Developing and Evaluating a Spanish Tel-Med Message on Breast Cancer

A Spanish TEL-MED message on breast cancer was designed for Delaware. The message, created from a focus group of Latino professionals and volunteers from the American Cancer Society, Delaware Division, provides information for Latinas on breast cancer. In one minute, forty-five seconds the message answers in Spanish the following questions: (1) What are the symptoms of breast cancer? (2) What can women do to protect themselves against breast cancer? (3) What is a mammogram? (4) When should I have a mammogram done? (5) How much does a mammogram cost? The message also provides information on where to obtain low cost or free mammograms. A pamphlet in Spanish, featuring a picture of an elderly Latina listening to the phone message, describes how to access the tape. The message targets older Latinas who prefer to speak Spanish. The American Cancer Society, Delaware Division, distributed a press release featuring the Spanish TEL-MED and circulated the pamphlets to Latino organizations and churches. Evaluation of the TEL-MED message in Spanish suggests it to be an innovative way to reach older Latino women. The Spanish message on breast cancer was requested 58% as often as the breast cancer message in English, and 193% more often than the epilepsy tape in Spanish. The peak period for the calls to the Spanish TEL-MED message occurred after the initial promotional activities. These findings suggest that education of older Latinas on breast cancer can be augmented by the use of TEL-MED message in Spanish. They further suggest that the combination of TEL-MED and mass media campaign had a positive effect on Spanish speaking users of the TEL-MED.