Developing Educational Approaches for Mexican-Americans

Hispanics are the most rapidly growing ethnic group in the U.S. There are 35 million Hispanics in the U.S., including 20 million Mexican- Americans. This represents 12.5% and 7.3% of the total U.S. population, respectively (Census 2000). The long-term objective of this proposal is to develop future educational programs in genetics for U.S. Hispanics, particularly those of Mexican descent. In order to prepare for that long-term goal, two specific aims will be addressed in this application: (l) To survey the educational needs of Hispanics/Mexican-Americans in the area of genetics. (2) To document the findings and analyses in an article that will be submitted to a peer reviewed journal. For this proposal, the educational needs of the community of Maravilla, a predominantly Mexican-- American housing project for low-income residents in East Los Angeles, will be determined. The investigators, who, are bilingual (Spanish and English), have extensive experience working with this community predominantly Mexican-American housing project for low-income residents in East Los Angeles, will be determined. The investigators, who, are bilingual (Spanish and English), have extensive experience working with this community and have conducted other NIH-sponsored community-based research forums there. Approximately 7% of the Maravilla population, or approximately 300 people, will be surveyed. To facilitate this process, a series of community forums on genetics will be held in Maravilla. Fifty to one hundred participants are anticipated to attend each community forum. These forums will provide the community of Maravilla a place to voice their level of understanding, concerns, and expectations regarding genetics and its applications. With this format, we will be able to survey the community with the ultimate goal of determining their educational needs in the area of genetics. Moreover, three of the forums will focus on specific age groups in this population: adolescents, young to middle-aged adults, and the elderly. In this way, age specific approaches to teaching genetics will be developed as well. This two-year project will be divided into two parts. Part I will involve the first 18 months and will consist of meetings with community leaders and a series of six consultation forums with the community. Part II will occur in the last 6 months of this period and will consist of data organization and analysis, as well as the preparation of a paper that will be submitted to a peer reviewed journal. The article will disseminate the findings of the investigators to other groups that may also be interested in developing educational strategies on genetics for U.S. Hispanics. Detailed records of the outreach methods used and the outcomes obtained as a result will be kept for evaluating purposes. Accordingly, the methods of surveying the Hispanic/Mexican- American community for their educational needs will be adjusted, as the work progresses. In order to support the two specific aims, a Steering Committee consisting of a panel of experts in the fields of human genetics and education has been formed. This committee will oversee the community consultation process. They will also evaluate the results from the survey and will advise the investigators on the future development of approaches to teaching genetics to Hispanics/Mexican-Americans. Their input will also be incorporated into the article that will be submitted to a peer reviewed journal.