NEW YORK: The American College of Physicians (ACP) and drug company Novartis are teaming up to promote heart health among Latinos.
Latinos have a higher risk of developing heart disease, and health experts say language barriers can hinder access to preventative care.
"There's a need to teach patients why they need to know about their blood pressure numbers and their cholesterol numbers," said Allison Ewing, director of communications and PR for the ACP. "Obviously we feel very strongly about the public health messages."
RL Public Relations, which contracts with Novartis agency Ruder Finn, conducted an SMT and created ANR to drive Latinos to their website. There, internist Dr. Oscar Murillo and film stars Esai Morales and Rita Moreno share tips for leading healthy lifestyles.
The doctorsforadults.com website features a video and guidebook in both English and Spanish.
"It's very hard to find a Spanish-speaking doctor; it's very hard to find education in your own language," said RL SVP Melissa Karp, who added that one of the primary messages would stress the need to learn the appropriate terminology.
"None of this is about translation; everything is about relevance," she added.
The ACP is bringing the campaign to 10 markets.
"There was a nice consistency throughout this program," Karp said. "It understood the obstacles that people in the Hispanic community face."
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