Like traditional telenovelas or Spanish-language soap operas, ?Encrucijada: Sin Salud No Hay Nada? or ?Crossroads: Without Health, There Is Nothing? is full of romance, conflict and suspense. But there?s a twist. The overly dramatic plot also carries important health messages.
Building off the success of Encrucijada?s first season, which aired in 2009, the Colorado Health Foundation decided to fund a second season to help combat the state?s health disparities and call viewers to action.
Between family fights and love triangles, the show?s main characters confront issues pertaining to heart disease, mental health, colon cancer, obesity and teen pregnancy, among others. Unlike traditional public service announcements, Encrucijada packages health messages into a thrilling format that?s widely popular among Latinos.
?We know that telenovelas are one of the best ways for Latinos to get health information,? says Cristina Bejarano, health content director for Encrucijada 2. ?While not every episode can be very dramatic, the telenovela format allows us to deliver health messages in a compelling way.?
Photo of "Encrucijada" characters Alicia and Don Juancho courtesy of Cristina Bejarano.
In Colorado the need for Latino focused health messaging is great. Obesity, diabetes and asthma disproportionally impact the state?s Latino population, and more than 30 percent of the population lives without health insurance.
?In the Latino community people need more information,? says Jes?s Fuentes, executive producer of Encrucijada, ?but many of them, especially those newly to this country, don?t know how to get all of the services that are available. Once they get that information, they can live healthier lives.?
Hearing that producers were filming a second season of Encrucijada, Andrea Dwyer, of the University of Colorado Cancer Center?s Colorado Colorectal Screening Program (CCSP), approached Anne Smith, principal of Evolve Communications about incorporating colorectal cancer messages into the plot. Smith liked the idea so she presented it to Fuentes and Bejarano.
They also liked the idea.
?At the time, we didn?t have any culturally-relevant information that we could distribute to the Latino population,? says Dwyer, who is also co-chair of the Colorado Cancer Coalition?s Colorectal Cancer Task Force. ?We needed something that could resonate with the community, and we knew that telenovelas were a proven and popular vehicle.?
Dwyer organized the CCSP patient navigators statewide so that the production team could develop an authentic voice around colorectal cancer screening and treatment. The Colorectal Cancer Task Force, Latino Research and Policy Center, Centura Health, and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment helped review the messaging.
In one of the episodes, a male resists getting a colonoscopy for some time. When he finally goes in for the procedure, several non-cancerous abscesses are found and later removed. Surprised and taken back, he decides to educate his family and friends about the importance of screening.
?There is a lot of pride about taking care of the family in this population,? Dwyer says. ?We needed to get across that colorectal cancer screening is not only important for you, but it?s important for your family.?
Since the airing of the first Encrucijada, the show has become widely popular. Many viewers utilized the toll-free number that connected them with local health workers and community services. This season, the number will continue and the colon cancer episodes will refer people to CCSP patient navigators.
?We want to see if people really utilize the toll-free number after watching the show,? Dwyer says, ?and we want to increase the demand for screening services in this this community so that they become empowered to drive their own health decisions.?
In conjunction with the 24 episodes airing Feb. 12 to July 22, 2012 on Univision Colorado, the CU Cancer Center, CDPHE and Centura Health are running public service announcements that show Encrucijada?s main characters discussing the health issues presented in each episode.
?Soap operas are like a mirror,? Fuentes says. ?People identify with the characters in the show and if they see a character helping others, they believe they can help too. People want to change their behaviors. They just need a little push.?
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Encrucijada debuted on Feb. 12 and will run through July 22, 2012 on Univision Colorado at 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Sundays. The show repeats on Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30 p.m. on Rocky Mountain PBS?s V-Me channel.
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