Providing health education to Appalachia populations

Since the 1980s, theorists have posited that health education that reflects the cultural realities of communities that health educators targeted for behavioral interventions would be more successful than interventions that are not culturally sensitive. Between 1997 and 2002, 52 focus groups of youth, women, and men were conducted in the Appalachian portions of 10 states to discern cultural themes relevant to health education in Appalachia. Groups occurred within the context of 5 studies funded by institutes within the National Institutes of Health. Findings suggest that an emphasis on family shows immense promise as a culturally sensitive approach to health education. Interventions that use the central role of women in the health of their families may be useful. The study results also suggest that one-on-one approaches to health education may prove a promising technique, attacks on individuals and institutions are not useful strategies, and a preference for realism or "the facts" may be a good way to present information.