The language barrier between immigrant parents and their English-dominant children is a pervasive and relatively unrecognized problem in an estimated 12 million U.S. households. This intergenerational language gap often leads to adverse health outcomes for both children and adults for the following reasons: (1) it hinders young children's ability to communicate with their parents when they feel sick;and (2) as children are inevitably relied upon as interpreters for family members during office visits and medical emergencies, they are ill-prepared both linguistically and mentally for such a difficult task. This project seeks to develop a television program that can bridge the intergenerational language gap and improve the health status of all members of an immigrant household. During our Phase I study, we developed a pilot episode and successfully demonstrated that it was an effective tool for achieving both of the stated educational goals. This Phase II proposal seeks to build on that foundation and create a six-episode animated series, focusing on the issue of childhood nutrition and obesity prevention amongst the Hispanic population.
The proposed project will develop an innovative television series that combines language and health education and can be enjoyed by both children and parents. The television program aims to enhance children's language skills in their heritage language, improve immigrant parents'English proficiency, provide exposure to important health concepts, and promote intergenerational communication.
