Communication technologies..........................................................................................................8
Communication campaign.............................................................................................................10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
Reference.......................................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
Community outreach can be described as a practice of organizing a local public
awareness activity through the community-wide (targeted) and countrywide (broad) interaction.
Community engagement is considered as a relationship building process that includes fostering
partnerships between all parties involved and along with the targeted community. The prime goal
is to cultivate a sense of pride and it includes the participation of the community members, the
study team members and the participants of the study. The engagement and the outreach
strategies are broad and the main intent is to reach a large proportion of the community (Riesch
et al., 2013). The study is based on implementing an outreach campaign to target a particular
group that is not accessing the healthcare services. The entire study will be done from the
perspective of a mid-level manager.
Description the organization, including services provided and service region
Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) is the largest hospital in the Boston,
Massachusetts, US. Brigham is the global leader and this is composed of Brigham and Women's
Physicians, Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital. Boston's
Brigham is an international leader in the field of medicine and the has achieved several
pioneering breakthroughs that have improved lives all over the world. The BWH includes the
150 outpatient practices and has more than 1200 physicians. BWH serves the patients that are
located in United States, New England and also patients from 120 countries. BW is widely
known as a referral centre for the complex cases in all the areas of medicine. The U.S News and
the world report has ranked BWH as a top hospital and it is even the best in the speciality areas
which include rheumatology, orthopaedics, neurosurgery, neurology, gynaecology, heart surgery,
cardiology and cancer (Brighamandwomens.org, 2018d).

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The various services rendered by BWH can be majorly segregated in 3 different types:
 Centres of excellence- women’s health centre, primary care centre, orthopaedic &
arthritis centre, neuroscience centre, heart & vascular centre, a cancer centre.
 Clinical departments- Surgery, radiology, radiation oncology, psychiatry, physical
medicine and rehabilitation, paediatric new-born medicine, pathology,
orthopaedic surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, neurosurgery, neurology,
medicine, emergency medicine, dermatology, pain management, perioperative
and anesthesiology.
 Patient support- spiritual care services, social work, security, pharmacy, family
and patient relations, nutrition, nursing, Kessler library, interpreter services, ethics
consultation service, care coordination (Brighamandwomens.org, 2018c).
The BWH also has a centre for community health and health equity (CCHE) that is
committed to providing the community programs, advanced systems of research and care in
order to raise the status of health served by BWH. The programs implemented by the hospital
address the real-life issues and thus affecting the health outcomes of the residents of Boston. The
commitment of the CCHE is to go beyond the premises of the hospital and serve those people
that need the most. BWH is committed to working with the neighbours like the Dorchester,
Mattapan, Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, Mission Hill. BWH working along with the other
departments of the BWH, community-based organizations, community health centres have been
able to implement the various programs which are aimed towards reducing the advancing the
educational opportunities for the young people, increasing the rates of colorectal cancer
screening, improving birth outcomes and reduction of violence (Brighamandwomens.org.
(2018a). The major commitments of the CCHE are as follows:

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 Supporting the individuals that are suffering from partner abuse.
 Enhancing the career and the educational opportunities.
 Improving knowledge of healthy behaviours and habits.
 Fostering the family support and the social support systems.
 Expanding the school-based and the community-based programs.
 Increasing the access to care for the vulnerable populations.
 Addressing and along with it reducing the healthcare disparities
(Brighamandwomens.org, 2018b).
The region where the BWH operates and renders the services is the Boston area in
Massachusetts. The figure below shows the map of the Hospital and the neighbouring areas.
Figure 1: Location of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the adjacent areas.

