Arianna Montero

Major and Classification

Psychology

Faculty Mentor

Dr. Eunjoo Pacifici

Department

Regulatory Sciences

Research Gateway Project

“Developing a Visual Literacy Tool for Huntington’s Disease in Magdalena, Colombia” 

Project Abstract

Health literacy is at an all-time low in Magdalena, Colombia due to a low SES and limited education. With this in mind, it is important that low health literacy is improved in a way that is rational and has been impactful for other studies. Pictorial superiority is the notion that pictures are more likely to be remembered than words. Using a visual worksheet, changes will arise after the first wave of participants acknowledge this information as useful and rational. This study will inform inhabitants of Magdalena, Colombia on how the disease is passed on through sexual intercourse. Informing inhabitants will allow for prepared decision making when engaging in these acts. The diffusion theory recognizes that informing inhabitants will take a while due to cultural factors that cause a few of them to grasp new ideas from the forefront and others to be closed off.