Promoting farm to market diets: A study of Hispanic women’s health information seeking behaviors

Abstract

In this paper, a model of health media usage is developed to understand how the target population that is Hispanic women makes decisions and the sources they turn to for information on health related matters. Key factors used in the investigation process were health behaviors, acculturation and socio-economic status indicators (SES). The objective of the project is to understand how Hispanic women acquire health knowledge. Understanding health media usage will enable us to recommend best education practices for the promotion of healthy lifestyles. A qualitative research design was used. Acculturation and health behaviors are direct influencers of health media usage. SES indicators such as age, income and education moderate the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Future research should consider additional variables such as health concern and health motivation along with quantitative research to test the model.