MHSCN Education Series | May 2024

Case Study: Creating Community-driven COVID-19 Radio Stories in Somali, Native American and Latin American Communities

During the COVID-19 pandemic Minnesota Department of Health funded community organizations to share public health information through its COVID-19 Community Engagement and Diverse Media program. The Federally Qualified Urban Health Network (FUHN) and SoLaHmo,a community-driven research organization, created a series of radio stories about COVID-19 vaccination in the Somali, Native American and Latin American communities. The project was based on a successful project in the Hmong community about HPV vaccination. The collaborative SoLaHmo-FUHN team created four stories per community and based them on conversations with community leaders and patients from local Federally Qualified Health Clinics. The voice actors are all local community members, and the team partnered with KFAI to record and produce the segments. Here’s a preview of one of the radio stories.

Join us to:

•  Learn about the community-engagement process and research-based approach
• Gain insight in creating community-driven stories that reflect authentic concerns and experiences of community members
• Learn about the process of creating stories that blend community leader perspectives and lived experiences of community members
•  Hear about challenges with sharing the stories and the tools used such as the Headliner App
  
  
  

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm (CST

Virtual - link will be sent 1 week prior to webinar.

Speakers:
Dr. M. Beatriz Torres, Associate Professor of Public Health, Mercyhurst University

Dr. Torres has a PhD in Communication from Ohio University and Master’s degrees in Organizational Communication and Public Health (M.P.H.) specializing in Community Health Promotion and Health Disparities from the University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on community health promotion, health disparities and public health communication. She has been working with Somali, Latino and Hmong Partnership for Health and Wellness (SoLaHmo) since 2012, as a consultant/collaborator, community researcher, and more recently a member of SoLaHmo working on community based participatory research (CBPR) projects. In these projects, Torres acted as a facilitator, building community partners’ capacity training, co-analyzing data, designing/disseminating health specific content and products that were linguistically and culturally appropriate for our communities, as well as developing CBPR trainings/education/curriculum modules. Torres also brings twenty-three years of experience as educator/trainer. Eighteen of those years were spent teaching undergraduate and graduate students in university contexts, which emphasize lifelong learning, service, and social justice.

Dr. Walter Novillo, lecturer, University of Minnesota

Dr. Walter Novillo served in tactical intelligence roles in Fort Ord, California, and Fort Lewis, Washington supporting Operations Just Cause, Desert Shield, and Desert Storm during his service in active duty in the United States Army. Walter’s educational background includes human resource development, business, public administration, and law. He has researched the intersection of labor, educational programs, and social, economic mobility. He is currently a lecturer at the University of Minnesota and has created innovative programs to increase access and success of students in postsecondary programs effectively. He teaches undergraduate students human resource development and business and marketing education courses. In his courses, he contributes to students’ social, academic, and emotional development by facilitating critical thinking and promoting a high level of achievement. Dr. Novillo Ph.D., University of Minnesota; J.D., William Mitchell College of Law; M.A., Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, policy analysis, economic development; M.B.A., and M.I.M., Opus College of Business, University of Saint Thomas, finance, international management; and B.A., University of Minnesota, political science, international relations.

Kristen Spargo, Principal, Take Flight Communications

Kristen Spargo is a writer and marketing communications consultant. A storyteller at heart, Spargo works with health care, education, and nonprofit organizations to capture stories that compel people to act. She has a long and proven track record of developing and implementing successful integrated communications efforts, most recently with the Itasca Project’s First 1000 Days initiative and Little Moments Count. Previously, she was the director of the health care and medical device practice at Padilla, where she led the venerable agency’s award-winning work with Be The Match, AGA Medical Corp. (now Abbott Laboratories), and Mercy Medical Center, among other clients. 

Most of Spargo’s work focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion, particularly in health care. Currently, she partners with the Federally Qualified Health Center Urban Health Network (FUHN), a coalition of 10 Twin Cities-based FQHCs; YWCA Minneapolis; and the Cultural Wellness Center, an African American nonprofit that uses culture as a tool for health and healing.