Cultural Adaptation and Training Design: The Case of Resumen De Enfermedades Transmitidas Sexualmente/STD Overview for Non-Clinicians
Author: Martinez-Rubin, Norma
Date Published: 2003
The Hispanic/Latino population in the U.S. has dramatically increased bringing with it richness in history, tradition, attitudes, and practices pertinent to STD/HIV prevention. Non-clinical staffs that work with monolingual Spanish speaking clients often face cultural and linguistic challenges when assessing attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors of persons at risk for STD/HIV. This article describes the process of adapting an existing curriculum for a training, STD Overview for Non-Clinicians, to design a comparable course for bilingual staff primarily working as health educators, counselors, or outreach workers for Spanish speaking communities. Overall, the two-day Resumen de Enfermedades Transmitidas Sexualmente, as delivered by bilingual and bicultural trainers, embraces Hispanic/Latino beliefs and attitudes about sexuality and STD/HIV while concurrently reinforcing cultural norms that support healthy attitudes and practices. Using a scale from 1-5, 1 representing “poor” and 5 representing “excellent,” the overall rating for pilot training sessions combined was 4.9. Written comments were favorable and reflected an appreciation for the design of the course, the availability of appropriate and technically correct information written in Spanish, and the creation of a training opportunity that fostered camaraderie and networking possibilities for the participants.
Date Published: 2003
The Hispanic/Latino population in the U.S. has dramatically increased bringing with it richness in history, tradition, attitudes, and practices pertinent to STD/HIV prevention. Non-clinical staffs that work with monolingual Spanish speaking clients often face cultural and linguistic challenges when assessing attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors of persons at risk for STD/HIV. This article describes the process of adapting an existing curriculum for a training, STD Overview for Non-Clinicians, to design a comparable course for bilingual staff primarily working as health educators, counselors, or outreach workers for Spanish speaking communities. Overall, the two-day Resumen de Enfermedades Transmitidas Sexualmente, as delivered by bilingual and bicultural trainers, embraces Hispanic/Latino beliefs and attitudes about sexuality and STD/HIV while concurrently reinforcing cultural norms that support healthy attitudes and practices. Using a scale from 1-5, 1 representing “poor” and 5 representing “excellent,” the overall rating for pilot training sessions combined was 4.9. Written comments were favorable and reflected an appreciation for the design of the course, the availability of appropriate and technically correct information written in Spanish, and the creation of a training opportunity that fostered camaraderie and networking possibilities for the participants.
