Feasibility of Current Culturally Tailored Health Programs (CTHPs)
Programs that are currently showing the most promise in improving health outcomes are not feasible for the lower-income population that needs these types of programs. They seem to be targeting to the higher-income population, which tends to be more acculturated and less affected by cultural barriers to health. Barriers to the lower-income population include:
1. Time Intensiveness
Effective programs are time intensive. For example, the national program ¡Viva Bien! requires a 2.5 day retreat and 156 hours of meetings for a total of 216 total intervention hours over the course of a year (Toobert et al. 2010). It is impractical to assume that the Hispanic population in the US, especially the lower-income portion of the population that may be working multiple jobs or long hours to support their families, has this much extra time.
2. Cost
The cost to the patient of CTHPs are often not reported in studies. However, ¡Viva Bien! reports the cost as $4,634 per person for enrollment in a one year program (Toobert et al. 2010). Again, this is an unrealistic cost for the portion of the Hispanic population that most needs intervention.
3. Long-term outcomes
The long-term outcomes of CTHPs have not yet been studied, so it is impossible to know whether the improved health outcomes observed in the studies are sustainable. Some studies do show a decrease in the positive health outcomes after six months or one year of a program (Toobert et al. 2010). This suggests that health outcomes are not sustainable in the programs as they are currently designed, but the authors suggest the use of booster sessions to motivate patients to continue following a healthy lifestyle.
1. Time Intensiveness
Effective programs are time intensive. For example, the national program ¡Viva Bien! requires a 2.5 day retreat and 156 hours of meetings for a total of 216 total intervention hours over the course of a year (Toobert et al. 2010). It is impractical to assume that the Hispanic population in the US, especially the lower-income portion of the population that may be working multiple jobs or long hours to support their families, has this much extra time.
2. Cost
The cost to the patient of CTHPs are often not reported in studies. However, ¡Viva Bien! reports the cost as $4,634 per person for enrollment in a one year program (Toobert et al. 2010). Again, this is an unrealistic cost for the portion of the Hispanic population that most needs intervention.
3. Long-term outcomes
The long-term outcomes of CTHPs have not yet been studied, so it is impossible to know whether the improved health outcomes observed in the studies are sustainable. Some studies do show a decrease in the positive health outcomes after six months or one year of a program (Toobert et al. 2010). This suggests that health outcomes are not sustainable in the programs as they are currently designed, but the authors suggest the use of booster sessions to motivate patients to continue following a healthy lifestyle.