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Freytes IM, Bober J, Romero S, Hannold EM, Barak S, Wing KL, Uphold CR. A Best Practice Approach to Patient Education for Diverse Populations. Poster session presented at: VA / DoD Facility Based Educators Annual Meeting; 2008 May 27; San Antonio, TX.
To address a priority of the Veterans Administration (VA) to reduce disparities in the health care of traditionally underserved populations and to facilitate Puerto Rican (PR) Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) veterans' reintegration into the community, 12 culturally-appropriate patient education fact sheets were developed in Spanish. While the VA, the military, and other organizations strive to address the needs of returning veterans, the post-deployment readjustment process of veterans and their families continues to be problematic. These fact sheets focus on improving OEF/OIF veterans' relationships with their family members and are a critical initial step toward improving the quality of life of PR OIF/OEF veterans and families. With the collaboration of providers in the Caribbean Healthcare System and other military organizations, we adapted existing education materials to help these families readjust to life post-deployment. The fact sheets were pilot-tested in focus groups with PR providers and veterans with outstanding results.
