Superheroes TV
and Radio Ads Encourage Hispanics to Get
Involved in Their Own Health Care
By Carolyn M.
Clancy, M.D.
April 15, 2008
No matter how old
you are, taking steps to stay healthy is a smart
thing to do. Staying healthy can also increase
your chances of being involved inand
enjoyingyour children’s lives.
If you are
Hispanic, however, you are less likely to be
involved in your health care than other ethnic
groups in the United States. Hispanics are 38
percent less likely than non-Hispanics to have
visited the doctor within the past year,
according to the latest data from my Agency.
Hispanics get
fewer tests that can detect a medical problem
before it causes an illness. More than a quarter
of Hispanics have never had their cholesterol
checked, and two-thirds of Hispanics over the
age of 50 have never had a colonoscopy, a test
for colon cancer. And more than half of Hispanic
women over the age of 40 have not had a
mammogram, a test for breast cancer, within the
past year.
Hispanics may get
less medical care because they don’t have health
insurance. However, some studies have found that
Hispanics who do have health insurance still lag
behind the general population in getting
preventive tests.
To address these
issues, AHRQ and the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services created Spanish-language TV
and radio ads to encourage Hispanic men and
women to become more involved in their health
care so they can stay healthy for their
children.
Called
Superhroes, the new TV and radio ads feature
mothers and fathers whose children see them as
high-energy people who can solve any problem.
The ads also show the mothers and fathers at
their doctor’s office because even superheroes
need to take steps to stay healthy.
The ads urge
Hispanic adults to visit a
Spanish-language Web site. The site gives
tips on ways to stay healthy and how to talk to
a doctor. It also gives advice on preventive
tests, help in understanding medicines, a quiz,
and a glossary of medical terms. Additional
sources of health information in Spanish are
included.
AHRQ plans to
work with leading Hispanic advocacy groups,
employers, insurers, and others to relay the
campaign’s message: Be a Superhero. Take care of
your health for your loved ones.
These new
Superhroes ads are part of my Agency’s ongoing
efforts to help patients become more involved in
decisions about their medical care. AHRQ and the
Ad Council also created ads to help prevent
medical errors. Called "Questions
are the Answer," those ads urge patients to
create question lists that focus on their
medical needs and ask the questions during their
medical appointment or visit to the pharmacist.
With the
Superhroes ads, we hope to educate Hispanic men
and women that taking care of their health is an
important way to show how much they care about
their family. By doing that, mothers and fathers
can continue to be Superhroes to their loved
ones.
I’m Dr. Carolyn
Clancy, and that’s my opinion on how to navigate
the health care system.
AHRQ Resources
Superheroes
http://www.ahrq.gov/superheroes/
Questions
are the Answer
Get More Involved With Your Health Care
http://www.ahrq.gov/questionsaretheanswer/index.html
Healthcare 411
Be A Superhero: Take Care of Your Health
http://healthcare411.ahrq.gov/radiocastseg.aspx?id=771&type=seg
[Transcript]
Current as of April 2008
Internet Citation:
Superhroes TV and Radio Ads Encourage
Hispanics to Get Involved in Their Own Health
Care. Navigating the Health Care System:
Advice Columns from Dr. Carolyn Clancy, April
15, 2008. Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/cc/cc041508.htm
|