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Healthcare services for a targeted group
The healthcare services include the healthcare organizations, professionals and the other
healthcare workers. While the main aim of the healthcare services is to provide the medical care
to the people in need or the ones that are unable to access the healthcare. The Healthcare services
are meant for providing the health care to the populations, communities, families and the
patients. The healthcare services also include the homecare, palliative, primary, diagnostic,
hospital, long terms, rehabilitative, preventive and emergency care. It is important to note that
the healthcare services are meant to provide care to a targeted population which will be patient
centred, high quality. In order to provide successful healthcare service, different types of the care
are required to be provided (Barello, Graffigna & Vegni, 2012).
The program selected for the Hispanic population in the Boston area is of the prevention,
health screening and direct service type. The program will prioritize on the chronic disease
management among the disadvantaged groups for the promotion of wellness among the
vulnerable populations and also for the purpose of reducing the health disparity. The main
objective is to open the doors towards the initiative of health colorectal cancer screening. The
initiative will be launched in order to address the barriers that exist in the screening of
colonoscopy among the targeted population. The main goals of the program are: 1) increasing
awareness among the targeted population that will need the colorectal cancer screening at the
two healthcare centres like the Southern Jamaica Plain Health centre and Brookside Community
Healthcare Centre, 2) increase the recommendation of the physicians among the patients that are
aged 50 years and old, these patients will seek the help of the BWH licensed community health
centres, 3) to decrease the no-show rates of screening colonoscopy and also increase the test

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preparation, 4) to address the barriers that exist in the screening procedures and this includes the
patient education, resource referral, patient navigation (brighamandwomens.org, 2018a).
The program will target the Hispanic population living in the regions like the Boston-Roxbury,
Boston-Mattapan, Boston-Jamaica Plain, Boston-Dorchester. The several health indicators are
colorectal cancer and other types of cancer. The service will include both male and the female
patients belonging to the age group of an adult. The language spoken by such targeted population
is Spanish and English.
Demographic data of the target population
The target group selected for the delivery of the healthcare are the Hispanics and the
Latinos. The population of the Hispanics in Massachusetts according to the census of 2010 is 9.6
percent of the State’s entire population. The Hispanic residents in Massachusetts are 627,654.
According to the demographics, Massachusetts is one of the countries which has contributed to
the growth of the Hispanic population from the year 2000 to 2010. Massachusetts is the first state
in which the Hispanic population is of non-Mexican origin. 41 percent of the Hispanics youths
live in poverty in comparison to the non-Hispanic black and white youths
(Worldpopulationreview.com, 2018). The Hispanic population in the neighbourhood of Boston
are as follows:
 Mattapan- the non-white Hispanic population is 95.3 percent
 South Dorchester- the non-white Hispanic population is 73.9 percent
 Roxbury- the non-white Hispanic population is 91.6 percent
 North Dorchester- the non-white Hispanic population is 64.7 percent

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 Jamaican Plain- the non-white Hispanic population is 44.4 percent
(Statisticalatlas.com, 2018).
Comparing the Hispanic population in the with respect to the relative race and ethnicity
are as follows:
 The Mattapan region has 55.9 percent fewer Hispanics in comparison to Boston.
 The Roxbury region has 44.9 percent fewer Hispanics in comparison to Boston.
 The South Dorchester region has 25.6 percent of fewer Hispanics in comparison
to Boston.
 The North Dorchester region has 14.8 percent of fewer Hispanics in comparison
to Boston.
 The Jamaica plain region has 10.8 percent less Hispanics in comparison to Boston
(census.gov, 2018).
While it is important to note that the majority of the Hispanics belong to the age group of
25 to 29 years of age and the percentage is 0.69 percent (Statisticalatlas.com, 2018).
Cultural overview and background of the target population
The Hispanics in the Boston region include the persons from the Central or South
America, Puerto Rican, Mexican, Cuban. The culture of the Hispanics is generally patriarchal
and where that male member has the greater dominance and authority. Hispanics come from
where there is a presence of activities related to shared dominance and the accountability is taken
to be collective. Demographically the Hispanics are younger in comparison to the other non-
Hispanics. The median age group is considered to be 27.5 years whereas in comparison to other
US population it is 36.9 years. The income levels are found to be rising among the Hispanics,

