Choosing Wisely En Español

One of the key goals of the Choosing Wisely® campaign is to encourage conversations between patients and doctors. Unfortunately, for many patients the idea of questioning their doctor is a new – and difficult – thing to do, especially if English isn’t their first language.

According to a 2011 U.S. Census Bureau report, 37.6 million people aged 5 and above speak Spanish at home. To ensure they have access to critical medical information, the Oregon Medical Association (OMA), a grantee of the ABIM Foundation,  has partnered with Consumer Reports and leading Spanish-language television broadcast network Univision TV to educate Spanish-speaking patients on ways they can engage in conversations with their physicians.

“Choosing Wisely is especially appropriate for us because Latinos are generally not used to questioning authority and often face language barriers when trying to communicate health-related concerns with their doctors,” said Mary Young, account manager at KUNP-TV, Univision’s Portland affiliate.

To reach Spanish speakers in Oregon, OMA and Univision will work together to:

• Broadcast a Spanish-language Choosing Wisely public service announcement (PSA) to educate viewers on the five questions they should ask their physician. Univision reaches nearly all Spanish speakers in Oregon.
• Create a plan to include Choosing Wisely content in local affiliates’ health news stories with interviews featuring local and national Spanish-speaking health care experts.

“We hope this partnership will raise awareness of Choosing Wisely and encourage consumers to be more engaged in their care choices,” said Cassandra Dictus, Program Coordinator, OMA.

OMA’s work in this area complements the efforts of Consumer Reports’ national partnership with Univision and Hola Doctor, in which Consumer Reports provides translated Spanish content to Univision and Hola Doctor to publish on its Consumer Reports Salud page.

To learn more about broadcasting the PSA – in English or Spanish, on TV or radio – or playing it on your website, during conferences or in any other venue, please contact Consumer Reports at HealthImpact@cr.consumer.org.