Abstract
COVID-19 has exacerbated pervasive health disparities in the most vulnerable communities. Latinos in Los Angeles have the highest number of COVID-19 cases of all groups. To reach this population we propose to develop and test an intervention where arts meets public health. Working with local Latino artists in the Eastern part of Los Angeles, we seek to better understand health safety behaviors in this population via town hall meetings and focus groups, and develop and test educational materials, outdoor media materials and messaging to increase mitigation behaviors in the community. In addition to the campaign, a case management of resources interventions is being deployed with promotores de salud during a six weeks period to address the particular needs of highly vulnerable populations, including seniors, and those with chronic conditions. A community advisory committee of stakeholders will help to lead the project. Imagery and messaging will be displayed in the community as well as via partner agencies.
As part of VaccinateLA (Kipke/Baezconde-Garbanati, PIs), Jeremy Kagan and Sheila Murphy’s Telling Stories, Saving Lives worked with young Latinx and African American filmmakers trained at USC School of Cinematic Arts to create two short stories that debunk common myths that underlie vaccine hesitancy in those specific populations.
Of Reasons and Rumors follows a tight-knit Latino family in East LA who disagree about the importance and safety of Covid vaccination.
Happy Birthday, Granny revolves around an African-American family in South LA celebrating their grandmother’s birthday when an argument leads to an honest discussion about the truth about the development and safety of the Covid vaccine.
The films were produced by filmmakers representing these communities with the support of USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, Keck School of Medicine at USC (VaccinateLA, StayConnectedLA) and ACTransformative Media.
For more information, please contact Laura Stoddard (laura.stoddard@med.usc.edu).
Principal Investigator
Kayla de la Haye, PhD
Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California
delahaye@usc.edu
Co-PIs
Wändi Bruine de Bruin, MSc, PhD
Provost Professor of Public Policy, Psychology, and Behavioral Science, Sol Price School of Public Policy, Dornsife Department of Psychology, Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, and Center for Economic and Social Research, University of Southern California
wandibdb@usc.edu
John Wilson, PhD
Professor and Founding Director, Spatial Sciences Institute; Professor of Sociology, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering, and the School of Architecture, University of Southern California
jpwilson@usc.edu
Co-investigators
Marianna Babboni, BS
USC Dornsife Public Exchange, University of Southern California
babboni@usc.edu
Arie Kapteyn, PhD
Professor and Director, Center for Economic and Social Research (CESR), Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California
kapteyn@usc.edu
Kenan Li, PhD
Research Scientist, Spatial Sciences Institute, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California
kenanl@usc.edu
Htay-Wah Saw, PhD
Research Associate, Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters Arts and Sciences, Center for Economic and Social Research (CESR) Survey Research Center (SRC), University of Southern California, Institute for Social Research (ISR), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Kate Weber, MS
Director of the USC Dornsife Public Exchange, University of Southern California
katewebe@usc.edu
Student RAs
Michelle Livings
PhD Student, Spatial Sciences Institute, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California
livings@usc.edu
Sydney Miller
PhD Student, Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California
sydneynm@usc.edu
Mengya Xu
PhD Student, Spatial Sciences Institute, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California
mengyaxu@usc.edu
Community Partners
County of Los Angeles, Chief Sustainability Office & Emergency Food Security Branch