title: Health education lessons learned: the H.A.P.I. Kids Program.
abstract: Challenges exist for effective health communication and health education within diverse populations of the United States. This article addresses the development process for educational materials and lessons learned from the Healthy Asian and Pacific Islander (H.A.P.I.) Kids Program, a vaccination demonstration project funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to promote catch-up hepatitis B vaccination for older American Asian and Pacific Islander children. Simplicity and a common message were incorporated in multiple strategies to disseminate information to a diverse population. Community representatives from the Cambodian, Hmong, Filipino, Lao, and Vietnamese communities were instrumental in the material development process, which included needs assessment, design, and translation. By making the target community part of the development process, important health messages can be disseminated effectively, carrying great impact to an otherwise hard-to-reach community.
authors.affiliation: H.A.P.I. Kids Program, San Diego, CA 92106, USA.
authors.forename: V D
authors.initials: VD
authors.lastname: Sworts
authors.forename: C N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Riccitelli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001213:Asian; D002140:California; D002648:Child; D003144:Communication Barriers; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000517:prevention & control; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines; D006801:Humans; D017589:Immunization Programs / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration
chemical_list: D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines