The purpose of this study was to develop and pre-test culturally appropriate, theoretically-based nutrition education materials targeting low-income Latina immigrant caretakers in Guilford County, North Carolina. Six focus groups and three household interviews were held with low-income Latina caretakers (N=20 women total) to identify key areas of interest, preferences, and concerns regarding their family’s diet. Sessions were conducted by a bicultural, bilingual community interviewer using a semi-structured question guide. Interviews were conducted in Spanish, tape recorded, transcribed and translated. Content analysis identified common themes. A response was considered a “theme” if mentioned greater than five times by different participants. Many women reported they cannot identify healthy foods when shopping and wanted tips about how to do so. The most common challenge reported was persuading children to eat vegetables. Most requested healthy recipes that are child-friendly and include serving size information. Spanish translated, colorful recipe cards or brochures were the most requested materials. Many wanted healthier recipes for traditional Hispanic dishes.

These findings indicate that this low income group is very interested in providing healthy foods to their families and want the skills to do so. Thus, results were used to develop nutrition education messages and materials based on the Social Cognitive Theory. Materials were pretested with the target audience (N=6) and revised accordingly. This project was funded by the NC Agricultural Research Service.