INFANTS, TODDLERS & CHILDREN

University of Connecticut
Department of Nutritional Sciences
The Cooperative Extension System

Hispanic Health Council, Inc.

Rafael Pérez-Escamilla, PhD (UConn)
Principal Investigator
e-mail: rperez@canr.cag.uconn.edu

Grace Damio, MS (HHC)
Co-Principal Investigator
e-mail: grace@hispanichealth.com

Anir González, BS (HHC)
FNP-IT Program Coordinator
e-mail: anir@hispanichealth.com

¡SALUD! Radio PSAs

333 paid radio PSAs were broadcasted and matched with the same amount of free radio PSAs by Latino 1230 WLAT. This popular Latino radio station reaches an average of 50,000 Hispanics in the Capitol Region area. The PSAs contained relevant nutrition information delivered in an easy to understand manner. Our "Fruta" PSA won the Silver Microphone award for the best foreign language PSA nation wide, and our "Breakfast is Brain Food" PSA was also a finalist of this national competition.

¡SALUD! Street Billboards

During 2 months, 8 street billboards, featuring Latino television personalities holding fruits, were strategically posted throughout the city of Hartford to reach our target audience .

¡SALUD! Bus Signs

During 7 months, 30 Connecticut Transit buses circulated throughout the Greater Hartford area displaying ¡SALUD! signs.

¡SALUD! Bus Stop Shelters

For 3 months, ¡SALUD! posters were displayed in 5 bus stop shelters strategically located within Hartford's Latino neighborhoods.

¡SALUD! Newspaper Ads

24 newspaper ads were published in 2 popular Latino newspapers for over 8 months. "La Voz Hispana" reaches more than 40,000 readers per publication. "Panorama" distributes 20,000 copies every month. These publications are distributed in: Bridgeport, Hartford, Meriden, New Britain, New Haven, Norwalk, Stamford, and Waterbury.

¡SALUD! T.V. PSAs

77 television PSAs were broadcasted for 2 months by the Latino T.V. station Telemundo (channel 13). These PSAs focused on promoting the importance of the consumption of foods rich in folic acid among women of reproductive age for preventing neural tube defect births.

¡SALUD! Posters

1,000 ¡SALUD! posters have been distributed to the school system, agencies, and local supermarkets.

¡SALUD! Evaluation

A total of 206 Latinos were interviewed for the ¡SALUD! evaluation. On average, they were 32 years old, 83% were female, 64% were receiving Food Stamps assistance, and 72% were caretakers of children < 12 years. Over all, 77% have been exposed to the ¡SALUD! campaign on either radio PSAs, newspaper ads, bus signs, street billboards, bus stop shelters and/or television PSAs.

¡SALUD! and PANA Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

On March 29, 1998, we held our ¡SALUD! & PANA ribbon cutting ceremony. Over 80 people attended the event which was covered by the media. Among the guests of honor who attended were the City of Hartford Mayor Michael Peters; John Barrios, District Aide from Congresswomen Barbara Kennelly's Office; the City of Hartford Deputy Mayor Frances Sánchez; Ann M. Ferris, PhD, UConn Family Nutrition Program Director; Nancy Bull, PhD, Associate Dean for Outreach and Extension, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, UConn; Catherine McCormack, Director of Hartford's Health Department.

¡SALUD! Souvenirs/Cups

250 cups were distributed throughout the community displaying the motto "Smart Food Choices for a Healthy Life."

¡SALUD! Souvenirs/Buttons

50 ¡SALUD! buttons were distributed among community members who participated at the Hispanic Health Council 7th Annual Health Fair for Children and Families.

¡SALUD! Team Approach

The ¡SALUD! campaign is the product of a full partnership between the University of Connecticut Family Nutrition Program, the Hispanic Health Council, and the Cooperative Extension System. This project was directed by Rafael Pérez-Escamilla, PhD (UConn) and David Himmelgreen, PhD (Hispanic Health Council). The Campaign Manager is Harby Bonello and its blue print was designed by Gloria Mengual. The ¡SALUD! campaign coverage evaluation was coordinated by Yu-Kuei Peng, MPH and Harby Bonello. Interviews were conducted by Jocelyn Cruz, Ivette Méndez, Arelys Pedraza, Allyn Writesel, Harby Bonello, Anir González, and Yu-Kuei Peng. The mass media presentations were developed by MCS Advertising & Production.