Appendix F: Adapting the fotonovela for a Broader Audience

This appendix describes the process used to adapt the original fotonovela, reproduced in Appendix E, to serve a broader, more heterogeneous, nationwide audience. As described in Appendix D, the original fotonovela developed under the EST project was developed with and for a predominately Puerto Rican audience in western Massachusetts. This appendix describes how the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration collaborated to modify the original fotonovela to serve Spanish-speakers across the United States.

To gain insight into the perceptions of this broader, more heterogeneous, nationwide audience, the AAA Foundation hired Dr. Carlos Arce of NuStates to conduct an external expert panel review of the original fotonovela. NuStats is a social policy research firm based in Austin, Texas. Dr. Arce, the founder of NuStats, possesses vast knowledge of and experience with the Hispanic market, and in fact, executed the first national survey of U.S. Hispanics in 1979. Dr. Arce and NuStats also possess extensive experience in traffic safety research, outreach, and communication.

NuStats worked closely with the AAA Foundation to assemble a panel of expert reviewers of the original fotonovela and to develop a questionnaire to distribute to this expert panel. NuStats and the AAA Foundation identified 125 potential panelists with expertise in working with, communicating with, or conducting outreach or marketing with the Latino/Hispanic community. The potential panelists were drawn primarily from respondents who had participated on NuStats Hispanic outreach expert panels in the past, and were supplemented by Spanish-speaking professionals suggested by the AAA Foundation.

The purpose of the questionnaire was to examine the fotonovela with respect to the following seven criteria:

• Cultural appropriateness [for Latinos in the reviewer’s area],
• Readability,
• How understandable,
• Credibility of message,
• Appropriateness of fotonovela format,
• Attractiveness of overall design,
• Overall relevance to the audience, and
• Appropriateness for all U.S. Latino groups.

Of the 125 review requests sent, 25 completed questionnaires were ultimately returned. The reviewers represented a diverse cross-section of people responsible for conducting outreach with and/or delivering services to the Latino community. The majority of reviewers possessed at least 10 years of experience working with the Latino community, and 20 of the 25 considered themselves to be Hispanic or Latino. Six of the reviewers were from Puerto Rico, five were from the United States, five were from Mexico, five were from South America, three were from Central America, and one was from Cuba. The majority of reviewers worked with families, youths, and/or immigrants in their communities, and all but two of the reviewers indicated that they worked in an urban setting.

Overall, the opinions of the majority of the reviewers were positive. They indicated that the fotonovela format was appropriate for the intended audience, that the language level was appropriate and generally understandable, and that the fotonovela delivered a credible message.

The reviewers provided a number of specific criticisms of the fotonovela, and in many cases, they also provided specific suggestions for improvements. Specifically, several reviewers disliked the design of the front cover of the fotonovela, indicating that it was generally unattractive and that the font was difficult to read. Reviewers also commented on several aspects of the content of the fotonovela, including the selection of photographs, the correctness and appropriateness of the language used, and the clarity of the overall message. Several reviewers commented that the conduct of the young boy, Oscar, toward his grandmother, Doña Rufina, was disrespectful, and also that the use of the phrase “¡Madre mía!” would be offensive to some members of the intended audience. Several reviewers also suggested reducing the amount of text used to convey the police officer’s message on the final page, and remarked that the police officer’s body language might be viewed as condescending.

In response to insight gained from this review, the AAA Foundation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration modified the fotonovela to improve its clarity, appeal, and overall effectiveness for an audience comprising Latinos in urban areas across the United States. Examples of modifications made to the fotonovela include:

• Redesign of the front cover to use brighter colors and more readable font;
  
  
• Substitution of new text for specific phrases that reviewers found unclear, potentially offensive, or otherwise inappropriate;
  
  
• Simplification of messages and reduction in quantity of text; and
  
  
• Selection of alternate photographs to portray the police officer in a more positive light.

Some reviewers commented on other aspects of the fotonovela, including the appearance of the background (e.g., types of trees, amount of pedestrian traffic, etc.), indicating that these were not representative of their communities. Given that the resulting fotonovela is intended for nationwide distribution, it was acknowledged that some members of the audience would be able to identify more than others with specific images used in the fotonovela. Thus, in several instances, comments and suggestions not specifically related to the issues of linguistic and/or cultural appropriateness were not implemented.

The modified fotonovela is included in the final project report, available at www.aaafoundation.org. The review by NuStats is available, upon request, from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.