Final Work

Posted: September 9th, 2013

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Final Work

1. Define social marketing. Describe how you would address all 7 phases in order to create a social marketing campaign targeting obesity/diabetes among the Latino community (2 pages)

Social marketing is a new trend in the marketing world. It is the application of verified methods that are known to work. These methods are the ones that have been used in the market to promote different consumer products. Since this marketing procedure involves the social aspect of human beings, it has immense power over the public. It is therefore very important to learn how to exploit this power for the better of the society. These methods are effective as they address the fundamental marketing techniques.

In the healthcare industry, social marketing has made a great difference. With the help of the media, social marketers have been able to lock in potential customers and end up making many sales. There are strategies that are fundamental in making a sale through social marketing. It is through employing techniques such as community level outreach, dissemination and promotion that it has made this method of selling successful. They are effective as they entail interaction between the sellers and the buyers. With communication advancement, it has made it easier for manufacturers to understand better, what its target client’s wants.

Social marketing is divided into a number of stages that make it the best strategy to target people affected by obesity/diabetes among the Latino community. Since this marketing style is tailor made to include the buyers also, the patients are able to voice out their opinions. The first step is to develop a plan and strategies using the behavioral theory. According to how an obese person or a diabetic behaves, the product is made to suit their needs. Since Latinos tend to like their food in a particular kind of way, marketers should come up with a strategy that suits their taste. They should make food that is delicious and healthy. By doing this, they will have enticed Latinos to buy food that is tasty and good for their health.

The second step is finding a way to encourage behavioral change. This includes setting up the best communication channels that will help the Latinos understand what they stand to benefit by changing. Marketers need to talk to the Latino community and help them understand the disadvantages of being obese or having diabetes. This includes face-to-face communication, which is most effective. The third step is coming up with the necessary material to develop the campaign. As human beings are visual creatures, marketers need to come up with ways to get their attention. Use of posters and banners will help get the attention of the Latino community.

The fourth step is using the material made to implement the campaign. The media comes in handy here, as it is the most dependable source of getting information to the public. The fifth step assesses whether the campaign was a success. A study is carried out to see whether the community has adopted the changes. This will be seen by looking at whether they are buying healthier food or whether they have adopted exercise techniques. How people react to the message they were given will determine whether the cases of obesity or diabetes will reduce among the Latino.

The sixth step is to correct any mistakes done in the campaign. If there are no mistakes, any the materials used for communication should be refined to make future campaigns better. The last stage of social marketing is to ensure that it is an ongoing cycle. From what the marketers have learnt they need to ensure that they involve it in other campaigns. If this is adhered to, it ensures that the Latino community benefits from these campaigns. The cases of obesity and diabetes will end up reducing drastically. Social marketing is a great tool. When used properly, it benefits humanity greatly.

1. Identify and define three cognitive referents of acculturation and explain how these cognitive referents play a role in influencing the experience of illness and/or help-seeking behaviors among Latinos dealing with cancer

Acculturation attempts to explain the cultural and psychological change when two communities interact. When two different cultures interact, they tend to exchange each other’s social and cultural beliefs. Some cultures were associated with lower intelligence levels but after interacting with other communities their intelligence levels increased. This is because they exchanged the best skills to increase each other’s intelligence. There are a number of cognitive referents of acculturation, which play a role in influencing how illnesses are perceived in the Latino community.

One cognitive referent is family structure and function. This is how a family is and how they relate to one another. Most families function in the same way, though the structures of each family are different. Another cognitive referent is the adherence to a particular religious beliefs and practices. Most families have religious beliefs. They tend to stick to the religion that they have been brought up with from childhood. The Latino community is very religious and is mostly Roman Catholics. Another cognitive referent is the personality characteristics of the Latino. This is how a particular person behaves and relates to other people. They mostly tend to be extroverts and loud.

These cognitive referents play a big role in how Latinos behave in relation to illnesses such as cancer. Cancer is a terminal illness that affects anyone. Some forms of cancer are hereditary and if one family member gets it, the likelihood of other people in that family becoming sick are high. Since the family structure and function of Latinos is usually cohesive, when one person gets ill they all come together to help the sick person. In terms of religion, they will pray for the sick in the hopes that their belief in a superior being will heal their loved one. This cohesiveness in the family makes it easier for the sick person. This is because they know that they always have someone to count on. They know that there is always a person to help them out in whatever they need.

This is very important to a cancer patient. Support is important, as cancer treatment is very painful and costly. Since Latinos support each other both emotionally and financially, the healing process starts promptly. They support their sick loved ones also by taking them to the treatments. This helps the patient heal faster as they have a loving and supporting family to care for them. Cognitive referents of acculturation are therefore important when a person is sick, especially for terminally ill patients.

