La Quinceañera de Elisa is a telenovela developed to encourage low income Hispanic families to adopt healthy lifestyle behaviors. It is comprised of eight 60 second episodes initially designed to play as PSA inserts on TV. The sequential videos tell the story of a teenage girl’s attempt to become healthier for her quinceañera with the encouragement and support of her whole family.
A pilot was conducted with Spanish speaking immigrants in a mobile home park in Garden City, Kansas. It was shown on cable T.V. three times a day as commercial breaks, two episodes a week for four weeks. Pre and post tests were delivered. A key post survey question was: " Have you told friends and family about something you learned from the telenovela?" 83% of the 30 respondents answered "yes."
The girl chooses to eat fruit over chips and exercise more. Her father is also encouraged to get healthy to avoid diabetes. The family is encouraged to blend old traditions with new ones and enjoy special occasion treats in moderation.
The video resemble a Spanish style soap opera, or “telenovela” with traditional background music. Latin American viewers may relate to the style of programming and the cultural traditions presented in the series. The videos may be used to enhance nutrition education classes with teenagers, adults and older adults. Because they are short (about one minute each), the educator may choose to combine some or all of the videos when screening them in a classroom.