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Cancer Information for Spanish Speaking Patientsby Nancy L. Crossfield, MALS, AHIP Your next request for cancer information could be from one of the more than 17 million Americans who speak Spanish at home. Malignancies are the second leading cause of death among Hispanic Americans. These clients come from many countries and have a variety of cultural backgrounds, information needs, and literacy levels. Most Spanish-speakers in the U.S. and Canada also speak English, but many appreciate a choice when it comes to health information. Cancer-related pamphlets in Spanish are still easier to find than books, and many of these are now on the Internet. The web sites and print materials described here are representative, not comprehensive; chat rooms, audiovisuals, and alternative medicine have not been covered. Idioms and vocabulary may vary, depending on the country of origin. Luckily, the Spanish language has similarities to both English and French, so even non-Spanish speakers can scan for source and content. Internet Providers and PortalsSome Internet providers and search engines already offer Spanish-language services. Prodigy provides a Spanish option, links to Spanish web sites, and a search engine in Spanish. America Online permits searching for words in many languages and is developing more features. Many search engines have screen buttons that take one directly to resources in Spanish:
Web SitesThese run the gamut, from highly technical research forums for physicians to descriptions of specific diseases, treatments, and coping skills for patients to informal chat rooms and personal or anecdotal homepages. Broader health sites may also carry cancer information, so browse those covering men’s, women’s, and children’s health, specific diseases such as prostate cancer, and pages devoted to pharmaceuticals and other therapies. Try to determine the site sponsor (or even country!) as one important measure of site reliability. Another caveat is to check materials for consistency with your own hospital’s medical practices and procedures. Help your clients identify sites on which "evidence-based medicine" would truly be a foreign phrase! With those warnings, sample URL’s follow.
Basic Health BooksGeneral-purpose health books may be a good starting place, especially if your Spanish vocabulary needs work: Griffith, HW. Instructions for patients; instrucciones para los pacientes. Saunders, 1997. 566p. 0-7216-6997-2 $52.00. One-page summaries of common health problems including over 20 pages on cancer topics, with a few unlabeled anatomy diagrams in a short appendix. English and Spanish indices. Rees, AL, editor. Información de salud para los consumidores. (Health information for consumers) Oryx Press, 1998. 520p. 1-573561665 $74.95. 80+ oncology pages from the National Cancer Institute and other agencies in sections on Cancer, Women’s Health, and others. (May be difficult to obtain; Oryx no longer distributes.) Book VendorsSome links to suppliers of books from Spain, Mexico, and South America include: Chulainn Publishing Corp., Bailey, CO, 888-525-2665, http://www.newpublications.com Donar's Spanish Books, Lafayette, CO, 800-552-3316 (no web site found) Lectorum Publications, New York, NY, 800-345-5946, http://www.lectorum.com Leer (Libros en español) http://www.leer.nisc.com [Free registration, or see Chulainn] Libros sin Fronteras, Olympia, WA, 360-357-4332, http://www.librossinfronteras.com PamphletsMany colorful Krames pamphlets are available in Spanish, a few on topics such as breast lumps, mammography, pap tests, and PSA testing. Krames is now part of StayWell (http://www.staywell.com, 1-800-333-3032), which offers a small but growing number of Spanish materials through its Krames On-Demand product, with stand-alone PC and Intranet versions. Channing-Bete (http://www.channing-bete.com, 1-800-477-4776), another pamphlet provider, also lists many Spanish health pamphlets in its print catalog. Scan for keywords in the non-indexed alphabetic list of foreign language pamphlets from Krames, Channing-Bete, and other organizations on the Utah Department of Health site, www.health.state.ut.us/ethnic/html/pamphlet_list.html. CHID, the Combined Health Information Database (http://chid.nih.gov ), can also be used to locate brochures. Use its Detailed Search to select categories and languages. Kidney and Urologic Diseases include prostate materials; clicking on individual titles brings up full citations with English abstracts and ordering or availability information. North American publishers and others have discovered the Hispanic market, and a growing number of resources in Spanish will aid us in reaching out to Hispanic clients. Assess the needs in your area, and coordinate efforts with other nearby libraries or resource centers. Low-literacy materials are still needed, especially those with diagrams or photos. It would be interesting to see educational titles based on the foto-novela format. News releases, information on screening clinics, and basic health information may already be available on local Hispanic media sites or in newspapers, and these sites may publicize your services, too. Access to both print and Internet materials in Spanish will empower both health professionals and Spanish-speaking patients to take action for better health. Selected ReferencesBrown, Laura. Health sites in Spanish. Health Care on the Internet, 1999; 3(3): 3-15. Connors, Margaret. Se habla español? Spanish-language patient education resources hit cyberspace. Medicine on the Net, 1998; 4(1):15-18. Freiband, Susan J. Developing collections for the Spanish speaking. RQ, 1996; 35(3):330-342. Milo, Albert. Ten reasons why we buy Spanish books. Unabashed Librarian, 1997;103:13. Youngkin, Molly. MEDLINE citations translated to Spanish. Latitudes, 1999; 8(5):11. Glossary of Spanish Terms
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| Web Editor Last modified: 01-April-2003 |
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