CUIDANDO SU SALUD - SPANISH-LANGUAGE RADIO IN PREVENTIVE MEDICINE ANDPUBLIC-HEALTH

In large urban areas, Hispanics are often dependent upon local Spanish -language broadcast and print media for news and entertainment. Since 1989, a radio show has provided daily disease prevention and health pr omotion messages to Hispanics on a Washington, DC area Spanish-languag e station. ''Cuidando su Salud'' (Taking Care of Your Health) lasts 2 minutes and is heard three times a day during news segments. By Novemb er 1997, 1543 different individual programs had been produced. Categor ized according to Healthy People 2000 guidelines, these programs inclu ded 603 on health promotion (including programs on tobacco, alcohol, v iolence, and mental health), 162 on health protection (including progr ams on unintentional injuries, food and drug safety, and environmental health), and 733 on preventive services (acquired immune defeciency s yndrome, cancer, infectious diseases, maternal and infant health, and policy issues affecting Hispanics). The show has been used successfull y to recruit women for preventive health services and cancer clinical trials. Radio should be considered a tool for reaching special populat ions with health promotion and disease prevention messages. Cancer 199 8;83:1805-8, (C) 1998 American Cancer Society.