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although the income is less in comparison to the U.S average. Even if the Hispanics are earning
less in comparison to the average white Americans, the Hispanics live longer. The Hispanics also
have issues with getting diseases and they are of greatest concern. The majority of the diseases
occur due to the not accessing the healthcare services, polluted water, unclean air, exposure to
pesticides, environmental factors. The average household size is found to be about 3.47 people in
comparison to the US average population. The children are the big part of the household with 62
percent were below the age of 18 years (Perez-Rodriguez et al., 2014).
Communication technologies
Before coming across the communication technologies that will be used among the
Hispanics in order to reach them will largely depend on the variety of media consumption of the
different types of media by the Hispanics. The different types of media used by the Hispanics are
as follows:
 Magazines (issued on a monthly basis)- the percentage of the Hispanics that use
such a media is 12.70 percent.
 Newspapers (read on a 28-day basis)- the percentage of the Hispanics that use
such a media is 17.20 percent.
 Radio (listened half an hour in a week)- the percentage of the Hispanics that use
such a media is 38.40 percent.
 Television (Viewed half an hour in a week)- the percentage of the Hispanics that
use such a media is 57.10 percent.
 Internet- the percentage of the Hispanics that use such a media is 69.30 percent
(Cdc.gov, 2018).

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Considering the above-mentioned data, it can be concluded that the best choice of the
technologies would be radio, television, internet, e-magazines and e-newspapers. These
communication technologies will be environmentally appropriate. Thus in order to highlight each
of the communication technology, there is a need to emphasize each of the categories.
 Magazines- It has been found that the prime reason due to which the Hispanics
read magazines is to stay up to date with the latest trends and styles.
 Newspapers- the main reason due to which the Hispanics go through the
newspapers is to keep themselves up to date. It has been seen that the minority
newspapers are a vital part of the community and newspapers delivers the data
which other media cannot. The Hispanics are interested in the news that actually
provides information about their needs and concerns. The proneness of reading
newspapers is seen the most among the 34 to 54 age group (Lopez & Gonzalez-
Barrera, 2018).
 Radio- the main reason for listening to the radio is that it makes the Hispanics
have a good mood. The Hispanic families often listen to a single radio station for
a whole day.
 Television- the top reason cited for viewing the television is for pure
entertainment. Majority of the programmes watched by the Hispanics is the
Spanish, English programs.
 Internet- the usage of the internet by the Hispanics is reported to be solely based
on gaining a good source of knowledge. Studies have shown that the usage of
internet has increased among the Hispanics. 45 percent of the Hispanic population
has been found to be using Facebook. It has been reported that the English

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speaking Hispanics prefer to visit the social networking sites at least two to three
times a day. The Hispanics that use the internet are reported to be affluent and
young, these people have larger households and are interested to accrue benefits
from internet than any other sophisticated media (Mark & Ganzach, 2014).
Even if the communication technologies are not used for the purpose of communication, then
there are other options like the custom publications. Both the newspapers and the magazines
which are the printed media can be beneficial for communication. They are actually effective
considering the habit of the Hispanics regarding the usage of the printed for gaining knowledge
of the happenings related to their community and the latest styles and trends. Both the Hispanics
and the Latino communities are can be made to access the content via the publication in bilingual
languages (Lee et al., 2014).
Communication campaign
The BWH is one of the reputed and world-renowned hospitals in Boston that serves both
the residents of the Boston and the neighbouring regions. Considering the fact that the Hispanics
are not properly availing the screening services for colorectal cancer. It is necessary to properly
disseminate the information of availing the health services that are exclusively available for the
Hispanics in the region. The target population can be communicated via the 3 major ways, such
as via radio, television and the internet. Although the Hispanics also love to read newspapers and
magazines the communication technologies will help disseminate the information faster.
Radio- It is reported that the Hispanics love to hear a single channel all day along and the whole
prefers it as well. Thus, the Hispanics channel can be explicitly brought in to contract to air the
advertisement regarding the benefits of screening colorectal cancer.

