Racial and Ethnic Identity: Reaching and Mobilizing Latino Communities

Through an Awareness Day

Miriam Y. Vega, PhDVice President

Latino Commission on AIDs

The Commission• Founded in 1990 to fight HIV/AIDS in at-risk

communities nationwide Shaped by national AIDS advocate Dennis deLeon from 1994 to 2009

• Local , Regional and National Services in more than 40 States, Puerto Rico & the Virgin Islands.

• Long demonstrated history of building national, regional and local coalitions

• Five core areas: Hispanic Behavioral Research Center HIV Prevention & Health Promotion Capacity Building Assistance (CHANGE

approach) HIV Testing and Access to Care Health Policy & Community

Mobilization Picture by: bleacher + everard

National Latino Awareness Day (NLAAD)

What is NLAAD• NLAAD is a national social marketing campaign implemented

every October 15 to encourage HIV/AIDS awareness and testing in the Latino community.

• Began 2003 as a joint collaboration between Latino Commission on AIDS and the Hispanic Federation.

• Objectives include:

• Reduction in high risk behaviors

• Increase Latinos’ knowledge about the impact of HIV/AIDS.

• Increase Latinos’ knowledge regarding transmission methods

• Increase counseling and testing services for Latinos.

• Increase knowledge on how best to access care

NLAAD Core Activities

1. Recruit National Organizing Committee2. Community Assessment 3. Event Planning 4. Resource Development5. Social Marketing6. Networking7. Media Activities8. Evaluation

Evaluation Methods: Perspective of Event Organizers, Media, & the General Latino Public

METHOD TARGET QUESTIONS

Online Survey Registrants/ event holders What type of events are held, how many people get tested, how many positives , what resources are leveraged

Street Intercepts General Latino populations in cities throughout the US

Awareness, actions taken, source of awareness

Media Citation Analysis Media coverage How is NLAAD cited, Who is the audience, When does coverage begin, Where in the US

Focus groups Event and Non-event holders;Community members

How does NLAAD differ from other days, what resources are needed

Brief 2010 Survey Results• 124 respondents that hosted an NLAAD event.

• 55% held their event(s) on October 15

• 78% reported holding an HIV screening event. – most commonly used method: oral rapid (48%).

• 55% noted that they began to plan for NLAAD between 1 to 3 months prior to the held event.

• 26% : 2010 was 1st time hosting an NLAAD event.

• 3% positivity rate for NLAAD testing events

Street Intercepts: 2007-2010• 1589 street intercepts ; 1314 Hispanic

• Ten cities– Emerging: DC, Atlanta, Houston, North Charleston,

Rock Hill & Charlotte

– Traditional: NYC, El Paso, Santa Fe & San Antonio

• Racial identification Across all Respondents: – Caucasian (35%), Black (13%), API (3%), & other (53%).

• Nationality: 44% Mexican, 17% Central American, 15% Dominican, 6% Puerto Rican.

Self-Identification of Hispanics• Race: 7% African American; 2% API; 25% Caucasian

& 66 other• Self-identification differed by city (x2= .53, df =1080

p=.000: – with over 90% of Hispanic respondents in Charlotte,

North Carolina identifying as “other” while 0% did in San Antonio.

• In San Antonio, over 70% identified as Caucasian.• There were significant differences in reported

NLAAD awareness by racial self-identification with those identified as Caucasian reporting higher awareness than others (p=.000).

Racial Identification by City

Identification, Awareness, & Testing

Action Taken by City

How Heard of the Campaign

Self Classification & Identification 64% of the US’ Latino population are of Mexican ancestry. 10% are of Puerto Rican background, with about 3% each

of Cuban, Salvadoran and Dominican origins.

Many do not relate to the term Hispanic or Latino. A 2006 survey by the Pew Hispanic Center found that 48%

of Hispanic adults generally describe themselves by country of origin.

2000 Census (first time can pick multiple races): 48 % of Hispanics reported only White 42 % of Hispanics reported only “Some other race” 6% of Hispanics reported two or more races 2% of Hispanics reported only Black or African American

Hispanic refers to approximately 30 different nationalities.

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Self-identity in 2010Census forms ask people who id as Hispanic to also check what race they are. There are Hispanic whites, Hispanic blacks, Hispanic Asians etc. Those who don't identify with existing race categories can pick "Some Other Race."

In 2000, about 42% of Latinos adopted that option, and almost every one of the 15.3 million who picked that "other" category was Hispanic.

In 2010, Hispanics from states with large and established Latino populations increasingly identified themselves by race - most chose white - rather than the murky "Some Other Race" that many picked in the 2000 census

Going Forward• In creating local campaigns that center around

specific ethnic groups we have to take into account nuances in racial and ethnic identification in order to mobilize and engage.

• Local Campaigns may wish to:– Identify specific sub-groups by nationality

– Use differing images (taking into consideration census selections and street intercept selections)

– Deconstruct “other”

– Take into account health literacy and messaging

Feasibility

• Street intercepts can be done cheaply.

• Can also further the reach of the program.

• By doing the street intercepts, we also engaged the Latino community and were able to provide them with HIV testing information.

• The Commission can provide capacity building assistance and provide the survey that we use.

www.nlaad.org

Thanks

Miriam Y. Vega

Vice President

Latino Commission on AIDS

24 W. 25th Street, 9th floor

New York, NY 10530

mvega@latinoaids.org