CDC en Español Channel

In 2011, the Hispanic population surpassed 50 million and accounts for more than half of the population increase in the US over the last decade.

 

Though CDC en Español has been in existence for some time, we have typically followed the goals and objectives for English-speaking populations. Our renewed strategy rises out of the aggressive growth of online users seeking health information, and from the needs of our diverse Spanish-speaking or bilingual users who have asked for more Spanish health information on the web, on their mobile devices, and through their social networks. Here are some of the statistics that help to show the importance of reaching Spanish-speaking audiences:

• Latinos represent the fastest-growing segment of our multi-cultural nation. Of the 27.3 million population increase in the last decade, almost half of that growth is in Hispanic populations. There are now 50 million Hispanics in the US. (2011, US Census).
• 48% of online Latinos have profiles on social networking websites.
• Health information seeking ranks as the 3rd most popular online activity among adult Internet users in the U.S. and Latinos comprise 65% of these users!

 

Before developing a strategy, in 2009 we prepared an online survey in Spanish seeking to answer the question, “Who are our Spanish language users?” From that survey along with other sources, we found information about health information available in Spanish:

• The majority of CDC en Español users say they want more of the content online translated into Spanish (CDC en Español ASCI survey)
• There is a significant difference in the content available in English and Spanish on cdc.gov. This is mostly due to translation budget constraints across divisions.
• There are varying trends and interests between CDC English-speaking and Spanish-speaking users that require using different strategies to find appropriate topics for each audience.

 

We have since gathered significant information about CDC en Español demographics and are seeking more content in Spanish to accommodate their needs. We will continue to gather metrics to make more informed decisions throughout the year.