1. Select and explain one of the theoretical models (i.e., ecodevelopmental, harm reduction, etc.) and describe how you would tailor a prevention program for Latinos at risk for HIV infection utilizing that theoretical perspective

Harm reduction is a theoretical model that aims at reducing the impacts of a disease. It incorporates a wide range of public health policies designed to reduce the grave outcomes linked with how human beings relate. If behaviors of human beings are risky, it means that they will help spread of diseases especially the communicable ones. It is therefore important to check how one behaves as this impacts greatly on how diseases are spread. HIV is an infection that has become a major concern in the world today. Its spread is mainly linked with how people behave, as it is prevalent in people that are exposed to risky behavior. The use of recreational drugs, alcohol and casual sex increase its spread. If one is responsible of how they behave it lowers their risk of getting HIV.

The Latino community is classified as people who love enjoying themselves. The rate of HIV infection has thereby increased greatly because of this. Since they enjoy having fun, they do not take into consideration the disadvantages the come along with this type of behavior. Latinos constitute about 16% of the total US population that is affected by HIV. This is a very high number and measures of lowering it need to be invented. Harm reduction comes into play here as it helps reduce the HIV infection rate. It is a good method to adopt as it is cost effective and Latinos will be willing to take it up easily than any other method.

A harm reduction program that helps minimize HIV infection prevalence is through education. This program will be effective, as it will teach the Latino community more about HIV and its spread. One common thing that has been reported is that people are unaware of how HIV is spread. The community will be taught more about HIV. If they understand the risks involved, they will be able to see how their behavior affects the spread of HIV. The Latino community will be taught of how change begins with an individual. If one person decides to embrace the change then the whole community will be able to see the positive impacts that they will get.

Behavior change will also include cutting down on recreational drugs and alcohol. Drugs and alcohol impair one’s judgement. Therefore, if a person does not drink or take drugs, he or she will be sober enough to make good decisions. It is important that the Latino community cut down on drugs and alcohol intake. If they do this, they will be able to make decisions that are more conscious. Having fun does not necessarily mean that one has to take drugs. Instead of the recreational drugs, they should include better clean fun in their parties and gatherings. They can employ the use of games so that they everyone is included. In employing this technique, they will have made sure that everyone is involved and the chances of making wrong decisions are reduced.

Sex education is also important. The Latino community should encourage their youth to abstain from sex until they are ready. If someone feels that he or she is ready to be sexually active, then he or she should practice safe sex. This will mean that the youth are empowered with the right information. They should also be taught the importance of being faithful as this would mean that the risk of spreading HIV would reduce. Knowledge is power and if it is used well it will help eradicate the incidences of Latinos being infected.

Harm reduction is a good and effective way of helping to curb the HIV menace. If employed in the right way it will mean that less people will become infected and affected by HIV. It is better to address a problem than neglecting it. Since it has been found that the way Latinos behave increases HIV prevalence it is better they change their behavior earlier than regret later on in life.

1. Discuss the environmental, economic, and occupational challenges faced by Latino migrant farm workers and the impact these social determinants of health have on the overall health outcomes of Latino migrant families

The Latino migrant farm workers are faced with many challenges being that they are foreigners. Their problems are mainly in form of environmental, economic, and occupational challenges. The environmental problems that they face are that they lack sufficient land to practice farming. The land that they have is also usually not very fertile. Therefore, the yield that they get from the land is usually small. These returns are not enough to sustain their families. Since these farmers do not have a stable income, they remain poor. This impacts greatly on them as banks and money lending institutions cannot give them credit to boost their farms. Finances are very important to farmers. Thus, since they cannot get a boost the farmers are not able to compete with other farmers that have access to extra finances. These are the economic challenges that Latino migrant farmers face.

The occupational challenges that Latino migrant farmers face is that they are stereotyped as thieves and undependable. Most people believe that the Latinos do not work as hard as other communities do. They believe that Latinos are thieves and cannot be trusted. This affects the Latinos, as they are not employed. For those that are lucky to be employed they have to prove themselves. The jobs that are available to them are not good. They are usually low paying and strenuous (Chavez, 2011).

Since the Latino migrant farmers are faced with many challenges, they do not have enough finances to get proper healthcare. They do not have enough money to go to hospital and they end up dying because of late detection of diseases. Latinos are at risk of contracting communicable diseases, as they are not immunized in good time. This is blamed mostly on lack of finances and knowledge of these diseases. Since they are below the poverty line in America, they do not get access to the best medical care as other cultures have. This damages their health, as they are too poor to get good medical care. Their children end up having stunted growth because of lack of food and good healthcare.

Work cited:

Hill, Ronald P. Marketing and Consumer Research in the Public Interest. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications, 1996.

Wallace, Phyllis, Elizabeth Pomery, Amy Latimer, Josefa Martinez, and Peter Salovey. “A Review of Acculturation Measures and Their Utility in Studies Promoting Latino Health.” Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences. 32.1 (2010): 37-54.

Chávez, Maria. Everyday Injustice: Latino Professionals and Racism. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2011.