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Television- It has been reported that the Hispanics love to watch televisions for the sole purpose
of entertainment. The channels that the Hispanics prefer are the English and the Spanish
channels. Thus, this channel can provide advertisements in between the programs about availing
the services that are rendered by BWH.
Internet- the internet is one of the best places for the dissemination of information considering
the fact that majority of the adults use internet for the purpose of gaining knowledge and
accessing the social media (Slate Magazine, 2018). The Social networking sites like the
Facebook and Myspace can be used by the show the advertisement of the BWH and the
colorectal screening services rendered by the hospital. The social media will provide a platform
for sharing and communication in a collective way.
Table 1: Communication plan
Audience Messages Media or vehicle Frequency Timing
Male Colorectal
cancer screening
available in
BWH
Social media Whole week The many times
a user will log
into their social
networking site.
Female Colorectal
cancer screening
available in
BWH
Radio Morning, noon
and the evenings
3 times a day
and overall 21
times a week
Male and female Benefits of
colorectal cancer
screening and its
Radio and
television
Whole week 10 times a day
for television
and 3 times in a

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benefits day.
Conclusion
Thus from the above discussion, it can be concluded that there are several regions where
the different communities and ethnic groups are unable to access the healthcare. Even situations
arise where such groups often do not have the information regarding where to access the
healthcare facilities. Thus, such situations demand appropriate action to disseminate the
information regarding the healthcare delivery and the how to access the healthcare centres. The
study has highlighted one such community called the Hispanics that have are unable to access
the healthcare and thus a communication plan is developed to address the issue.

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Reference
Barello, S., Graffigna, G., & Vegni, E. (2012). Patient engagement as an emerging challenge for
healthcare services: mapping the literature. Nursing research and practice, 2012.
brighamandwomens.org. (2018a). Center for Community Health and Health Equity (CCHHE) -
Brigham and Women's. Retrieved from https://www.brighamandwomens.org/about-
bwh/community-health-equity/center-for-community-health-and-health-equity
Brighamandwomens.org. (2018b). Community Health Needs Assessment - Brigham and
Women's Hospital. Retrieved from
https://www.brighamandwomens.org/about-bwh/community-health-equity/community-
health-needs-assessment
Brighamandwomens.org. (2018c). Clinical Departments & Services - Brigham and Women's
Hospital. Retrieved from https://www.brighamandwomens.org/services
Brighamandwomens.org. (2018d). About BWH - Brigham and Women's Hospital. Retrieved
from https://www.brighamandwomens.org/about-brigham-and-womens hospital?
utm_content=hpherotop
Cdc.gov. (2018). Cultural Insights: Communicating with Hispanics/Latinos. Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/healthcommunication/pdf/audience/audienceinsight_culturalinsights
.pdf
census.gov. (2018). U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Boston city, Massachusetts. Retrieved from
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/bostoncitymassachusetts/PST045217

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Lee, Y. J., Boden-Albala, B., Larson, E., Wilcox, A., & Bakken, S. (2014). Online health
information seeking behaviors of Hispanics in New York City: a community-based cross-
sectional study. Journal of medical Internet research, 16(7).
Lopez, M., & Gonzalez-Barrera, A. (2018). IV. Watching, Reading and Listening to the News.
Retrieved from http://www.pewhispanic.org/2013/07/23/iv-watching-reading-and-
listening-to-the-news/
Mark, G., & Ganzach, Y. (2014). Personality and Internet usage: A large-scale representative
study of young adults. Computers in Human Behavior, 36, 274-281.
Perez-Rodriguez, M. M., Baca-Garcia, E., Oquendo, M. A., Wang, S., Wall, M. M., Liu, S. M.,
& Blanco, C. (2014). Relationship between acculturation, discrimination, and suicidal
ideation and attempts among US Hispanics in the National Epidemiologic Survey of
Alcohol and Related Conditions. The Journal of clinical psychiatry.
Riesch, S. K., Ngui, E. M., Ehlert, C., Miller, M. K., Cronk, C. A., Leuthner, S., ... & Durkin, M.
S. (2013). Community outreach and engagement strategies from the Wisconsin study
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Slate Magazine. (2018). Slate’s Use of Your Data. Retrieved from
http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2017/06/22/study_hispanic_americans_use_the_
internet_less_than_any_other_ethnic_group.html
Statisticalatlas.com. (2018). Race and Ethnicity in Boston, Massachusetts (City). Retrieved from
https://statisticalatlas.com/place/Massachusetts/Boston/Race-and-Ethnicity

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Worldpopulationreview.com. (2018). Boston, Massachusetts Population 2018. Retrieved from
http://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/boston-population/