Informal Health Education in Rural, Agricultural Communities Using Mobile Devices

1. Informal Health Education in Rural, Agricultural Communities Using Mobile Devices Jaspal S. Sandhu, Jonathan Hey, Catherine Newman, Alice M. Agogino University of California, Berkeley

2. Goal: System for Health Education TEDC July 2005

3. Context • Farmworkers: migrant, shuttle, seasonal • Origin: Mexicans, Filipinos, Jamaicans … • Languages: Spanish, English, Tagalog … • Low literacy • Low-income • Immigration status • Health issues TEDC July 2005

4. Related Work • Breast cancer kiosks for Latinas in California (Valdez, 2000) – facility with touchscreens • Information behavior of Hispanic farmworkers and their families in Pacific Northwest (Fisher, et al. 2004) • Need for and lack of health information: pesticides (Parrot, et al. 1999) TEDC July 2005

5. Research Questions • What is the most appropriate way to involve the community in the design process? • Can we develop a model for sharing of ICT resources and/or information? • What role can existing interpersonal networks play in the dissemination of information? • Can we use collective facility with technology and/or collective literacy to circumvent technical challenges? TEDC July 2005

6. Research Plan • Phase 0: Preliminary needs assessment • Phase 1: Ethnographic research • Phase 2: • Develop prototype system, allowing user needs to drive the design • Usability testing (single users) • Phase 3: • Deploy robust system for an experimental group • Test change in knowledge vs. control population (+self-reported behaviors) TEDC July 2005

7. Innovation Workshop How can technology better improve the health and safety of farmworkers, their families, and their communities? TEDC July 2005

8. Ethnography • What are current forms of information access and what is their role? • What are the methods of communication within the household and with other members of the community? • What are most important needs with respect to health information? • What are common household technologies and how are they used? TEDC July 2005

9. Preliminary Observations • Kids as users • early technology adopters • often bilingual, literate in ≥1 language • Existing modes of information access • family/friends in community (in person or via phone) • radio (several programs in San Joaquin Valley especially La Preciosa) • locally-published Spanish newspapers • Mobile phone as medium • many farmworker families own at least a single mobile phone • mostly used for local purposes TEDC July 2005

10. Continuing Work • Ethnography: 2 HHs in nearby community (Aug/Sep 2005) • Project with public health students: develop content related to needed health information • Design and develop prototype system • Usability testing with other members of the same community TEDC July 2005

11. Acknowledgements • Participating community from Earlimart, Alpaugh, Delano • Teresa DeAnda, Californians for Pesticide Reform • Gloria Montano, Anita Borg Institute of Women and Technology • Prof. Leslie Speer, California College of the Arts • California College of the Arts design students • UC Berkeley engineering students (course E10) TEDC July 2005

12. Funding • Procter and Gamble • Ricoh Innovation • Hewlett-Packard Labs • University of California (Discovery Grant) • NSF grant #10201 TEDC July 2005