Leaving Paper Behind: Improving Healthcare Navigation by Latino Immigrant Parents Through Video-Based Education

Abstract

System barriers to effective healthcare engagement and navigation contribute to healthcare disparities among Latino children with immigrant parents in the US. We evaluated a nine-minute educational video supporting healthcare navigation and engagement skills of Spanish-speaking Latino parents of infants. Participants viewed the video at their child’s 2-month well-visit, completed a pre-and post-video knowledge evaluation, and answered open-ended questions on video style. A paired t test was used to examine differences in knowledge and open-ended responses were coded using an iterative, consensus-based process. Of the 79 participants, 63.3% had an education level below high school diploma/GED and 84.8% were at risk for limited health literacy. There was a significant gain in healthcare navigation and engagement knowledge after watching the video (p < 0.001). Parents expressed that the video was interesting and provided useful information. Parents valued the knowledge gained and preferred videos over written materials for receiving culturally and linguistically tailored health education.