Trio of Researchers Awarded DELTA Grant for Educational Videos for Hospice Caregivers
Dulce Cruz-Oliver, M.D., (pictured left) assistant professor of medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine and geriatrician in the Beacham Ambulatory Clinic; Marcela Blinka, Ph.D., (pictured center) research associate with the Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology; and Danetta Sloan, Ph.D., M.S.W., M.A., (pictured right) an assistant scientist in the Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Bloomberg School of Public Health, have been awarded a $75,000 DELTA (Digital Education & Learning Technology Acceleration) grant from the Johns Hopkins Office of the Provost to develop and pilot-test culturally based educational videos for African American and Puerto Rican hospice family caregivers. This work builds on earlier findings that showed telenovelas (a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America) were more likely to be viewed, and provided better content recall and follow-up actions, compared to other digital formats. The grant will support an innovative expansion of this work that uses qualitative interviews and methodologies to produce three new telenovelas that add additional culturally sensitive family education on symptom-related issues in end-of-live caregiving.