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Vital Signs

He's Green, He's a Doctor and He's Helping Hispanics Lead Healthier Lives

What does a frog have to do with empowering residents of underserved Hispanic communities to learn about the dangers of high cholesterol and take control of their health? Plenty, if the amphibian in question is Sana La Rana,TM mascot of an innovative culturally competent health education program created by the pharmaceutical firm Pfizer.
The Sana La Rana initiative was launched in 2001 in New York City to educate the local Hispanic community about relevant health issues, such as the importance of seeing a doctor regularly and of reducing health risks through preventive care, screening and early detection. Now in its fourth year, the program has branched out to two other cities with large Hispanic populations-Miami and Houston-and plans to add more locations in the future.

In 2003 Sana La Rana focused specifically on the issue of high cholesterol, a major risk factor for heart disease, which is the number one killer of Hispanic men and women. The program conducted an extensive bilingual radio, TV and print advertising campaign to educate consumers about the dangers of undiagnosed high cholesterol and urge them to see their doctors for screening. The campaign also included a toll-free information line, a Web site and patient education materials distributed through local physicians' offices and clinics.

Today Sana La Rana has expanded its focus to address three additional diseases that are serious health threats in the Hispanic community: hypertension, diabetes and depression. Pfizer has also partnered with the National Council of La Raza, the nation's largest nonprofit organization serving Hispanic Americans, to develop a team of Promotoras de Salud-volunteer lay health educators who have helped expand the program's reach significantly by spreading its message in their own communities.

So what's the significance of the frog (rana in Spanish)? The program takes its name from a popular rhyme that is well known in Hispanic communities: Sana, sana, colita de rana. Si no sanas hoy sanars ma-ana. This rhyme, sung to children when they hurt themselves or are not feeling well, reassures kids that if they don't feel better today, they'll feel better tomorrow. Capitalizing on the rhyme's familiarity as a way to make the program memorable to consumers, Pfizer created the character of Sana La Rana-a frog dressed as a doctor. The program's slogan is also based on the rhyme: Sana, Sana, Colita de Rana. Visite A Su Doctor Para Una Vida Sana™ (Visit Your Doctor for a Healthy Life).

This froggy initiative has been tremendously successful, Pfizer reports. During the cholesterol education campaign (which ran from June to December 2003) 400,000 patient education brochures were distributed at doctor's offices and community events; the promotoras hosted 282 community charlas (chats) that reached nearly 4,300 people in Miami and Houston; the Web site received more than 13,000 hits and the toll-free hotline received 5,300 calls.

For more information about the Sana La Rana program, call (800) 250-5885 or visit www.sanalarana.com.