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Challenge: One of the most dramatic increases in drug use in the early 2000s was among foreign-born Hispanics/Latinos. To help in stemming this tide, the Office on Smoking and Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked AED to build upon the success of the “Got a Minute? Give it to Your Kids” campaign and develop a Spanish-language resource kit to reach low-acculturated (recently immigrated) Hispanic/Latino parents with messages about the dangers of tobacco use and secondhand smoke, and how it can affect their children.

Solution: AED took great pains to ensure that any materials developed were culturally relevant and not merely translated from existing English-language materials. AED conducted in-depth interviews with Spanish-speaking, community-trusted advisors/community leaders in their own settings to gather information about their communities’ views and beliefs related to tobacco. We also held focus groups in Spanish-speaking communities. “Sabemos,” which means “we know,” is an appropriate title for the campaign -- focus group participants viewed “Sabemos” as a way of saying that, collectively, they now know the facts about the negative health effects of tobacco use in their homes, and are thus more empowered to make changes.

Results: The Sabemos kit provides Spanish-language radio public service announcements featuring parent testimonials on the importance of preventing secondhand smoke among non-smokers. The radio spots further increase the belief that a smoke-free home is a sign of a healthy family and a good parent. Along with the radio PSAs, the kit will offer seven “rip and read” scripts to be read by a trusted advisor/messenger in the local community or a local radio host to extend the Sabemos message. The Sabemos kit is expected to be distributed nationally in 2006.

> Download the Sabemos project fact sheet (92 KB, PDF)

To learn more about these and other CHC programs, contact us.