This previous weekend Dr. W Martin Kast gave a presentation in both English and Spanish at the USC Neighborhood Academic Initiatives (NAI) Saturday Academy.
Dr. Kast spoke with 200 NAI (mostly Latino) parents about HPV induced cervical cancer and the importance of vaccinating their children (both boys and girls) with Gardasil. Brenda Farfan was a fabulous English/Spanish translator for the event!
What made Martin’s lecture really unique was that he utilized a USC-made film entitled “The Tamale Lesson.” This short film conveys 18 facts regarding the cause of cervical cancer, as well as its prevention (via the HPV vaccine) and detection (via Pap tests) by following the Romero family’s preparation for their youngest daughter’s Quinceañera.
English Version
Spanish Version
The Tamale Lesson was a video created by The University of Southern California in an effort to empirically test whether utilizing a narrative or story format produced a greater and longer lasting impact on health-related knowledge. This video was produced utilizing funds from a 5-year grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI R01CA 144052 awarded to Murphy/Baezconde-Garbanati.
USC’s Neighborhood Academic Initiative (NAI) is a seven-year pre-college enrichment program designed to prepare low-income neighborhood students for admission to a college or university. The program was established in 1989, enrolled its first scholars in the 1991-92 academic year, have had over 700 students graduate from their program, and provides the top performing students 4-5 year full-ride scholarships to USC.